The tides are turning in San Francisco's housing landscape, as recent efforts to dismantle the bureaucratic barriers that have long impeded housing production are beginning to bear fruit. In a report released by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), San Francisco has been recognized for enacting significant reforms to streamline housing production for all income levels.
Following a groundbreaking review by HCD, San Francisco was charged with implementing 18 required actions to align with state law and speed up housing development. The city is currently on track, having completed several reforms ahead of schedule. Senator Scott Wiener took to social media to laud the progress, highlighting that local leaders, with state assistance, have propelled San Francisco further in the past year than in the preceding five decades. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Melgar have been pivotal in shepherding this legislative push through local government channels.
Big SF Housing news: today, @California_HCD gave SF a gold star progress report on the City’s work under @LondonBreed to remove red tape blocking new🏠. Local leaders (w/ state help) have made more progress to tackle our housing crisis in the past year than SF did in the last 50. pic.twitter.com/ijgmuAqfF1
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) August 2, 2024
Key reforms include changes to the constraints around building permit appeals and the streamlining of the Conditional Use Authorization process, which in the past posed significant hurdles for code-compliant residential projects. San Francisco has not only been proactive in reforming its policies. Still, he has also restructured internal procedures to improve the transparency and objectivity of the housing development review process, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
While the city has earned accolades for its swift action, there is yet work to be done, with six remaining action items outlined in the HCD's report, including the removal of subjective standards in design guidelines and a further reduction in procedural constraints on affordable housing developments - scheduled for completion by Fall 2026. In carrying out these actions, San Francisco stands to create a more equitable and functional housing system.
