San Francisco Must Streamline Permitting Process

After failing to meet state targets for housing production, the city must create a shorter permitting process under a 2023 state law.

1 minute read

July 3, 2024, 11:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


View of buildings under construction and cranes in San Francisco, California.

Construction in San Francisco's Rincon Hill neighborhood. | sfmthd / Adobe Stock

San Francisco will become the first California city to trigger SB 423, a law that requires cities that don’t meet their state-mandated housing goals to create an expedited permit approval process.

According to an article by KQED staff, “On Friday, the California Department of Housing and Community Development ruled that San Francisco was falling short of its goal to plan for building 82,000 new units of housing by 2031. Last year, the city authorized just over 3,000 units, according to the San Francisco Planning Department.”

The streamlined process could cut down permit application processing times from upwards of a year to weeks or months. Anti-development advocates say the law puts too much control in the hands of the state, tasking cities with ‘unattainable’ housing production targets. 

Monday, July 1, 2024 in KQED

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