HANC sent this letter regarding upzoning to the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor:

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To All members of Board of Supervisors

Copy to Mayor

November 3, 2025

The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) has devoted much time and attention to the proposed rezoning of the central and western portions of San Francisco, the largest City initiated re-zoning in the last 50 years.  Two General Membership meetings in February and June  2024 were solely devoted to the issue and again two more General Membership meetings were again devoted to the issue in May and October, 2025.  In addition, an evening meeting with Principal Planner Lisa Chen and Planner Sara Richardson was hosted by HANC which included both the Haight Street Merchants and the Cole Valley Merchant organizations in June of this year to discuss in detail the proposals impacts on the wider Haight-Ashbury. Finally, nearly every monthly HANC Board of Directors meetings over the last two years have included a report on the issue.

Five critical failing  of  the proposal have been identified by HANC which require seven specific amendments amending the proposal before its passage. The five critical failures of the plan are:

1. The proposal fails to preserve existing housing, including housing for families and senior and will result in the displacement of thousands of current residents;

2. The proposal fails to preserve existing small neighborhood serving businesses, non-profit  service providers  and legacy retail businesses in many of the targeted retail shopping streets;

3. The proposal fails to affirmatively  provide for state mandated low and moderate income affordable new housing required by the RHNA;

4. The proposal fails to recognize it's true impact on public transit of the increase in residential density along transit corridors it targets and totally fails to link funding for needed  new transit services on the new development approvals it authorizes rendering the City's Transit First policy meaningless;

5. The proposal fails to address the speculative nature of its policies by its failure to require timely construction by developers once a planning permit is issued potentially adding to the current approved but un-built 70,000 units currently in the City's pipeline.

The proposals fundamental failure to meet the states mandated housing allocation is featured in the recently issued economic impact report done by the Office of Economic Analysis ( "Family Zoning Plan: Economic Impact Report, October 29, 2025").  The reports concludes that while the City is required to produce some 36,000 housing units by the state the proposal will, in fact, produce between 8,500 and 15,000 units over the next 20 years. The report claims that between 500 and 1,000 units would "be lost under the proposed zoning than under current zoning". It concludes, ominously, "without any way to meaningfully estimate the number of evictions or demolitions of rent-controlled units, or the financial impact on tenants, this report does not attempt to quantify these potential costs".

The Report quickly triggered a threat by YIMBY's to sue San Francisco because "the City’s proposed rezonings are inadequate" ( see "San Francisco's Housing Element Implementation", October 29, 2025, CAL Housing Defense Fund). The rapid fire threat fundamentally questions Mayor Lurie's key argument for the proposal that it will meet the state mandate and create a "local option".

It now seems clear that the current proposal must be fundamentally redrafted which would require that the Board of Supervisors adopt amendments not considered by the Planning Department, requiring the proposal, as amended, be re-submitted to the Planning Commission for new hearings.

The following amendments, some covered by amendments submitted by Supervisors Chen and Chin, others yet to be introduced, are submitted for your consideration.

1. Any proposal should ban the demolition of sound existing housing that would result in the displacement of an existing neighborhood resident.

2. Any proposal made for a commercial lot shall not displace a neighborhood serving business, non-profit health and human service provider, or legacy business.

3. The new development must provide commercial space able to be consistent with Section 719  of the Planning Code emphasizing convenience goods and services to local residents and maintain the existing residential-commercial; character of the Street.

4. All residential development shall be consistent with the 2024 Housing Element "Collective Equity Housing Priorities".

5. Do not give away form based density to the state density bonus pathway  on either Haight Street or Cole Street.

6.  Require all market rate developers  to pay increased fees for density impacts on street traffic and public transit;

7. Require city owned public lands/transit yards  be preserved for 100% affordable housing development.

Sincerely,

Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council

/s/ By:  Richard Ivanhoe, President