#upzoning

#upzoning

If we don't have the opportunity to [say] what our concerns are, the next person won't know,

we will not leave rent-controlled units and small businesses behind.

We are one week away from the Recall Joel Engardio election, which is motivated mostly by animus over the Great Highway closure, but also to some degree over the fact that Engardio supports upzoning the west side so that it can be more than just mostly single-family homes in the future. Yet despite that headwind, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie remains determined to upzone the west side so it's more than just mostly single-family homes.

Yvonne Perez, a homeowner in the Richmond since 2017, said at the meeting that she understands her neighbors who are concerned about views being obstructed, or fear change. She used to be one of them. "I wasn't sure what to make of the upzoning plan. I didn't want the Richmond to become downtown with all the high-rises," she said. "But once I understood what it actually meant, more families, more younger generations, it changed my perspective."

SB 79, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, mandates that six- to seven-story residential buildings be built within a half-mile radius of any qualifying transit stops, which include some bus stops. This is beyond what has already been mandated along linear corridors and with the housing elements plan. A single-family home neighborhood currently has about eight houses per acre. These will be near developments that cannot be stopped if this bill passes.

The hearing was dominated by the belief in the free market to provide solutions, contrasted starkly with those who understand the limits of supply-side strategies.