Mayor Daniel Lurie just released what he calls his “family zoning plan,” which could better be called a “rich family zoning plan,” since all it does is allow developers to build more dense housing for the wealthy and includes almost no affordable housing.
None of this is new, and we all expected it. Lurie has taken the Yimby position that the free market will eventually make housing affordable, although the evidence for that is shaky at best.
Here’s the interesting thing: The press release quotes three Yimby supes, Matt Dorsey, Bilal Mahmood, and Danny Sauter, the Housing Action Coalition, Yimby Action, and SPUR:
The Family Zoning plan is an ambitious and balanced approach that will help facilitate thriving, mixed-income communities citywide,” said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey. “By expanding opportunities for new rent-controlled housing and encouraging housing near transit, we’re reflecting our San Francisco values and building a bright future for generations to come.”
“We have to build over 80,000 units to meet our housing goals, but outdated height limits make it difficult to create the dense housing necessary for families, young people, and seniors to live in San Francisco,” said District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood. “This Family Zoning proposal will help us build housing where we need it most, especially in neighborhoods that would benefit from more density.”
“San Francisco’s Family Zoning plan is a concrete step to finally taking our city’s crushing housing crisis seriously,” said District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter. “As a new dad raising a young family in our city, I believe that we have a responsibility to build more homes to allow everyone to afford to live, thrive, and contribute to our special city.”
“We’re proud to support the mayor’s rezoning plan as a bold and necessary step toward a more accessible and inclusive San Francisco,” said Brianna Morales, Housing Action Coalition Community Organizer. “The proposal reflects the urgent need for San Francisco to embrace growth, and it lays out a clear vision for how the city can create more housing opportunities for families, workers, and the next generation of San Francisco residents. We appreciate the mayor’s team and the Planning Department for introducing a smart, rational plan, and we look forward to continuing to work with the city to turn this vision into reality.”
“YIMBY Action applauds Mayor Lurie for pursuing an ambitious plan to allow more homes of all types throughout San Francisco, especially in the parts that have traditionally not made it as easy to build new homes,” said Jane Natoli, Organizing Director of YIMBY Action. “We strongly believe in giving families and workers more housing options in amenity-rich neighborhoods across the city, and this plan is a great step in the right direction. We have a huge opportunity to make San Francisco a more family friendly and livable city because of this legislation.”
“Public transit thrives with more riders, neighborhood small business thrives with more neighbors, and local public schools thrive with more kids. Transforming the zoning in our Western and Northern neighborhoods is the first step to building apartments in all corners of the city to lower housing prices and open up our incredible neighborhoods to renters, seniors, and young people seeking a steady future here,” said Annie Fryman, San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) Director of Special Projects. “SPUR has long supported new apartments and density in all neighborhoods. We are thrilled to support San Francisco’s step toward the future our city and region deserves.”
Not one neighborhood group. Not one small business group. It’s as if the Mayor’s Office was unable to find anyone except the Yimby coalition to say this is a good idea.
Mayor London Breed used to be able to find at least some compromised Astroturf group to provide cover for things like this. Lurie isn’t even trying.
That means the upzoning legislation is not supposed to seek any type of consensus: It’s going to be forced on the neighborhoods, particularly on the West Side, where it’s very unpopular.
