Calls to Halt Sacramento’s Housing Overreach

(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) –More than 200 residents attended a town hall meeting to hear how “upzoning” could negatively impact their neighborhoods and how to stop the construction of massive condo complexes throughout San Francisco.

The meeting was hosted by neighborhood organizations and San Francisco Board of Supervisor President Aaron Peskin. 

“We are challenging unnecessary height and density increases that fuel speculation and worsen affordability. We’re going to push back on Sacramento’s overreach,” said Lori Brooke, Neighborhoods United San Francisco co-founder. “We want to push for affordable growth without overbuilding luxury housing.”

Civic organizations are hosting town halls throughout the city including meetings in District 1, D4 Town Hall and District 8. The community vibe was festive at the meeting at the Marina Theater on Chesnut Street. A woman started singing Joannie Mitchell: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” 

Since 1969, California has mandated that local governments meet state-determined housing needs. For 2023-2031, San Francisco is required by Sacramento to build 82,069 housing units. This target doesn’t factor in that the city’s population decreased 65,000 post-pandemic. About 58,100 units are already planned, approved by the city, still financing-feasible and “shovel ready,” said Peskin. Still, it will be difficult to build the remaining housing units to meet the target on time.

The controversy centers around the new zoning proposed by the SF Planning Commission to meet the new mandate that would lift the four-story height limits in many of the commercial zones and residential areas in the western part of the city.  

Several audience members gasped when shown Planning Commission renderings of the 25-30 story buildings which may be permitted under the new zoning laws if a developer chooses to take advantage of the state density bonus, 

Additionally, the new zoning laws are written in a such way that, “The vast majority of the units that will be generated by upzoning will not be affordable to the lower and middle-income San Franciscans,” said Bridget Maley, from the California Preservation Foundation. 

Katherine Petrin of SF Heritage said the problem is that San Francisco faces “an affordability shortage, not a housing unit shortage, and the state mandate is not funded which is against the CA State Constitution.”

“Don’t give up hope!” Peskin encouraged attendees and reminded them that San Francisco civic activists successfully stopped the controversial  1960s Freeway Revolt.