The Planning Commission considered two pieces of proposed legislation at its regular meeting last week. One was the elimination of the Life Science and Medical Special Use District (to which staff added a proposal to eliminate the Industrial Protection Zone (IPZ) Special Use District), and the second was Supervisor Mandelman’s so-called “Large Residence” legislation (which […]
On the heels of the Berkeley Shellmound SB 35 decision in favor of streamlined housing, another recent Court of Appeal decision rejected a public agency’s attempts to delay a housing project under the Permit Streamlining Act (“PSA”), and clarified that a jurisdiction with permitting authority must take action within the PSA’s time limits even if […]
A homeowners association (“HOA”) is required to hold elections for its board of directors (“Board”) when a seat becomes available. The Davis-Stirling Act specifies that HOA elections must conform to certain rules and procedures. A Board can set qualifications for nominees running for the Board, but there are only a narrow set of reasons why […]
A case recently discussed a property owner’s duty to a third party visitor, more specifically a possible duty to a third party who incurs an off-property injury due to an alleged deficiency at the owner’s property itself. In Issakhani v. Shadow Glen Homeowners Association, Inc. (“HOA”), the plaintiff tried to park at the property (owned by […]
Titled the “Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021,” SB 7 reenacts and revises expedited CEQA administrative and judicial review procedures for certain Environmental Leadership Development Projects (“Leadership Projects”) established by AB 900. The bill was introduced by Senator Atkins as an urgency measure and went into effect on May 20, 2021. […]
On May 18, 2021, District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced legislation that could increase residential density on corner lots located in Residential, House (“RH”) zoning districts. RH Districts, which occupy most of the western San Francisco landscape, also have the lowest residential density levels that encourage development of single-family homes as well as some duplexes […]
While the Bay Area works to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 on retail and hospitality, and digital nomads slowly return to the office, the pandemic has done nothing to slow escalating home prices. The California Association of Realtors reported this week that the Bay Area’s median single-family home price exceeded $1.3 million in April, […]
With the end of the Covid-19 Health Emergency on the horizon, San Francisco is seeing an influx of land use legislation as City leaders set their sights on post-pandemic recovery. Below are two recent proposals to watch as they make their way through the approval process. Small Business Recovery Act: Simplifying and Streamlining Small Business […]
With overall rental rates having fallen nearly 30% and vacancy rates risen roughly 150% between Q4 of 2019 and Q1 of 2021[1], the leasing of office space in San Francisco undisputedly remains a tenant’s market. Of the approximately 20.2 million square feet of available office space in San Francisco, nearly 45% is comprised of sublease […]
Court of Appeal Rejects City’s Bases for Denying the Project After more than two years of legal wrangling in the courts, a 260-unit mixed-use project at 1900 Fourth Street in Berkeley (the Spenger’s parking lot) will soon be able to move forward under the streamlined approval process set forth in Senate Bill 35 (“SB 35”). […]
