A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
Mayor Lurie launches initiative to speed up S.F.’s slow permitting process (SF Chronicle): The Mayor announced a new effort to...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco Why Mission Bay is recovering faster than anywhere else in San Francisco (SF Standard):
The redeveloped neighborhood is booming ahead...more
2/10/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Infrastructure ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
Can downtown be saved? Mayoral candidates’ big ideas to stop the bleeding (SF Standard): The candidates agree that something must be...more
During the 2024 California Legislative Session, which closed on August 31, the State Legislature again passed many bills seeking to ease the state’s housing crisis. This post focuses on key housing-related bills that are, at...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco - S.F.’s Stonestown to become west side’s largest residential development in 50 years (SF Chronicle): The plan to convert the Stonestown...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
Ultra Wealthy Are Putting Money Behind Bets on San Francisco’s Comeback (Bloomberg): Big investments in City businesses and real...more
6/26/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Remote Working ,
San Francisco ,
Tax Reform
On April 12, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion that may significantly affect how development impact fees are assessed in California. In Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, the Court unanimously held that...more
6/12/2024
/ Building Permits ,
California ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Construction Project ,
Dolan v City of Tigard ,
George Sheetz v County of El Dorado ,
Impact Fees ,
Land Developers ,
Nollan v California Coastal Commission ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
SCOTUS ,
Takings Clause ,
Traffic Impact Assessments ,
Urban Planning & Development
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently amended the Planning Code’s controls to further regulate Fleet Charging and Parcel Delivery Service uses, primarily affecting Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) zoning...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
Small and Mighty: How small businesses can reinvent downtown San Francisco (SPUR Policy Brief): SPUR’s research, drawn from a...more
5/7/2024
/ Bay Area ,
California ,
California Coastal Commission ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Infrastructure ,
Public Projects ,
Real Estate Development ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
San Francisco’s Montgomery Street Could Signal a Downtown Revival (NY Times): Why a seven-block stretch of Montgomery Street, from the...more
Voters in San Francisco and California will again confront a formidable ballot during the election on March 5, 2024, with an array of qualified City measures and one state proposition to consider....more
2/28/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Ballot Measures ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Mental Illness ,
Real Estate Development ,
Realty Transfer Taxes ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Urban Planning & Development
San Francisco -
Can Free Rent Jump-Start a Downtown San Francisco Revival? Pop-Up Retailers Say Maybe (SF Standard): Nearly halfway into the three-month program, called Vacant to Vibrant, stakeholders say it has breathed...more
12/13/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Building Permits ,
California ,
City of Berkeley ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Density Bonus ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Real Estate Development ,
Retailers ,
San Francisco ,
Student Housing ,
Urban Planning & Development
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
San Francisco Office Market Shows Signs of Life (Wall Street Journal): Sales slowly materialize as some sellers accept lower prices,...more
11/8/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
City of Berkeley ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
County Planning Commissions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Housing Market ,
Real Estate Development ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Transportation Corridor ,
Urban Planning & Development
The 2023 California Legislative Session, which closed on September 14, was dominated yet again by efforts to address the state’s continued housing crisis. For the last several years, we have written about many bills enacted...more
9/29/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Housing Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Urban Planning & Development
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
These three new blocks of housing are among S.F.’s best. They’re for the formerly homeless (S.F. Chronicle): Exploring three recently...more
9/19/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Construction Project ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low Income Housing ,
Real Estate Development ,
Recovery Plans ,
San Francisco ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Vacant Properties
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco San Francisco isn’t doomed. These 6 places show why (S.F. Chronicle):
The City is not without its current challenges but, for most of...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
National Insight on Downtown San Francisco Recovery (Urban Land Institute): San Francisco can create a more commercially vibrant and...more
In furtherance of Mayor London Breed’s “Housing For All” Executive Order issued in February and San Francisco’s daunting directive to produce 82,000 new housing units over the next 8 years, at the June 27, 2023, Board of...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
The Luxury Shopping Oasis Emerging in San Francisco’s Struggling Downtown (Wall Street Journal): Although local foot traffic may be down,...more
6/5/2023
/ Architecture ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
Commercial Leases ,
Construction Project ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Economic Development ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Office Space ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
San Francisco ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Vacant Properties ,
Water Supplies
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
Housing Wonks on a Mission to Shorten S.F.’s Permitting Process (Fixing Our City Podcast): Assemblymember Matt Haney and YIMBY...more
5/8/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
County Planning Commissions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Eviction ,
Housing Market ,
Local Ordinance ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rental Property ,
Urban Planning & Development
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco -
S.F. housing production slows to crawl as state goals loom (San Francisco Chronicle): The Planning Department’s annual housing...more
4/10/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Apartments ,
California ,
Commercial Real Estate Contracts ,
Construction Project ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Disparate Impact ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Local Ordinance ,
Low Income Housing ,
Office Space ,
Parking Lots ,
Real Estate Development ,
Retail Market ,
San Francisco ,
Urban Planning & Development
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team...more
3/7/2023
/ Building Permits ,
California ,
CMBS ,
Construction Permits ,
Construction Project ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Homeless Issues ,
Municipalities ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
The 2021–2022 California Legislative Session closed on August 31 and was dominated by further efforts to address the state’s continued housing crisis. The flurry of major legislation passed by the Legislature and now on the...more
9/14/2022
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
Community Development ,
Density Bonus ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Urban Planning & Development
In early June, we reported on the key land use-related ballot propositions San Francisco voters faced during the June 7, 2022 special election. Now that the dust has settled after the election, voters came very close to...more
7/29/2022
/ Ballot Measures ,
Building Inspectors ,
California ,
Infrastructure ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Real Estate Development ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Surface Transportation ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
San Francisco voters will again confront a formidable ballot during the special election on June 7, 2022, with an array of ballot propositions to consider. Key land use-related measures are as follows...more