The mayor demonstrated her leadership on housing issues long before she entered office, but in the face of continued obstruction by a board of supervisors unwilling to work together and do their part to house the San Franciscans they’re obligated to under our shared values, the measure she announced this week amending the city charter to streamline the production of new housing backs her record up with real action. The Affordable Homes Now measure, slated for this November’s ballot, would provide real momentum for projects to break ground instead of becoming mired in San Francisco’s broken approval process, and SFHAC and our coalition partners are working to win votes and build support for this critical effort.
“Simply put, if a new housing project falls within existing zoning and meets any of the following criteria, it is subject to by-right approval, instead of the lengthy bureaucratic approval process that currently exists.
- The project includes 15% more affordable homes on-site than otherwise required by the City.
- The project is 100% affordable housing.
That’s it. If the project meets any of these criteria, we should build it and we should build it now.” -San Francisco Mayor London Breed
The delay, obstruction, and associated costs that slow and kill the production of new homes for families and communities that desperately need them is outdated, unjust, and unacceptable in the face of the city, region, and the state’s brutal housing affordability and availability crisis. The mayor’s proposed charter amendment will cut through much of the red tape blocking homes set aside as affordable, designated for teachers, and units for anyone as long as additional affordable units accompany them.
