Dear Editor,

I am a long-time member of the Sierra Club, but I am not following the Sierra Club endorsements for the November 2026 election. The Sierra Club has endorsed Scott Wiener for Congress and I can not support Wiener’s efforts to weaken and override the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

State Sen. Scott Wiener, representing San Francisco, has worked overtime to weaken and limit the CEQA, a state law that requires state and local government agencies to analyze the potential environmental effects of proposed projects and to inform decision-makers and the public about those effects. CEQA also mandates the identification of ways to avoid or lessen environmental damage and the consideration of alternatives to projects. CEQA provides environmental safeguards for the protection of our communities.

Alongside weakening CEQA, Wiener is responsible for legislation mandating the upzoning of neighborhoods statewide to create opportunities for builders. Wiener’s Senate Bill 79, the Abundant & Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, will allow high-rise apartment buildings if the building has some proximity to a bus stop. 

“SB 79 allows for upzoning land for multi-family homes up to 75 feet within a half mile of specified major train stations and bus rapid transit stops.”

If the Special Density Bonus applies to the project, we could have eight-to-12-story high-rises in our neighborhoods with no CEQA review and no local input. You wouldn’t think this would be allowed but, in an abandonment of their responsibility to protect the coast, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) voted 10 to 1 to approve high rise, market rate, residential buildings on the coast in the Richmond and Sunset.

On a separate note, I was dismayed there was no mention at the CCC meeting of the effect of the proposed developments on local residents. In the comments by the ten commissioners, who supported the City’s request, there was not a word said about local residents. It seems as if the residents of the affected neighborhoods don’t exist. For example, the proposed closure of the Safeway at 850 La Playa St. would have a major impact on the Richmond District. The grocery store and pharmacy serve many seniors and residents who don’t have a car. Do these residents deserve no consideration?

The irony is, the charm of San Francisco, in addition to is its location and natural beauty. lies the unique character of its neighborhoods. That is why, in the past, we have always considered the character of a neighborhood when permitting development. Neighborhoods are the soul of San Francisco: North Beach, the Marina, Chinatown, the Mission, Japantown, Balboa Village, Noe Valley and yes, the Ocean Beach communities of the Outer Richmond and the Outer Sunset make San Francisco what it is. Sticking an eight-story building in a neighborhood of four-story buildings is a sure way to ruin the look and character of that neighborhood.

Numerous studies have shown that building market-rate housing will not necessarily bring down the cost of housing. This from a recent UCLA conference on housing: “Storper, again using data, pointed out that even in the most optimistic scenarios, removing all constraints to development might bring prices down to the level that an average working family can afford—in 50 years or more.  Developers, he said, have no incentive to flood the market with lots of new housing; if prices go down, the developers lose money. He also said that increasing density through up-zoning encourages some property owners to hold back on building, because prices might go up even more in the future. The massive influx of wealth into urban areas and the investments by private capital into the housing market have done far more to raise prices than zoning limits.”

Real estate developers and speculators will make money building luxury units (with ocean views in the case of the Sunset and Richmond districts); the public will not be served.  Developers have been reluctant to build because of the cost of money and materials, not because of CEQA and zoning constraints.  To try and entice builders, San Francisco has recently lowered the affordable housing requirement.  As a result, few affordable units are likely to be built. 

From,

David Romano

San Francisco, CA 94121