West Side Thrown Under Bus

San Francisco residents have been thrown under a bus by one of its own politicians – State Sen. Scott Wiener.

Wiener is the architect of numerous state laws that would remove the powers of local planning commissions from cities across California that don’t bow to his demands to build more housing, regardless of the consequences. He is the single most destructive politician in generations – and one who was elected three times to the State Senate, largely with support from westside residents.

Wiener has rewarded westside residents for their loyalty by:

• Supporting the closure of John F. Kennedy (JFK) Drive in Golden Gate Park, which caused massive traffic gridlock by removing two egress points on the north and south sides of the park.

• Supporting Proposition K to force the closure of the Upper Great Highway, a measure that subjects westside residents to excessive commutes, which often wind through residential streets, and contribute to excessive greenhouse gasses that worsen global warming.

• Supporting District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, who betrayed his constituents and was recalled.

• Becoming the primary architect for the usurping of a California city’s right to determine planning within its boundaries unless it bows to the demands of the state – resulting in the massive upzoning of the Richmond, Sunset and Marina districts.

Westside Upzoning

The SF Planning Department narrowly passed a plan in September to upzone large swaths of the north and west sides of the City to allow for up to 800,000 additional housing units, about twice the number of housing units in the entire City. The zoning plan would allow for 65-85-foot towers on all major thoroughfares in the Richmond and Sunset districts and up to 160-foot-tall towers at some intersections. The plan lacks protections for tenants in rent-controlled units and small businesses and allows for the demolition of sound housing, including rent-controlled units. It also lacks any plan to build affordable housing for those who need it.

As of press time, city supervisors were attempting to mitigate via amendments to some of the destructive results of Wiener’s legislation, but that is like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie told a large crowd assembled at the Sunset Recreation Center on Oct. 6 that the City must pass an updated zoning map by Jan. 1, 2026, or state zoning regulations take over, which would allow for even more housing than what is permitted by San Francisco’s Planning Code. He also said the City stands to lose some $100 million in transportation and other funds from the state if the new zoning maps are not approved.

The mayor seemed uniformed on the new zoning plan, which he embraced. He said the zoning maps would be modified and changed as the process goes along, but that is unlikely due to SB-330, passed in 2019. The legislation prevents local governments from downzoning unless they “upzone an equivalent amount elsewhere within their boundaries.”

The mayor also said that about 75% of the west side would not be affected by the new zoning maps, but SB-9, previously passed by the legislature, allows single-family lots to be split into four units and raises the height limit on corner residential lots to 65 feet, effectively resulting in the upzoning of almost the entire northern and western sides of the City.

Richmond District Supervisor Connie Chan has concerns about the radical upzoning maps.

In a letter penned to the SF Planning Commission on Sept. 9, Chan pointed out many of the current upzoning plan’s deficiencies.

“The mayor’s current proposal to upzone two-thirds of San Francisco rejects much of the Planning Commission’s own work on the Housing Element,” Chan wrote. “It creates a blanket upzoning plan, threatening our tenants, our aging homeowners, our small businesses and the preservation of our history.”

Water Boy for Developers

Wiener is the water boy for Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) acolytes and other pro-development forces that are looking to profit from San Francisco real estate. That is obvious from Wiener’s legislation, which includes potentially hijacking the power of California cities to control what’s being built on their own turf and for trying to remove the California Coastal Commission from weighing in on development near the San Francisco coastline.

A notice sent out by the People of the Parkside, Sunset (POPS), generated by Chat-GPT, helps explain Wiener’s legislative history.

“Wiener is the legislative axis of the pro-growth coalition. He writes the laws and gives political cover for upzoning; that’s why real estate and pro-housing groups back him.

“Developers are the economic beneficiaries – and they bankroll a lot of the political activity. Money follows policy: when state law opens density near transit, developers gain capacity and ‘return on investment.’”

According to the non-profit organization Open Secrets, Wiener has raised more than $8 million for his three campaigns for state senator, with about half of the money coming from YIMBY supporters, real estate interests and contractors who stand to profit from his legislation. Some of his donations came from the California Association of Realtors ($503,178) and the California Building Industry Association ($91,008) and from billionaires including Ron Conway ($28,800), Laureen Powell Jobs ($17,200) and Chris Larsen ($11,000).

Wiener’s Destructive Legacy

Wiener estimated the state was three to four million homes short and supported a complex mathematical solution, which resulted in San Francisco having to build 82,000 new homes, even though we have 50,000 fewer residents today than before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

We are also a mature city with limited space and few empty lots to build on. Applying a random mathematical model that applies to every city in the state, based on population, does a disservice to the residents of San Francisco.

One bill sponsored by Wiener includes SB-35, which shifted local housing controls to the state.

• SB-35 declares the process of building affordable housing is a state concern. It says: “The Legislature finds and declares that ensuring access to affordable housing is a matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair. Therefore, the changes made by this act are applicable to a charter city, a charter county, and a charter city and county.”

The legislation also streamlined permit approvals and subjected San Francisco to an annual performance review due to its historically long timelines for issuing permits. It also exempts many projects from having to attain a Conditional Use Permit from a city’s planning department and exempts local governments from imposing parking requirements on projects located a half-mile from public transit.

Additional Wiener legislation includes:

• SB-828 raised the threshold for cities, including San Francisco, to provide more housing. In San Francisco, 82,000 additional units of housing were deemed necessary.

• SB-79, passed this year, establishes “state zoning standards” and extends height limits for projects one-quarter to one-half mile from “transit-oriented housing developments”

The legislation says: “By increasing the duties of local officials, and by expanding the crime of perjury by requiring the certification of certain information related to labor standards, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.”

• SB-677, with California YIMBY as a sponsor, would remove a provision requiring a (Coastal Act of 1976) project to obtain a “coastal development permit” for split lots and does not require public hearings for “coastal development permit applications.”

This bill was not passed in committee and is currently in limbo, referred to as a two-year bill.

“I have an issue with the Coastal Commission,” Wiener said on Oct. 6. “The Coastal Commission shouldn’t be a part of planning.”

• SB-423 weakens coastal protections, saying: “A public agency with coastal development permitting authority shall approve a coastal development permit if it determines that the development is consistent with all objective standards of the local government’s certified local coastal program or, for areas that are not subject to a fully certified local coastal program, the certified land use plan of that area.”

Wiener’s Luck Running Out

Wiener has been fortunate to win three elections to statewide office. In 2016, he defeated Democrat Jane Kim by 8,000 votes out of 410,000 ballots cast, mostly by positioning himself as a moderate candidate. He raised $2,764,534 for the race.

In the 2020 election, he beat Democrat Jackie Fielder by 63,000 votes out of 445,700 ballots cast. He raised $3,034,035.

In the 2024 election, he defeated Republican Yvette Corkrean handily by 233,000 votes out of 417,863 ballots cast, in large part because there was no serious Democratic challenger. He raised $2,349,583.

Wiener’s three victories raised $8,148,152 and wouldn’t have been possible without westside voter support.

On Oct. 25 Wiener was an honored guest at an event at Bimbo’s titled “The War on Cars,” which was sponsored by YIMBY Action. That explains a lot about Wiener and the YIMBY movement.

To recall Wiener, who has three years left on his current term, the signatures of 12% of the electorate voting in the previous election would be required. That means about 50,000 signatures would be needed to put Wiener on the recall ballot.

In October, Wiener declared his candidacy to challenge former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

The last thing San Franciscans need is a destructive and divisive force like Wiener going to Congress.

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