San Francisco Mayor Lurie Introduces New Density Bonus

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s latest proposal to transform construction in the city is a local version of the state’s density bonus law.

On Tuesday, the mayor unveiled a San Francisco-specific alternative to the state law that allows developers to build bigger than what zoning would normally allow in exchange for building a certain amount of affordable homes, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

Under the new Housing Choice San Francisco program, market-rate developers would be able to build denser residential projects than currently permitted by local zoning regulations as long as they set aside units for low-income residents.

In addition, the developers would have a bevy of options to meet the affordable construction requirement, including paying the city the equivalent of what it would cost to build those units; dedicating land or units for off-site affordable housing; or building projects between 10 and 24 units that consist entirely of rent-controlled apartments.

San Francisco already offers developers the choice to pay an in-lieu fee or build off-site affordable units to satisfy the requirements for how many affordable units market-rate buildings must include. Developers usually go with paying the fee, the Business Times said.

Lurie’s Housing Choice proposal is part of a wider legislative push to rezone swaths of the city to clear the way for 36,000 new homes. The program would apply to areas being rezoned for base heights with buildings 40 feet and above.

“This rezoning legislation is a key step toward meeting our housing goals,” San Francisco’s newly appointed planning director Sarah Dennis Phillips said in a statement from the mayor’s office. “We are laying the foundation for small and midsize housing projects in areas of the city where we have seen little housing production.”

Housing Choice differs from the state density bonus law in the kinds of development waivers it offers project developers. Adding parking or eliminating ground-floor retail wouldn’t be permitted, while the state law might allow it.

Housing Choice’s predecessor was Home-SF, which was signed into law by former Mayor Ed Lee in 2017. That density bonus program required developers to set aside 20 to 30 percent of project units for affordable housing in exchange for up to two extra stories in height and expedited city processing.

The city is expected to consider and vote on Lurie’s rezoning package when it comes before the Board of Supervisors this fall, according to the Business Times.

— Chris Malone Méndez