San Francisco's State of the City address provided an opportunity to check in on the progress of the affordable housing agenda of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.
John Coté provides background on a housing agenda laid out by Mayor Lee the day prior to the annual State of the City address. Before laying out Mayor Lee's agenda for the upcoming year, Coté also surveyed the accomplishments of the last year, which included adding 4,000 units of housing. That number fell short of the 5,000-unit annual goal necessary to meet the mayor's long-term goals. In addition, 25 percent of those units were below market rate, "which also is short of Lee’s goal of having more than half of the new housing being affordable to low- or middle-income residents," writes Coté.
Among the proposals laid out by Mayor Lee last week and shared by Coté:
- A housing bond for the November 2015 ballot.
- An Ellis Act Amendment.
- Partnering with the city’s Retirement Board, "which oversees oversees a $20 billion investment portfolio, to add $100 million over 10 years to an existing city fund that loans first-time home buyers up to $200,000 for a down payment."
FULL STORY: Mayor Lee has a plan to get housing built for S.F.’s middle class
San Francisco Mayor Calls for Quicker Approvals for New Housing
San Francisco Mayor, Ed Lee, released his directive saying the city should be approving the building or renovating of 5,000 units a year.
Taller, Denser, but More Affordable Housing Coming to San Francisco
Following a similar ordinance signed into law by Mayor Ed Lee last July that dealt with developments that are 100 percent affordable, the new housing density ordinance apples to market-rate developments that have 30 percent affordability.
San Francisco Moving Forward on its First Teacher Housing Project
The mayor of San Francisco announced plans to convert an old administrative building, owned by the school district, into housing for teachers. It’s a long-awaited idea that has finally come to fruition.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)