Housing Initiative Inches Closer to San Francisco Voters

After multiple failed efforts by San Francisco Mayor London Breed to put a charter amendment streamlining the city's development approval process before voters via the Board of Supervisors, the amendment's supporters are working to gather the 52,000 necessary signatures to get it on November's ballot. As J.K. Dineen reports, "The initiative, which proponents are calling Affordable Homes Now, would speed up housing production by allowing some qualified projects to circumvent the city’s discretionary review process, cutting several years from the multiyear timeline it takes to get housing approved in San Francisco."

According to Dineen, "The charter amendment would streamline three types of projects: those that are 100% affordable; those catering to teachers; and those that include 15% more below-market-rate units than is required under the city’s affordable housing requirements." Supporter "YIMBY Action executive director Laura Foote said the polling shows that more than 60% of voters would back the amendment, which requires only a simple majority to pass."

Critics say the amendment will only support more market rate housing, "and that the level of affordability of the units in most market-rate development is too high for workers most at risk of being displaced."