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 ,
New Legislation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Urban Planning & Development
On September 5, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors finally passed on second reading two pieces of legislation, together referred to as the “Housing Fee Reform Plan.” The Plan, previously discussed on July 7, July 21, and...more
9/6/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Housing Market ,
Inclusionary Housing Ordinance ,
Low Income Housing ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Municipalities ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
San Francisco ,
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
The “Housing Fee Reform Plan” legislation, which we reported on previously, is heading back to the Board of Supervisors next week. On Monday, July 24, the Board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee will consider the two...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
San Francisco appears to be on track to meet the state’s deadline for adoption and certification of its Housing Element, with a final vote at the Board of Supervisors scheduled for January 31, the last possible day to remain...more
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
The San Francisco Planning Department is updating the City’s General Plan, and Department staff held a two-week series of online workshops on the proposed General Plan updates beginning Monday, March 15th. All development...more
4/8/2021
/ Building Standards ,
Community Development ,
General Plan ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Public Workshops ,
Real Estate Development ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Transportation Corridor ,
Urban Planning & Development
San Francisco wasted no time implementing AB 1505, which authorizes localities to adopt ordinances requiring developers to provide on-site inclusionary affordable housing units in rental projects, provided that there is an...more
3/19/2018
/ Affordable Housing ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Inclusionary Housing Ordinance ,
Local Ordinance ,
Low Income Housing ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Municipalities ,
Rent Control ,
Rental Property ,
State and Local Government
On September 29, 2017, Governor Brown signed into law a 15-bill housing package. The housing package did not include AB 915, which would have authorized the City and County of San Francisco to impose local inclusionary...more
10/19/2017
/ Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Density Bonus ,
Fees ,
Housing Market ,
Inclusionary Housing Ordinance ,
Low Income Housing ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Multi-Family Development ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Rent Control ,
Zoning Laws
As reported in our prior blog post, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D – San Francisco) introduced amendments to the State Density Bonus law (AB 915) that would specifically require all local jurisdictions to impose their local...more
Assembly member Phil Ting (D – San Francisco) introduced new amendments to the State Density Bonus law on March 15, 2017 that would specifically require local jurisdictions to impose their local inclusionary housing...more