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Two big Projects Recently Rejected by the Board of Supervisors

Two big projects in District 6 were rejected by the Supervisors. How bad must a project be to be rejected? Read the two Tim Redmond articles that ran in 48hills. Most local media covered this with differing opinions.

In dramatic move, supes block huge luxury housing project in Soma

Debate shows city planners’ utter failure to understand the role of market-rate housing in gentrification and displacement.

In a stunning victory for progressives, the Board of Supes voted 8-3 Tuesday to block a massive market-rate development that would have threatened one of the last affordable areas in Soma.

The vote to overturn the 469 Stevenson EIR doesn’t kill the project, but it’s a major setback and could help advocates who want to use the site for affordable housing…

The vote also showed a new political shift on the board, with Sup. Matt Haney, who represents Soma, joining his more conservative colleagues, Ahsha Safai and Catherine Stefani, in voting to support the project…

The politics of this are fascinating: Haney, who has long been part of the progressive majority on the board, is now running for state Assembly with the strong support of the building trades (and it appears, at least some of the Yimbys—he is featured, along with the mayor, at a VIP reception for a Yimby fundraiser)…

At one point, under questioning, an executive from the developer, Build Inc., acknowledged that there is currently no financing for the project and the company doesn’t even own the land. Founding Partner Lou Vasquez said that he couldn’t predict how much the new units would rent for because “we don’t own the site or have financing in place to build it.

The supes didn’t even know how to respond. “I think that silence is from shock,” Sup. Shamann Walton noted...(more)

In a direct assault on planning policy, supes reject Tenderloin tech dorms

Board makes clear, for perhaps the first time ever, that developer profits should not be a deciding factor in city housing decisions.

The Board of Supes rejected a plan for tech dorms in the Tenderloin yesterday, setting up a challenge for private housing developers who increasingly want to build what’s known as “group housing.”

That term is badly defined in the Planning Code, and potentially creates a massive loophole for market-rate short-term rentals to replace family housing units.

And the supes, by unanimously overruling the Planning Commission—a very rare move—made it clear that they don’t want to see projects get approved, and then substantially changed afterward.…(more)

It appears that someone filed an application to develop someone else’s property, and went through the process of procuring an entitlement, with the help of SF Planning Department staff without involving the property owner in the process. It took an appeal before the Board of Supervisors to discover that the developer does not own the property they are entitled to develop. They have on funding or construction cost analysis and have no idea what the rents may be. How many times has this happened without an appeal being filed and is this a good use of SF Planning staff time and taxpayer money?

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Cities and Counties have until December 31st to adopt resolutions to control SB 9 impacts

By Bob Silvestri :marinpost – excerpt

Senate Bill 9 (Atkins) (the “Bill” or “SB 9”), the California Home Act, was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 19, 2021 and becomes effective on January 1, 2022. The following information is presented courtesy of United Neighbors, a Los Angeles, grassroots, community organization that is actively involved in state housing laws…

Since there is not sufficient time for a publicly-considered implementation ordinance to be developed, publicly reviewed, and adopted by January 1, 2022, cities and counties can develop a memorandum of understanding to obligate all City Departments and agencies to abide by interim rules and requirements to implement SB 9, locally, until such time as the permanent ordinance can be adopted…

Local governments can also establish minimum thresholds by which certain SB 9 projects cannot be ministerially reviewed and instead be subject to greater scrutiny in terms of a public hearing process and heightened environmental review…

The following are some of their suggested Draft Resolution conditions for the City of Los Angeles, most of which are applicable to all other cities in the state…(copy attached)

There are a number of suggestions on how to fight the state bills that override local control over development and zoning. The article covers some of them that activists may want to consider running by their city representatives. In addition to the MOU and the attached resolution, there is a state ballot intuitive that will soon be gathering signatures explained here:
stopsacramento.org. See more information here: https://www.livablecalifornia.org/

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Candlestick Point Safe Parking Lot For Homeless Living In Vehicles Approved By State Parks Officials

cbslocal – excerpt (includes video)

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) — A new temporary vehicle triage center in San Francisco’s Candlestick Point State Recreation Area for people living out of their vehicle to safely park will move forward after it was approved by the California Department of Parks on Thursday.

The center will be located in the park’s Boat Launch parking lot, providing 150 parking spaces for as many as 177 people, as well as security, staffing, lighting, electricity, bathrooms and showers, potable water, and other necessities.

