Sign the SF Family Zoning Plan into Law

This ordinance strengthens communities by adding new neighbors and resources through mid-rise and high-rise housing on major transit streets throughout San Francisco. It removes density restrictions in residential areas to allow for additional units, effectively ending single-family-only zoning in much of the city. Under the plan, parcels within a quarter mile of high-frequency transit corridors would be rezoned to allow buildings of up to eight stories, while parcels in other residential neighborhoods would be permitted up to four units by right. The ordinance includes affordability requirements mandating that projects with ten or more units set aside 20 percent for households earning below 80 percent of the area median income. Mayor Lurie has positioned the plan as essential to meeting the city’s state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation target of approximately 82,000 new units by 2031, a goal the city is currently on pace to miss by a significant margin. The San Francisco Planning Department estimates the rezoning could yield between 30,000 and 50,000 net new units over the next fifteen years, depending on market conditions and construction costs. Supporters including YIMBY Action, the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, and several labor unions argue that expanded supply is the most effective long-term tool for reducing housing costs in a city where the median one-bedroom rent exceeds $3,200 per month. Opponents, including some neighborhood associations in the Sunset and Richmond districts, have raised concerns about infrastructure capacity, arguing that schools, water systems, and transit are already strained and that increased density without concurrent investment will degrade quality of life. The ordinance provides streamlined permitting for projects that comply with the new zoning standards, reducing the typical approval timeline from 18 months to an estimated six months. Historic preservation protections remain in place for individually landmarked buildings and designated historic districts, which cover approximately 12 percent of the city’s residential parcels. The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the ordinance in early 2026, with implementation phased over three years to allow the Planning Department to update its review processes. If enacted, San Francisco would join Minneapolis, Portland, and Auckland as major cities that have substantially eliminated single-family-exclusive zoning.