In a groundbreaking ruling, the Santa Clara County Superior Court found that the city of Los Altos acted in bad faith when it denied a 15-unit density bonus project that was proposed under SB 35 and subject to the Housing Accountability Act (HAA). Instead of sending the project back to the City for further consideration, […]
San Francisco Rent Increase Moratorium: Last week, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an emergency ordinance that would temporarily prohibit rent increases otherwise permitted by the Rent Ordinance. Initially introduced by Supervisor Peskin, the ordinance is based on a finding that prohibiting rent increases will reduce risk of displacement, “which is essential for public health […]
As San Francisco meets the broad set of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco’s municipal agencies are implementing new processes to help assure that the measures that have been put in place to keep us safe during this challenging time do not hamper the progress of permitting. Procedures at the Department of Building […]
After SB 50 failed to pass earlier this year, Senator Scott Wiener introduced a new housing bill that aims to increase density across the state and provide cities a streamlined process for upzoning certain areas of their communities. Although more modest than the sweeping overhaul that was proposed under SB 50, this bill would effectively […]
San Francisco Boards, Commissions, and Departments have begun to adapt their operations and procedures in response to the Shelter in Place restrictions, and for land use practitioners, this means project processing activity is on the rise. By contrast, on March 31 the Department of Public Health issued an Order that further restricted allowed construction to […]
Local governments, the State of California, and the federal government have or will soon pass a number of measures meant to protect businesses from the economic effects of the coronavirus. This week, we summarize several business assistance programs and available funding sources, as well as San Francisco’s moratorium on commercial evictions. (San Francisco has also […]
We hope that everyone is staying healthy and safe. Pursuant to the San Francisco and Bay Area Shelter-in-Place Orders, our physical offices are currently closed. However, our attorneys and staff are all working remotely, and are connecting with clients and city staff members via email and phone. In this week’s e-update, we wanted to summarize […]
Mayor London Breed recently introduced the “Affordable Homes Now Initiative,” which would streamline approvals for both 100% affordable housing projects and market-rate projects that exceed the City’s affordability requirements. The proposed ballot measure needs signatures equivalent to at least 10% of the total number of registered voters to be on the November 2020 ballot. Eligible […]
On Tuesday, February 11th, Supervisor Ronen introduced legislation that would greatly curtail the amount of office use that can go into buildings in Urban Mixed Use (“UMU”) Zoning Districts. The legislation, available here, will prohibit all general office and allow “client-oriented” office uses at the ground floor with a Conditional Use Authorization. UMU Districts were […]
Last week, Mayor London Breed proposed an initiative that would exempt San Francisco housing projects that comply with zoning and volunteer additional on-site affordable units from the arduous and sometimes frustrating discretionary entitlement process. A few days later, Supervisor Hillary Ronen announced plans to further restrict office projects in the UMU zoning district, with the […]