The residents will also have access to social services with opportunities for permanent housing, health care, and employment, city officials said.

“As we continue to move forward with our historic Homelessness Recovery Plan and work to get people off the streets, we must find solutions for our unhoused population living in their RVs or in their cars,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “This Vehicle Triage Center will provide individuals with a safe place to sleep, regular access to stabilizing services, and an opportunity to move forward on their path out of homelessness.”…(more)

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Ethics Commission Revisits City’s Pay-to-Play Culture

by Dr. Derek Kerr : westsideobserver – excerpt

Awakened by federal prosecutions of City officials and contractors for corruption, the Ethics Commission (Ethics) has once-again been digging into governmental pay-to-play culture. Ethics cannot easily lead this endeavor because it’s dependent upon the same officials it supposedly oversees. For example, Ethics’ budget is subject to approval by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors. Its 5 Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, District Attorney, City Attorney and Assessor. It’s all in the City Family.

As described in the June 2019 Westside Observer, the Ethics Commission had previously fractured when it came to independently fighting pay-to-play corruption. Commissioners Yvonne Lee and Daina Chiu torpedoed an “Anti-Corruption and Accountability Ordinance” that Ethics staff and then-Commissioners Peter Keane, Quentin Kopp and Paul Renne wanted to bring to the voters. Commissioner Lee had dismissed the “perception of corruption,” calling it “anecdotal.” Dismayed, Commissioners Keane and Kopp resigned. City Family interests seemed secure…

Another Crack at Behested Payments

In November 2020, Ethics released a report on behested payments whereby City officials solicit donations to favored charities and non-profits. When such donations are sought from entities doing business with the City it becomes a “shakedown” – of money for official support. Worse, those funds may go to non-profit accounts that are controlled by a City official. That was the case with Mohammed Nuru who asked DPW contractors like Recology to donate to a Parks Alliance account from which $980,000 was accessed over 5 years for holiday parties and the like…

Ethics staff concluded that current gift disclosure mechanisms are “ineffective”. They proposed remedies to deter pay-to-play transactions. Their thoughtful analyses and recommendations must weather the appeals of gift recipients and the sausage-making of their Commissioners and City Hall. If the end-product is baloney, concerned citizens can still get results by reporting governmental corruption to the FBI or the Media.”…(more)

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Eligible Parcels in San Francisco for SB9 applications

On the SF Planning Commission agenda for Thursday, October 21, 1 PM
Map shows Eligible Parcels in San Francisco for SB9 Applications

We understand that some of the elements of SB9 are not mandatory under certain circumstances. Cities may opt out of not accept all of the conditions. This is something we should discus with our neighborhood groups. Effective actions may be have to be taken before January 1, 2022 so time is of the essence.

https://commissions.sfplanning.org/cpcpackets/20211021pre.pdf

Page 21 or 72 starts the SB9 correspondence. See the map on Page 24 or the possible SB9 lot split parcels. This seems to eliminate much of D-5, 8, and 10 for reason. Not sure why but it is concentrated on D-4, 7 and 11.




There are 75,258 parcels in RH-1 zoning in San Francisco. The Department estimates that approximately  50,600 parcels may be eligible for SB 9 after removing properties assumed to be ineligible for SB 9: parcels. 

SB 9 applies to single family zoning districts. In San Francisco, these districts are RH-1, RH-1D, and RH-1S.  As shown on the map above,  this zoning is most prevalent in Sunset/Parkside, Twin Peaks, West of Twin  Peaks, Outer Mission, Ocean View, Crocker Amazon, Excelsior, Portola, Bernal Heights, Glen Park, and Sea  Cliff. There are additional pockets of RH-1 in Bayview Hunters Point, Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Noe Valley, Castro, and Inner Sunset. A larger version of this map is included at the end of this memo.
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What are the odds?

sfexaminer headlines – expert

What are the odds that SF Examiner headlines would deal with shortage and tech troubles?

SF restaurants face product shortages and skyrocketing costs

How San Francisco tech companies are addressing the global supply chain crisis

San Francisco’s ‘Champagne problems’ — Wine industry suffers supply chain woes

Could it be that there really is a supply chain problem that is outside the realm of our government to fix immediately?

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Plan Bay Area 2050 is a recipe for displacement of vulnerable communities

By John Elberling : 48hills – excerpt

The document needs major changes if it has any hope of promoting social equity

Editor’s note: The Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will meet Thursday/21 to consider approving Plan Bay Area 2050, which seeks to address housing needs in the region.

