Governor Jerry Brown’s recent proposal to allow by-right housing could play a major role in addressing California’s chronic housing shortage. Creating more certainty for building housing in cities, whether market-rate or subsidized, is the best way to create more economic opportunities for California’s residents. However, some of our Supervisors disagree and are trying to quash Gov. Brown’s proposal.
What Happened?
Last Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that supports exempting San Francisco from Gov. Brown’s by-right housing legislation. While it passed with a narrow 6-5 vote, Mayor Lee can still veto it because it lacks a veto-proof majority of 8 votes. He has until Friday, July 22, to do this.
Setting a Bad Precedent
Although the Supervisor’s resolution is non-binding, it could have drastic implications for not only San Francisco, but other Bay Area cities, and set an unfortunate precedent. We can only create more housing supply if we address the problem regionally, which is what Gov. Brown’s proposal encourages. Every city and neighborhood needs to build its fair share of housing, and that includes San Francisco. We need new approaches and cannot afford to stick with the outdated policies that caused the problem.
A “Just Say No” Approach
The Supervisor’s rejectionist approach is profoundly harmful to our regional goals. Rather than just saying no to Gov. Brown’s legislation, the Supervisors should adopt a collaborative approach and work on possible amendments that could improve it. Their resolution does not get us any closer toward finding solutions to San Francisco’s housing affordability and displacement crises.
What You Can Do
If you support Gov. Brown’s by-right housing legislation, Mayor Ed Lee needs to hear from you! Send him an email before Friday telling him you support by-right housing in San Francisco and ask him to veto the Supervisors’ resolution!
We’ve provided an email template for you below. But please feel free to edit the message to your liking.
Thank you to all who sent an email. The Mayor has vetoed the resolution! Read his letter here and stay tuned for a blog update.
