District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong has introduced an ordinance to change a decades-old building rule that housing advocates say has kept thousands of existing housing units off the legal rental market. The change would make those existing homes legal without requiring expensive renovations, and could make new construction more affordable, since lower ceilings require less material to build.
It wasn’t too long ago that former Supervisor Joel Engardio and Sunset Dunes supporters were loudly proclaiming that local zoning laws would protect the Sunset from from high rise development along Sunset Dunes. That protection was gone in a wave of the hand thanks to the collusion between the City and the CCC staff.
West Portal Avenue might be getting 64 units of new housing if the San Francisco Planning Department approves a project which will demolish the old CinéArts at the Empire movie theatre and replace it with a 10-story building.
A preview of a proposal to demolish two houses at 641 and 645 48th Avenue was presented to the San Francisco Planning Commission in February, revealing plans for constructing a new 20-unit residential development there.
With a 2-1 vote, the SF Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee dropped an amendment to the Family Housing Plan aimed at protecting rent-controlled housing in buildings of one or two units from upzoning.
On Nov. 17, Mayor Daniel Lurie celebrated the grand opening of 383 Sixth Ave., the first 100% affordable housing development in the Inner Richmond neighborhood, which will provide 98 homes for low-income and formerly homeless seniors.
As many as 20,700 units of rent-controlled housing could be demolished if San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s upzoning plan is passed in its current form, although District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan introduced an amendment to completely exclude them.
Much of the Sunset is already compact, with row houses shoulder-to-shoulder that would look like urban blocks in most towns. You can’t simply stack more stories on soft sand and limited parking and call it progress.
The plan would raise height limits from the current four stories in many places to as much as eight stories. It would encourage the demolition of single-family housing and even small apartment buildings in favor of larger apartment buildings.
When I gave the commencement speech for political science graduates at San Francisco State University last year, I told the class:
“You are charged with analyzing and navigating some of the world’s most intractable issues. But if you want to practice your skills for the State Department or the United Nations, go to any neighborhood association meeting in San Francisco and ask the following questions: ‘Should the Great Highway be a highway for cars or a park for people? Where should we build housing? How high can the buildings be?’”
Blueprint plans to build 83 units of housing in the old Alexandria Theatre at Geary Boulevard and 18th Avenue were formally submitted to the San Francisco Planning Department, although a construction timeline was not.
Cities grow, evolve, and change. While we should do our best to document, honor and preserve timeless physical elements, we should use that tool sparingly and carefully.
Through Sept. 16, residents of supervisorial District 4 will continue voting on Proposition A – the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio. Nearly 11,000 signatures were submitted on the official recall petition, a clear sign of deep dissatisfaction with Engardio.
Providing government-subsidized, drug-free supportive housing for those who want it is a common-sense step we can take right now to improve outcomes, save lives and better serve people who are trying to make a change.
Apartments available at 730 Stanyan St. Applications due by July 3, 2025.
