Cover image for Abundant Housing in San Francisco

Abundant Housing in San Francisco

EntitiesTriples
NameNumber levelTimelineRelated policies
Support the Bay Area Housing Financing Authority’s expected efforts to secure voter approval for a regional measure to fund permanently affordable housing.
1.1.6
Revise local process, procedures, and other relevant requirements to implement priority recommendations of HCD’s finalized Policy and Practice Review.
8.8.2
Engage with target communities to determine needs and advocate for expanded tenant and building-based rental assistance programs at the federal and state and local levels to meet the needs of extremely and very low-income households and households with fixed incomes, such as seniors and people with disabilities, as also referenced in Actions 2.1.2, 3.2.1, 1.5.4.
1.5.5
Continue to strengthen the interagency coordination (e.g. Roundtable Review) for permit processing of ADUs and implement an integrated online permitting system and permitting governance structure to support permit streamlining and government transparency.
7.4.2
Improve consultation with local Native Ohlone representatives, including the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone representatives, and American Indian residents in policy development and project review regarding tribal and cultural resource identification, treatment, and management while compensating them for their knowledge and efforts. Improvements should include commissioning the development of community-led, culturally relevant guidelines for identifying and protecting tribal and cultural resources and identifying funding sources for cultural resource identification, treatment and management.
4.5.1
Grow a range of business and career-building opportunities in Priority Equity Geographies through resources to support affordable Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) space, protections and incentives for PDR in the Planning Code, enforcement of PDR zoning, and industrial (or commercial) design guidelines.
4.3.6
Improve programs intended to transfer people experiencing violent crime and domestic violence to safe housing.
3.1.5
As informed by Action 2.1.4 and in coordination with community liaisons referenced under Action 4.1.2, support and expand community-led navigation services and systems to provide tenants’ rights education and support and expand other related programs such as the existing culturally competent Code Enforcement Outreach Program that is offered within the Department of Building Inspection.
2.1.3
Issue comprehensive plan check comments concurrently with design review comments after submittal of a complete application within the timeframes required by the Permit Streamlining Act and/or Housing Accountability Act for housing applications; complete legislative and/or procedural changes to enable the CEQA and code review process to begin earlier in the application process to expedite permit processing.
8.5.7
Remove terminology of “neighborhood character” and “neighborhood compatibility” in the Urban Design Element. Replace such concepts with policies that avoid severe changes to building scale and architectural expressions that dehumanize the experience of the built environment, while supporting the need for physical evolution of neighborhoods in accommodating new housing. Explore implications with Proposition M. 17
8.3.11
Cultural Heritage and Expression
4.5
Rezoning Program
7.1.
Advocate for State legislation to change the voter approval threshold for General Obligation Bonds from two-thirds to at most 55 percent.
1.1.8
Expand nonprofit project management capacity, especially focused on areas of the city that have not seen much affordable housing development and where there are few or no community-based affordable housing developers.
8.6.16
By March 2023, convene City leadership, staff, policymakers, affordable housing advocates, and industry experts to collaborate on an Affordable Housing Implementation and Funding Strategy that provides specific recommendations and responsible parties to achieve and sustain the substantial public funding from local, state, and federal sources, that would join with public-private partnerships, needed to achieve the RHNA targets of over 46,000 units affordable at low- and moderate-incomes. Assign appropriate City staff to include a budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and complete this effort by January 31, 2024.
1.1.1
Identify and implement strategies by Spring 2023 to increase and accelerate placement in Permanent Supportive Housing through the Coordinated Entry System for racial and social groups who are overrepresented in the unhoused population, such as extremely and very-low income American Indian, Black, and Latino(a,e) people, transgender people, or people with prior involvement in the criminal justice system.
3.1.1
Provide neighborhood and infrastructure planning to mitigate flood risks during extreme weather events or due to climate crisis impacts, prioritizing resources for Priority Equity Geographies that overlap with Environmental Justice Communities.
9.2.2
Incentivize development projects to exceed the required inclusionary housing percentages to maximize the total number of Below Market Rate units via density bonus programs or streamlined regulatory paths as defined in Policy 25.
1.3.7
Create an affordable ADU program that provides financial support for professional services and construction of units that serve low-income households.
7.4.3
Reduce building code or jurisdictional conflicts to enable cost-efficient construction types and materials such as cross laminated timber 14, cassette 15, or modular 16 construction, especially where local jobs are supported
8.1.1
Affordable Housing Resources and Equitable Access
1
Explore expanding jobs-housing linkage fees to large employer institutional developments (medical and educational) who are currently not subject to jobs-housing linkage fees, in coordination with Action 1.1.12.
1.1.14
Continue to require multi-bedroom unit mixes.
6.1.4
Increase operating subsidy funding for services and rent in City-funded affordable housing projects so that the share of housing units for formerly unhoused people can increase to 30% or greater of all project units.
