As expected, on June 28, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) determined that San Francisco has not made adequate progress toward its State-mandated housing production goal. The City’s Housing...more
Voters in San Francisco and California will again confront a formidable ballot during the election on March 5, 2024, with an array of qualified City measures and one state proposition to consider....more
2/28/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Ballot Measures ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Mental Illness ,
Real Estate Development ,
Realty Transfer Taxes ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Urban Planning & Development
Throughout 2023, the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) loomed large in San Francisco land use policy and politics. In January 2023, the City adopted and HCD certified a new Housing Element setting...more
2/21/2024
/ Approval Requirements ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
Community Development ,
Community Development Entities ,
Construction Project ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Permits ,
Real Estate Development ,
San Francisco
The 2023 California Legislative Session, which closed on September 14, was dominated yet again by efforts to address the state’s continued housing crisis. For the last several years, we have written about many bills enacted...more
9/29/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Housing Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
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Pending Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
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Urban Planning & Development
On July 25, the Board of Supervisors passed on first reading the “Housing Fee Reform Plan” legislation. The Board is expected to hold a second reading and finally pass the legislation in September after returning from summer...more
8/1/2023
/ Board of Supervisors ,
California ,
Construction Project ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Fees ,
Housing Market ,
Inclusionary Housing Ordinance ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
San Francisco ,
Urban Planning & Development
At the June 13, 2023 Board of Supervisors hearing, the “Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse and Downtown Economic Revitalization” legislation was introduced. The legislation would amend various Planning Code sections to...more
In response to Mayor London Breed’s recent Executive Directive, titled “Housing For All,” on May 4, 2023, the San Francisco Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a package of Planning...more
5/26/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Building Codes ,
Building Permits ,
Construction Project ,
County Planning Commissions ,
Housing Market ,
Neighborhood Revitalization ,
Real Estate Development ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
On April 28, 2023, the Planning Commission received an informational presentation from Planning Department staff regarding its work to implement the City’s recently adopted Housing Element Update. (See earlier posts regarding...more
The land use entitlement process in California is notoriously complicated, lengthy, and fraught with uncertainty. Less attention is paid to the process of receiving building permits, post-entitlement. Generally, this process...more
5/17/2023
/ Building Codes ,
Building Permits ,
California ,
Construction Permits ,
Construction Project ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Municipalities ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
On January 31, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously and finally approved an updated Housing Element, on the schedule we referenced in our prior post. The City had obtained a compliance letter from the California...more
2/1/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Board of Supervisors ,
California ,
Construction Project ,
Housing Market ,
Infrastructure ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Real Estate Development ,
San Francisco ,
Urban Planning & Development
The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is finalizing its Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan (RHNA Plan) for the sixth housing element cycle (2023-2031), which allocates a total of over 440,000 housing units across...more
10/15/2021
/ Affordable Housing ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development