San Francisco Group Hopes to 'Save' Forrest Hill from Proposed Low-Income Housing for Seniors

A planned five-story apartment building for low-income seniors to be built by a non-profit developer in the wealthy Forest Hill neighborhood faces adamant obstruction.

San Francisco regularly ranks among the most expensive places to live in the United States. The housing crunch there is so dire that studies show it's negatively impacting the employment and GDP of the entire state.

Unfortunately, identifying the problem of a housing crunch is easier than solving it. While city officials were initially thrilled to hear about the Forrest Park development, it now seems unlikely to happen. Local attorney, Joe Bravo, who is heading the effort against the project explained to the San Francisco Chronicle that the effort to stop the building, "Is not a question of being a NIMBY. It’s a question of saving the Hill."

J.K. Dineen reports that, "Some residents took pains to say it was the height and density of the building that they opposed, not the fact that it would house low-income seniors, 20 to 30 percent of whom would be formerly homeless." Others shared worries that they would be concerned about letting their children play outside if the building was allowed to go up. Because of the lack of support, Norman Yee, head of the Board of Supervisors said he would be unable to support the development in its current form.