3.4.4
Given health and safety requirements in the Building Code and rear yard requirements in the Planning Code, eliminate the use of “light” and “air” terminology in case report findings to support discretionary requests.
8.3.10
Expand capacity-building, job training, start-up, and business development resources for Black business owners in development and contracting construction trades in support of building housing.
4.3.5
Stabilizing Tenants and Rental Housing
2
Provide resources for tenant improvements for businesses owned by American Indian, Black, and other people of color in permanently affordable housing buildings.
4.2.4
Remove Conditional Use Authorizations where required to achieve greater height for a housing project or replace height and bulk districts that require Conditional Use Authorizations to exceed the base height with one that allows the current maximum height by January 31, 2025.
8.4.10
Whenever Planning Code amendments or revisions are proposed, advocate for ensure and promote simpler or an overall reduction of rules that affect housing approvals to reduce the specific or institutional knowledge needed by City staff, applicants, and members of the public to increase accessibility.
8.4.19
2 Identify and fund liaisons within key City agencies such as MOHCD and Planning to support the housing needs and priorities of American Indian, Black, and other people of color, and other disadvantaged communities; such liaisons should provide regular check-ins with the community at centralized community spaces and reporting on housing programs and Housing Element implementation progress.
4.1.2
Resilient and Healthy Neighborhoods and New Housing
9.2.
Allocate resources and create an implementation plan for any applicable anti-displacement measures parallel with the adoption of zoning changes within Priority Equity Geographies and areas vulnerable to displacement.
4.2.8
Implement recently voter-approved vacancy tax for residential units that stay empty for over 6 months on owners of properties with at least three residential units. Explore additional legislation to tax other unit types and vacancies, such as units used as secondary or vacation homes.
2.4.1
Revise Urban Design Guidelines to provide guidance on including signage, lighting, public art, historical interpretation and educational opportunities in housing development projects in a manner that reflects neighborhood history and culture, prioritizing the acknowledgement and representation of American Indian history and culture, in coordination with State requirements.
4.5.9
Provide housing navigation services, case management when applicable, and rental assistance as available to people exiting homelessness during the housing search stage. Provide ongoing services to ensure tenant retention.
3.1.4
Create low-interest construction loan programs for eligible lower-income homeowners to expand their existing homes with additional units or demolish and replace their homes with more units up to the allowable maximum density.
8.2.1.
Eliminate the use of “neighborhood character” and/or “neighborhood compatibility” terminology in case report findings towards approvals.
8.3.9
Continue to provide mobile services for residents in scattered-site supportive housing, for example the Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool program.
3.4.9
Collaborate with key organizations to reform Proposition 13 (1978) for commercial property to provide funding support for local jurisdictions to meet their permanently affordable housing targets.
1.1.10
Advocate for State legislation to expand non-competitive, permanently affordable housing funding sources that would be distributed to jurisdictions by formula, like the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA).
1.1.9
Expand the timeline during which transitional housing programs 2 are offered for people coming out of jails, prisons, immigration detention centers, and substance use treatment.
3.3.3
Assess the effectiveness of recently issued administrative bulletins on code and standards interpretations intended to establish clear expectations and reduce review and inspection time from the Mayor’s Office of Disability for 100% affordable housing projects. Revise these bulletins regularly to address any ongoing challenges with accessibility reviews.
8.6.9
Increase staffing at responsible agencies for analysts and community development specialists to implement expanded affordable housing programs in relation to increased funding and targets and to incorporate community strategies into the implementation of the Housing Element.
1.1.15
Fund the First Responders Down Payment Assistance Loan Program and the SFUSD Educators Down Payment Assistance Loan Program. Explore potential expansion of down payment assistance programs to transit, utilities, and public works workers.
1.6.3
Modify the definition of “dwelling unit” to comply with Health and Safety Code 17021.5. Evaluate and amend the definition of “family” to ensure that it provides zoning code occupancy standards specific to unrelated adults and complies with fair housing law. Permit group housing broadly throughout the city, including all zones allowing single-family uses, increase group housing density permitted in these districts, and remove Conditional Use Authorizations or other entitlement barriers to group housing.
7.2.6
Implement right to return legislation for residents of public housing including opportunities to those previously displaced.
5.4.5
Study the removal of the Central Freeway stub between Interstate 80 and Octavia Boulevard as a means of making new parcels available for housing uses, especially for affordable housing.
1.2.12
Prioritize Department staffing and resources to review Discretionary Review applications that are filed within Priority Equity Geographies in a timely manner and reallocate the Planning Department’s staff resources from other Discretionary Review applications to support low-income homeowners with technical assistance as identified under Action 8.2.2, using the Department’s Racial and Social Equity Assessment tool.
8.4.18
Expand housing retention requirements to prevent evictions and support tenants of non-profit affordable housing. Allocate additional funding needed to support these functions and staff in non-profit organizations.
2.1.7