San Francisco’s New Rezoning Map: A Bold Step Toward A More Abundant Future

San Francisco is on the brink of a watershed moment. After decades of watching our housing crisis deepen under restrictive zoning laws, the city has finally unveiled its long-awaited rezoning proposal — a crucial update that will help ease our housing shortage and make the city more affordable for both current residents and future generations.

Breaking the Single-Family Stranglehold

For years, housing growth in San Francisco has been hamstrung by outdated zoning laws. On the west side of the city, neighborhoods like the Sunset have seen little to no new housing simply because current rules prohibit anything other than single-family homes.

The new rezoning map will create new opportunities for more diverse and affordable housing types. The architecture of the city will change, but change for the better. More ADUs, fourplexes, and apartments will mean more housing that will alleviate San Francisco’s chronic housing shortage.

What’s more, it represents the city’s commitment to meeting state housing requirements to plan for 82,000 new homes by 2031. Failure to meet these requirements would mean losing local control and state funding, an outcome nobody wants.

A Plan with Measured Ambition

A highlight of the plan is its focus on measured growth. San Francisco will become denser, but not in a drastic way — twenty-story Skyscrapers won’t start popping up around the Marina. Rather, the zoning changes are based on what’s suitable for the area.

Here are some of the highlights of the plan.

• Four- to six-story buildings would become permissible in residential neighborhoods, creating opportunities for small apartment buildings and multi-family housing.

• Six- to eight-story buildings would be allowed along key corridors, maximizing housing along streets that already feature commercial activity.

• High-rise buildings (14–30 stories) would be concentrated in transit-rich core areas, placing density precisely where our infrastructure can support it.

The plan also gives homeowners and builders more flexibility in what they can build, like adding an in-law unit for aging parents, space for returning adult children, or a small rental unit to help cover the mortgage.

This isn't just tinkering around the edges—it's rethinking what's possible in a city that has, for too long, made building new homes excessively difficult.

Building Momentum

As pro-housing advocates, HAC has been calling for San Francisco to change its zoning laws for years. While it'd be too bold to call the plan a silver bullet that will solve all of SF's housing woes, we are optimistic about the plan's potential to unlock new housing.

But our work isn't done yet. Opposition already exists as anti-housing neighbors try to force city leaders to water down these reforms.

That's why we urge the Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors, and community members like you to embrace this momentum and help ensure this plan gets implemented. Your voice matters now more than ever.

After years of housing scarcity, San Francisco has a chance to choose abundance instead. Let's not waste it.