Despite its lofty goals, Plan Bay Area 2050 as now constituted will in fact result in the disappearance of the Bay Area’s lower-income/working class/minority BIPOC central-city communities and the market-driven displacement of hundreds of thousands of their long-time residents. Many will be forced out of the Bay Area entirely.

Housing is a human right. Affordable housing for all the people of the Bay Area is their human right. That was the commitment of the National Housing Act of 1937 that still remains unfulfilled today, 84 years later. That must be the commitment of PBA 2050. This is social housing, housing that all low/moderate/middle income households can afford. But it can only be accomplished with the full commitment of the local, state, and federal funding that it will take.

Without that, PBA2050 is nothing but an empty shell full of empty promises.…(more)

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Rent Payments to SF Public Housing Agency Plunged in Last Two Years, Spurring Eviction Fears

By , and : sfpublicpress – excerpt

Rent collections by San Francisco’s public housing agency fell precipitously in late 2019 and have continued to decline to less than half of what is owed, according to a San Francisco Public Press analysis — but the agency can’t explain why.

Only 47% of rent paid directly to the Housing Authority was collected this July, the latest month for which data is available. The 974 households whose units are managed by the agency — the rest pay rent to private management companies ­— pay roughly 30% of their monthly income, or $489 on average. These residents owe at least $4.5 million in back rent to the city.

Officials at the Housing Authority said they could not provide an explanation for why the shortfalls in rent collections began increasing in September 2019. Nor could they say why San Francisco’s Housing Authority has a far higher rate of delinquencies than parallel agencies in other big cities, some of which are collecting as much as 98% of the rents due.

“Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the authority robustly embraced local efforts to keep people housed and worked with households to enter them into payment programs if they were struggling to keep up with their overall expenses,” Rose Dennis, a Housing Authority spokeswoman, said in an email. “This may have impacted pre-COVID rent collection.”…(more)

 

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The High Residential Densities of California (and “Wild Wild” Texas)

By Wendell Cox : newgeography – excerpt

US major metropolitan areas show considerable differences in their median house sizes and median lot sizes among major US metropolitan areas. Reviewing the median square footage for owner occupied housing units (single-detached and manufactured/mobile homes) and median lot sizes for single unit houses varies significantly between metropolitan areas although, by contrast, median house sizes are remarkably similar.

The Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey (AHS), provides data on housing by metropolitan areas, with the latest posting on the American Fact Finder website covering metropolitan areas in 2011 and 2013 (Note 1). These surveys use “AHS areas,” which roughly conform to metropolitan areas or metropolitan divisions (in the few cases where metropolitan areas are divided for analytical purposes).

Lot Sizes

The largest existing lot sizes are about three times that of the national median lot size for one-unit lot of 0.26 acres. The largest median lot sizes for existing 1-unit houses are principally in the South and Northeast. Birmingham and Nashville share the top positions, with a median lot size of 0.75 acres. Hartford’s median lot size is 0.66 acres. Richmond, Atlanta, and Charlotte each have half-acre median lot sizes. This is to be expected, since each of these metropolitan areas has an urban density below 2,000 per square mile (Figure 1)…(more)

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Matt Haney plans to run for state Assembly. He’ll push housing policies he didn’t always agre e with

By Heather Knight : sfchronicle – excerpt

Three years ago, Supervisor Matt Haney trounced Sonja Trauss, co-founder of the YIMBY movement to build more housing everywhere, to win his seat representing District Six at San Francisco’s City Hall…

In a debate, Haney questioned Trauss’ insistence that solving the city’s dire housing crisis meant forcing every neighborhood to take on more housing units. He said he’d focus on his district, which includes the Tenderloin and South of Market, not harangue others.

“I am not going to pick fights on the other side of the city,” he said. “I’m actually going to fight for all of you, the residents of District Six.”

But now Haney has changed his housing tune, and for good reason. He’s making an open secret official. He’s running for state Assembly to replace David Chiu, widely expected to be named imminently by Mayor London Breed as city attorney. Chiu would take over from Dennis Herrera following his appointment to helm the Public Utilities Commission…(more)

Big money will follow that decision no doubt as Haney goes to work fighting David Campos for the position. Now it is up to David Campos to speak on the subject to see where he will go on the bills. Will he support them or the ballot initiative to overthrow the state overreach? https://www.communitiesforchoice.org/