The Housing Action Coalition is continuing to work with the Mayor’s office, other city leaders and allied advocacy groups as San Francisco works to implement its Housing Element. Last week, in a 10-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors passed two pieces of legislation that deferred and reduced inclusionary requirements and impact fees. The legislation came after the City’s Technical Advisory Committee met for months in an effort to determine an economically feasible inclusionary rate. While HAC pushed for 100% of all fees to be waived as means to help projects ‘pencil’, we understand the political reality. The reduction in fees, according to the feasibility analysis done by HAC member Century Urban, will not be enough to get entitled projects moving. Therefore, the City of SF must continue to explore creative ways to reduce the timeline and cost of construction for new housing.

Housing elements are no longer just a paper exercise. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has made it clear that in order to meet the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) cities need to do more than just plan to build, they also need create the zoning and financial feasibility conditions that will help the Bay Area reach its ambitious housing goals.

In California, students are one of the demographics most affected by the state’s housing shortage and affordability crisis. This is especially true for San Francisco-based students as they must grapple with living in one of the country’s most expensive and inaccessible housing markets.

The past couple of years have been rough for public transit in the Bay Area. With the pandemic decimating ridership, transit agencies across the region have seen a severe decrease in the revenue they generate through fares. BART for example, which is heavily fare-dependent, saw its ridership drop by 90% to 95% during the pandemic. As a result, many of these agencies are on the brink of a potentially disastrous fiscal cliff.

Kate Hartley joined the HAC Regulatory Committee to discuss the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority’s (BAHFA) projects, progress and future plans. Established in 2019, BAHFA is a regional authority governed by the Association of Bay Area Government’s (ABAG) executive board. Kate provided insights and status updates on BAHFA’s most well-known project: the Regional Housing Bond Ballot Measure, which will be on the November 2024 ballot.

Ari Baranian, CEO of Pirros, joined the committee to discuss his company’s efforts to design a Detail Management System for Architects and Engineers that makes managing projects easier. Through this centralizing software, Pirros has saved 2 weeks of individual employee time per year, helping to lower costs and improve work efficiency.

With the theme of Innovation in Housing, our 17th Annual Spring Symposium featured conversations with housing experts from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors exploring new solutions to our region and state’s longstanding housing shortage and affordability challenges.

On May 31st, Carli Paine, BART’s TOD Manager, presented on BART’s land use plans, including updates on a variety of specific projects, including those at the North Berkeley, Ashby, and El Cerrito Plaza stations.

On May 10th the Committee was joined by San Francisco Planning Commission President Rachael Tanner, who provided insights into housing element implementation, downtown revitalization efforts, and economic factors impacting housing production. San Francisco is undergoing its fair set of challenges, but President Tanner expressed optimism at the sense of urgency and progress the city is making.

On Tuesday, May 2, The Berkeley City Council passed a first-of-its-kind – called, Helping Achieve Responsible Development with Healthcare and Apprenticeship Training Standards or “HARD HATS,” creating new health insurance requirements for construction workers and new apprenticeship programs.

HAC’s Regulatory Committee was joined by Daniel Simons, HAC Board Member and Principal at David Baker Architects (DBA) where he presented on the firm’s recent book: 9 Ways to Make Housing for People. The book captures various principles and frameworks (9, to be exact) that guide DBA’s work in creating thriving communities through quality housing and architecture.

On March 26, HAC’s Regulatory Committee welcomed Preston Prince, the Executive Director of the Santa Clara Housing Authority and Muhammad Alameldin, Policy Associate at the UC Berkeley Terner Center.

With pro-housing momentum building at the state and local levels, 2023 has been a hectic year so far at HAC.

At the state level, we’re co-sponsoring five pieces of legislation that will remove significant barriers to housing production and help propel California toward its goal of building 2.5 million homes by 2031.

The San Francisco Planning Commission just helped to right a major wrong. On April 20th, the proposed housing project at 469 Stevenson Street was once again approved by the San Francisco Planning Commission. After it was infamously shot down in 2021 by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the project quickly became the poster child for San Francisco’s housing dysfunction.

Five years after the city of San Francisco acquired the site on the corner of Haight and Stanyan, the largest affordable housing complex in the history of the neighborhood is set to finally break ground in June. The project, located at the eastern entrance of Golden Gate Park, will create 160 permanently affordable apartments for low and moderate-income individuals and families.

Exciting news from Sacramento! Today three HAC-sponsored bills successfully passed out of the California State Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and are moving on to their next respective committees. 

At nearly 10pm on February 22, after two separate four-hour hearings, the San Francisco Board of Appeals finally decided to reject an appeal of 2550 Irving Street’s demolition permits. This 3-2 decision was essential in allowing the 100% affordable housing project to move forward.

On any given night in San Francisco, there are over 4,000 people living on the street, unsheltered. There aren’t enough homes or shelter beds for our City’s homeless population, so unhoused residents sleep on the streets—in tents, sleeping bags, or any place they can find with a sliver of warmth and security.

In the housing world, the word of the year for 2023 is accountability. For far too long, NIMBY cities have been able to stand idly by while the Bay Area’s need for new housing has grown more and more severe. Anti-housing elected officials, backed by a coalition of NIMBY single-family homeowners and others have abused the power of local control to block, restrict, and prevent the construction of much-needed multi-family housing.

To create pro-housing change we need bold pro-housing leaders who are committed to solving our state’s severe housing shortage, affordability, and displacement crisis.

To that end, here are the pro-housing candidates in critical local and state races HAC is proud to endorse for the November 8 election.