Senate Bill (SB) 1227, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener on February 15, 2024, would help speed the recovery of downtown San Francisco by creating a new CEQA exemption for qualifying commercial, institutional, student housing, and mixed-use development projects in the Downtown Revitalization Zone, which includes the Financial District, Union Square, Eastern SOMA, Mid-Market, and Civic Center neighborhoods. SB 1227 would be another tool in the growing toolbox available to real estate developers to encourage middle-income housing and other projects in the San Francisco Downtown Revitalization Zone.
With the desire for office-to-residential conversions in San Francisco seemingly higher than ever, voters are being asked Tuesday whether the city should offer tax breaks for projects that turn commercial buildings into housing. San Francisco’s Proposition C, introduced by Mayor London Breed, aims to grease the wheels by waiving the transfer tax on any property converted from commercial to residential use when it is sold for the first time. An analysis published by the Controller’s Office cited research from Moody’s showing that 13% of office buildings in the city were viable candidates for conversion.
The Biden administration will take steps to bolster federal programs that produce affordable housing, boost the supply of manufactured homes, and promote fairer rental markets. Among these initiatives, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Treasury will indefinitely extend programs that provide an ongoing source of capital so state and local housing finance agencies can continue to offer Federal Housing Administration-insured multifamily loans.
On February 29, members of the Beverly Hills Planning Commission unanimously approved what they and city staff hope will be the final version of Beverly Hills’ Housing Element. The plan will now proceed to the City Council for formal adoption in a March 18 meeting. Obtaining state certification of the Housing Element—a document outlining how Beverly Hills will create capacity for 3,100 state-mandated new housing units by 2029—is essential in order for the city to retain control over local zoning. The California Department of Housing and Community Development has rejected four versions of the city’s Housing Element between January 2022 and December 2023.
Without a compliant Housing Element, the city is subject to a law known as the Builder’s Remedy. As discussed in our prior alert, the Builder’s Remedy applies when a local jurisdiction has not adopted a revised Housing Element in compliance with state law, in which case the local jurisdiction cannot deny a qualifying housing development project even if it is inconsistent with the general plan and zoning ordinance (subject to limited exceptions).
After 11 years of planning work, the Board of Port Commissioners on February 28 voted to adopt what’s known as the Port Master Plan Update and to certify the plan’s associated environmental impact report. The milestone action clears the way for consideration by the California Coastal Commission, which has the final say on whether the plan becomes the legal blueprint for the bay.
State Senator Josh Becker has introduced Senate Bill 1395 to speed up the time it takes to build temporary housing in California. If passed, SB 1395 will put into law that temporary, single-room housing is eligible for streamlined zoning that bypasses CEQA and other red tape approval processes. The bill will also extend the Shelter Crisis Act and the Low Barrier Navigation Center laws, which allow local governments to use emergency powers to provide services and housing to homeless communities.
Contra Costa County has halted enforcement of building codes requiring that new construction be all-electric, while San Mateo County halted enforcement of its similar code earlier this month. The indefinite pauses follow a January ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit invalidating a city of Berkeley ordinance that prohibited natural gas hookups in all new residential and commercial buildings.
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