San Francisco mayor proposes denser housing to tackle affordability crisis

SAN FRANCISCO AP San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is trying to get more homes built for people like Liam Murphy a fifth-generation city kid who identified himself repeatedly outbid for tiny two-bedroom houses that wound up selling for million Murphy now lives about an hour s drive away from his job as a San Francisco firefighter He says it s too late for his family to move back but he hopes others can stay in a city where the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom is That would just make for a better city overall stated Murphy and the reason is because city kids just grow up being exposed to more They re exposed to all the cultures of San Francisco which makes a more well-rounded person Tiny colorful San Francisco just seven miles squared embraces its image as a city that welcomes all But its inability to build more housing has made it one of the world s toughest places to find a home risking the diversity it prides itself on Epithets are hurled at the mayor Lurie hopes to change that with a plan to allow for denser and taller buildings throughout much of the city including the westside Sunset neighborhood of single-family homes and the tourist friendly Haight-Ashbury which is studded with classic Victorian and Edwardian homes The issue has roiled the city and threats of recall loom over San Francisco supervisors who go along with Lurie At a latest housing rally the mayor who won a rare reprieve from President Donald Trump s threats to send in federal forces struggled to be heard over angry chants of shame and liar Protesters demanded the city invest in below-market rate housing and accused him of being a gentrifier and a Republican I truly believe that this has San Franciscans best interests at heart Are several people going to be fearful Absolutely I get it Change is scary declared Lurie who is a centrist Democrat But the status quo is not working There s an affordability problem right now Democrats vs Democrats The city s estimated residents are passionate over both land use and equity Housing projects have died as pressure to create more affordable units made prospective developments unprofitable Residents also want their stunning views But San Francisco is under pressure from the state to adopt a new zoning plan allowing for more homes by or else the state will decide what gets built where and the mayor likely has the votes to pass his Family Zoning Plan Supporters say it s a matter of supply and demand and that more homes will bring down the overall cost of housing Critics say such trickle-down economics will not work in a city like San Francisco which is in such global demand that certain foreign investors buy properties sight-unseen They say developers will only build luxury housing that s too costly for the bulk workers while displacing tenants and destroying the character of entire neighborhoods There s a herd of elephants in the room that no one will address says Eric Jaye a Democratic political consultant who opposes the plan A city for people who didn t love cities Much of the housing push has come from Democrats including a former city mayor Gov Gavin Newsom who signed into law a proposal by San Francisco state Sen Scott Wiener to build more homes near transit The city has made enormous strides in latest years with whole districts of tall condo buildings cropping up around downtown says Rafael Mandelman president of the Board of Supervisors But he acknowledges that people come to San Francisco for its more intimate neighborhoods and access to green space San Francisco historically was the city for people who didn t love cities Mandelman revealed Katherine Roberts initially welcomed construction of an affordable housing complex near the three-story Edwardian she labored to buy in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood two decades ago But at units and eight stories high the massive building has shattered her peace of mind dominating her view I m looking out and it s like I m living in East Germany How can you build something this inappropriate in a historic neighborhood like the Haight-Ashbury Roberts declared What about all the people who already live here What are we supposed to do Proposal calls for denser homes For the largest part part the new zoning plan allows for more housing to be packed into the space of a single-family home say a duplex with a studio without exceeding the city s height limit of roughly four stories for such properties At least of new housing must be below-market rate Buildings on neighborhood commercial corridors could double to eight stories Busier thoroughfares could see high-rises of stories and more and in a scant spots on Van Ness Avenue heights could hit feet meters rivaling several downtown skyscrapers Passage of Lurie s proposal won t necessarily lead to more homes in a city with high labor and construction costs and notoriously complex and cumbersome approval processes as the state noted in a scathing review And so city dwellers make do with overcrowded and sometimes awkward living situations Laura Foote executive director of yes in my backyard YIMBY Action wound up living with the man who is now her husband and the woman he was divorcing in a one-bedroom apartment for about six months until his ex could find another rental We didn t kill each other Foote disclosed but it went on longer than it would have in a well-functioning housing region Mayor s plan is likely to pass Supervisors are still negotiating amendments to the zoning plan which could be voted out of committee on Monday for consideration by the full board Several supervisors want to exempt historic properties or all buildings at present used for housing The mayor agreed to exempt buildings with at least three rent-controlled units The compromise was a major relief for Phyllis Nabhan who lives in the Richmond neighborhood between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park She fears becoming homeless if a developer scoops up the property she s called home for years starting with a rent of just a month But Nabhan still objects to the proposal She says it would ruin her neighborhood s cozy and wonderful feel and blames the state for forcing the city to change I think that this mayor is trying she commented It s a horrible job I wouldn t want to be mayor Source