San Francisco Supervisors Punt Housing Ordinance

A proposed Constraints Reduction Ordinance in San Francisco stalled in the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the city’s Board of Supervisors, reports Annie Gaus in SF Standard.

“The ordinance is an attempt at implementing the city’s Housing Element, a document laying out how San Francisco plans to meet a state mandate to accommodate 82,000 new housing units by 2030. But a Monday hearing at the board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee highlighted the political difficulties in diminishing local control, along with the potential perils of failing to execute the mandate,” Gaus explains.

Some housing advocates like the San Francisco Tenants Union expressed concerns about the ordinance leading to a loss of rent-controlled units and affordable housing. Gaus notes that “The current ordinance includes demolition controls in certain sensitive areas defined as “priority equity geographies,” according to a Planning Department presentation.” Elsewhere, developers would not be allowed to remove more than two rent-controlled units.

In response to community feedback, “The Mayor’s Office also suggested amendments that include language around the city’s affordable housing needs and conditional use permits for large developments in priority equity zones.” Gaus adds that housing projects in San Francisco face the longest timeline for approvals in California, with projects waiting a median 450 days.