After months of hearings, numerous proposed amendments, and substantial public comment for and against, the San Francisco Family Zoning Plan passed by a 7-4 vote at the Board of Supervisors, and was approved by Mayor Lurie on December 12. At a high level, the Family Zoning Plan is intended to provide zoning capacity for 36,000 new housing units, as part of San Francisco’s implementation of its 2023-2031 Housing Element. This increased zoning capacity is largely concentrated in San Francisco’s northern and western neighborhoods, along existing public transit corridors.
The key component of the Family Zoning Plan is the Housing Choice-SF Program, which allows developers to opt in to a local density bonus program by meeting the City’s affordable housing requirements. Under Housing Choice-SF, projects can qualify for the local program even if they provide affordable units off-site or through land dedication; projects with fewer than 25 units can also elect to subject all units to rent control rather than providing on-site affordable units. By contrast, the State Density Bonus Law and related approval pathways such as SB 35/423 require affordable units to be provided on-site to unlock bonus density and ministerial approvals.
Projects that opt in can use the new local program to:
- Obtain relief from applicable numeric density controls (for example, one unit per 600 square feet of lot area), and instead be governed by form-based density controls, such as height, bulk, setbacks, and lot coverage.
- Unlock building height that exceeds base zoning, in many locations by one to two stories, but in some locations by five or more stories.
- Modify or eliminate otherwise applicable development standards such as required open space, dwelling unit exposure, and rear yards, and obtain up to 15% reductions of many other quantitative development standards.
- Utilize an administrative review process with Planning Director-level approvals and limited appeal opportunities.
If a developer elects to use Housing Choice-SF, that developer must forgo use of State Density Bonus Law. The Planning Department’s September staff report to the Planning Commission acknowledges that in some circumstances, State Density Bonus Law could allow for projects that exceed heights achievable through Housing Choice-SF.
At any potential development site, a developer will need to evaluate, among other criteria, the following:
- Between Housing Choice-SF and State Density Bonus Law, which path would allow a denser or taller project?
- Even if Housing Choice-SF would result in less density or height, does its administrative review process, with limited appeals, make it a more desirable path? Or could a State Density Bonus approach, especially if combined with a ministerial review through SB 35/423, provide a comparably streamlined approach with greater density or height?
- Are there any Planning Code compliance issues that are better or more effectively solved through use of Housing Choice-SF, or would State Density Bonus Law waivers and concessions achieve a similar or better result?
- Does the affordable housing flexibility provided by Housing Choice-SF, discussed above, make it a more attractive option?
The Family Zoning Plan also expands protections for existing residential tenants and historic structures, and provides assistance for businesses displaced by new residential development.
