Time For a Big-Tent Coalition – Housing Done Right

By: Moe Jamil

Reasons for Optimism in SF Housing Battles

As the old saying goes, “all politics is local” and in San Francisco “all politics is land use.”  Mayor Lurie, our Supervisors and the Planning Department’s ability to bring diverse constituencies together is key to any successful rezoning this year.  There are reasons to be optimistic that it can and will happen that we’ll end up with a tuned-up rezoning which sets a blueprint for new housing, preserves thriving neighborhoods, and revitalizes our economy.  Neighborhood, merchant and community leaders throughout this City can be allies and partners rather than adversaries this year to make these goals a reality.  Let’s all roll up our sleeves and build a big-tent coalition for smart tuned-up rezoning.

The first draft of “Family Rezoning” paints with a broad brush and opens a large portion of the city to demolitions of existing housing under the guise of “density decontrol.”  We don’t need to demolish our neighborhoods to save them.  Although protections for rent controlled buildings are in the plan, a future board and Mayor could simply remove them when building numbers do not hit unrealistic benchmarks.

We can double down on protecting existing sound housing from demolition by removing all parcels with existing housing from density decontrol.  This will prevent displacement of tenants.   Don’t fret, density decontrol already exists in another milder form.   In addition to existing laws permitting 4 and 6plexes, our current rules property owners are already permitted to add ADUs in their basements, garages or even add backyard cottages – lets help them out with robust financial assistance.

Single family homes have no protection from demolition in the plan, as city planners are essentially greenlighting tearing down homes to build denser apartment buildings irrespective of neighborhood character or compatibility – now dirty words in the planning lexicon.  But neighborhood character and compatibility do matter to residents and the diversity of our built neighborhoods and more importantly the diversity of people living in them make San Francisco interesting and should not be cast aside needlessly.

Neighborhood, merchant, and community leaders will likely get behind a more targeted tuned-up plan that doesn’t paint with such a broad brush.  For example, on the Westside, modest increases to density and height limits should be targeted to neighborhood corridors along Noriega, Taraval, Irving, Clement and Balboa rather than broad swaths of neighborhoods with existing homes such as Lincoln Avenue or Fulton Street bordering Golden Gate Park.

In Hayes Valley, where buildings of 50 feet are permitted under the Market Octavia plan, new buildings blend in seamlessly.  Geary Boulevard can accommodate taller buildings, but small business displacement can be mitigated by restricting lot mergers and precisely targeting development to large sites, think Jack in the Box rather than my kids favorite – Joe’s Ice Cream.

Keeping new housing on the Westside to 50 or 65 feet where appropriate also is more cost effective as wood frame construction is cheaper than concrete and easier to build for a wider range of builders including mom and pap contractors who are aspiring small businesses themselves.  This can be a model for the Westside.

Together with preserving neighborhood character, let’s also be sensitive to urban form and our topography, permitting taller buildings on the top of hills while keeping predominant low-rise buildings at the base of hills preserves our city’s beautiful skyline.

Changes to heights that place taller buildings on Broadway Street in Pacific Heights or atop Nob Hill for example will have a much less jarring visual impact and will be more contextual than taller buildings on Chestnut Street or Fisherman’s Wharf at the base of hills.

The rezoning can also be a revitalization focused. There are parts of the city where rezoning can stimulate our economic revival.  The sites of the former Safeway and Northern Police Station in Western Addition could yield thousands of units and bring new vitality.  Portions of Polk Street, Van Ness Avenue, Market Street and SOMA have not rebounded after the pandemic, new residents from taller denser buildings could jump start these neighborhoods.

Coupled with creative infrastructure financing tools, integrating office, hotel and experiential retail uses into the large towers with expansive and grand lobbies for Van Ness Avenue could help stimulate the demand necessary for these towers to be built and occupied. The Division Street corridor along the central freeway is another area that could be an amazing new neighborhood with thoughtful long-term planning and taller denser housing and infrastructure funding.

The corollary to this is to do no harm to corridors that are thriving economically under existing zoning such as West Portal, North Beach, and the Haight.

It’s also smart politics to make sure that all stakeholders feel and are heard in reaching consensus even if accepting a deal comes begrudgingly. As the map sits right now, YIMBY is the only winner at the expense of all other key voting blocs.  Meanwhile concerns are mounting as property owners, tenants and small businesses better understand the proposal and we face a real demand question as the city continues to face a declining population of residents.

Construction has been at a standstill for years as construction costs and demand for has been lackluster and a question looms whether much of the housing planned will ever be financed and built.  Frustrations will only increase as property owners will be notified of what is happening under the recently passed Right to Know legislation.

This creates a perfect opportunity for a pause followed by refinement of the map to bring all major stakeholders’ holders together into the big-tent coalition for a consensus plan that everybody can get behind.  It also saves us from a prolonged and unnecessary fight when our energies would all be best spent revitalizing the great economic engine of our city for our existing residents, businesses, business travelers, and tourists.

So, let’s get to work and tune-up family zoning, together in community with consensus.  We can show the HCD we know how to get things done, the San Francisco way in our big tent.

Moe Jamil is a former candidate for the Board of Supervisors for District 3, his views are his own and not that of his employer or any organization.