Mayor Lurie in the Hot Seat

There is a lot at stake for the west side during October – The SF Board of Supervisors will review a plan to rezone almost every lot on the west side and SF Mayor Daniel Lurie will choose a replacement for recalled District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio.

The mayor will have to make some hard choices for his pick for supervisor in District 4 – westside residents are fed up with city departments and special interest groups that don’t respect their values and opinions.

Local residents clearly want a better zoning plan than the one the SF Planning Department recently dished up, and they want someone who will fight to reopen the Upper Great Highway to vehicle traffic on weekdays.

Zoning Maps Get Cold Reception

The SF Planning Commission approved a massive “upzoning” of the west side on Sept. 11.

Dubbed the Family Zoning Plan, the half dozen or so zoning maps comprising the plan will tell builders what is allowed at various sites.

San Francisco currently has about 420,000 housing units, with another 60,000-70,000 in the pipeline.

According to community leaders who have done a deep dive into the “purposefully complicated” zoning proposal, a full build-out of the west- and north-sides of the City would yield about 800,000 additional housing units.

Despite being called a “plan,” there are no blueprints to fulfill any of the goals stated in the Planning Department’s massive upzoning, such as providing for affordable housing or guaranteeing the City can provide the infrastructure to support massive new developments.

As of press time, westside zoning maps were to be submitted to the SF Board of Supervisors for consideration in October. After that, the maps go to the mayor’s office, where Mayor Lurie has expressed support for the proposal.

Skyscrapers on the Horizon

The new zoning heights listed in the Family Zoning Plan’s “local program” map would:

• make the length of Lincoln Way a 65-foot-tall corridor (six stories). The first floors of all buildings would be zoned for commercial uses.

• make the length of Fulton Street and Geary Boulevard 85-foot-tall corridors. California Street east of Park Presidio Boulevard would also be zoned for 85 feet.

• designate Clement and Balboa streets for 65-foot-tall buildings.

• designate parts of Judah Street with 85-foot height limits and parts of Irving Street up to 65 feet.

• make 19th Avenue OK for 65-foot-tall buildings but at some locations – including the intersections at Taraval, Noriega, Judah and Irving streets – 160-foot-tall buildings would be allowed.

• allow a 160-foot height limit at the intersection of Geary and Arguello boulevards.

• allow Sloat Boulevard to welcome 65-foot-tall buildings, except near the SF Zoo at Ocean Beach, where the limit climbs to 85 feet.

Aside from extreme height limits, critics from a wide slice of the political spectrum say the new zoning maps:

• fail to protect displaced businesses or provide significant resources for their transition to new commercial spaces.

• fail to protect renters living in rent-controlled housing units.

• fail to consider the stress increased development will have on the west side’s infrastructure, including water, sewer and electricity.

• fail to protect the west side’s stock of “affordable housing” by allowing the demolition of sound structures if replacement structures provide additional units.

“It’s a demolition plan,” a prominent opponent of the plan commented off the record.

Currently, up to four units can be constructed on a single-family lot in the City.

The new zoning maps give almost all residential lots in the Marina, Richmond, Sunset and Parkside districts a 40-foot-height limit. It is hoped contractors will be motivated to acquire multiple lots for projects to take advantage of a substantial increase in the number of units that could be built, especially by going higher with various city and state density bonuses.

Moderates and Progressives Unite

The new zoning maps are a terrible lack-of-planning that should be sent back to the drawing board.

According to census reports, San Francisco’s population is down about 50,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic and it might take decades to regain the lost population.

In a column published online at the RichmondSunsetNews.com website, diverse organizations – Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants Association, Jordan Park Association, Lincoln Manor Association, Mid Sunset Neighborhood Association, Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR), Save Ocean Beach – Friends of Sutro Park, Save Our Neighborhoods SF and Sunset-Parkside Education and Action Committee – stated problems with the zoning maps.

“We urge a careful reconsideration of the Family Zoning Plan,” wrote the officers of the organizations.

One good thing the Planning Department’s approval of the new zoning maps has done is something rarely seen in San Francisco – united moderates and progressives in their opposition. The Chinese community, an emergent political force, is likely to oppose the zoning plan being foisted upon our neighborhoods by arrogant city bureaucrats.

The mayor would be wise to heed the west side’s discontent. He was elected with heavy support from the Richmond and Sunset districts. If he does not appoint as D4 supervisor someone whom the neighborhood supports, he could be a one-term mayor, like Art Agnos, Frank Jordan and London Breed. Three of the last five mayors who ran for reelection lost.

Mayor’s Choice Will Speak Volumes

The residents of the Sunset in District 4 sent Supervisor Engardio packing by about a two-to-one margin in September.

Mayor Lurie’s temporary replacement will have to run for the seat again in the June 2026 primary election, and for a second time in the November general election.

Several good District 4 candidates have emerged for the mayor to consider.

Albert Chow is the small business owner of Great Wall Hardware, the business on Taraval Street that was torched by an arsonist. He is president of the People of Parkside, Sunset (POPS) neighborhood and merchant organization that organizes monthly meetings with city stakeholders and free movies at McCoppin Park during the summer.

Josephine Zhao is the president of the Chinese American Democratic Club (CADC). She worked tirelessly on the recall campaign and is attempting to mitigate negative repercussions from upzoning the west side.

Selena Chu is a parent and neighborhood activist involved with local issues as an officer with the CADC. She has the passion required to represent a fired-up constituency. Chu has offered to be a caretaker of the seat until the first District 4 election in June 2026.

One thing the mayor should not do is support a Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) candidate for District 4 supervisor. The YIMBYs have earned westside scorn for supporting the closure of the Upper Great Highway, giving massive amounts of money to defend Engardio, and for supporting the City’s new zoning maps.

Concerning the fate of the Upper Great Highway, SF District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan might pursue another citywide vote if she can get four votes at the Board of Supervisors. The plan would open the roadway to vehicle traffic Monday through Friday and close it for recreation on weekends.

The people of the west side want a fair chance to make their case for keeping the Upper Great Highway open. They do not approve of the way Prop. K was snuck onto the November 2024 ballot at the last possible minute and without public disclosure.

And they do not want to see 16-story towers spiking the landscape of the Richmond and Sunset districts.

Paul Kozakiewicz is the former publisher, and is a current editor, of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers.