SF Mayor Raises Roof On Residential Building Heights
Every leader wants to leave their mark, to reshape their domain in a way that reminds others, “I was here.” San Francisco has endured its share of eccentric tycoons who spent their sway and fortune taming, sculpting, or redeveloping it. For instance, Adolph Sutro (1830–1898), the city’s 24th mayor, financed the Sutro Baths and the grand mansion that overlooked it. Their egotistic monuments remain, if in a state of ruin. How will 46th mayor of San Francisco and Levi-Strauss heir Daniel Lurie (1977–) make his mark, and at what cost?
Nowhere to go but up
Last week, Mayor Daniel Lurie revealed plans for new and modified upzoning laws. He proposes rolling back building height limitations in the vicinity of major transit lines. These changes would allow 65-foot structures (6 stories) on streets like California and 85-foot ones on boulevards like Geary. The reason given for literally raising the roof along San Francisco’s high-density corridors: “larger, denser development to close the affordable housing gap.” (CBS)
NIMBYs, often but not always comprising property owners, landlords, and closet conservatives, make up much of San Francisco’s voter base. Every voting cycle, the buck gets passed again by NIMBYs with too much political influence. Consequently, nothing gets built. Mayor Lurie dodged questions regarding his plans to address the city’s housing crisis during his campaign, possibly to his benefit. If Lurie disclosed his intentions on the campaign trail, it could’ve hurt his chances.
West Portal resident Tony Passasani agrees we need more housing. “But a six-story building in an area that only has three or four stories is ridiculous,” he told CBS. Current zoning laws in West Portal cap building heights at around forty feet. Passasani believes anything taller would clash with the neighborhood’s character.
“Here in West Portal, there’s already apartment buildings that are three or four stories high. Why don’t you put a few more of those in there,” he said.
Meanwhile, San Francisco’s affordable housing crisis has gotten so bad, the state intervened. At a press release last Thursday, Lurie told reporters that “the city has made it easier to block new homes than to build them,” and that the Capitol issued “a clear mandate to build more housing, with real consequences if we don’t.” (SF Standard) The goal, high and non-negotiable, is 82,000 more units by 2031.
If not here, where? If not now, when?
According to the San Francisco Chronicle,
“The city is required to implement rezoning by Jan. 31, 2026. Failure to put forth a plan that meets aggressive state mandates puts the city at risk of losing millions of dollars of affordable housing and transportation funding—and could open it up to the ‘builder’s remedy,’ permitting developers to bypass the local planning process altogether for certain projects.”
The Chronicle’s editorial board likes Lurie. “Daniel Lurie’s new housing rezoning map is a winner,” reads their April 5 headline; “Let’s make sure it stays that way.” This sort of endorsement should always trigger your skepticism. Why is Lurie’s plan a winner, and what game did it win? How do I know I belong to the us in “Let’s?” If the answers to my questions aren’t obvious (they sure aren’t to me), does it mean you’re also being gamed? If so, do you still feel like part of the us in “Let’s?”
RELATED: Mayor Lurie to Establish “Police-Friendly” Stabilization Center at 822 Geary
In Lurie’s vision, the Marina District and Cow Hollow increase density. At Lombard and Van Ness, 140-foot towers welcome hundreds of tenants to new residential units. 6- and 8-story apartment buildings appear in West Portal, Fisherman’s Wharf, Glen Park. 350-foot buildings line Van Ness Avenue from City Hall to Broadway.
The tranquil neighborhood of Glen Park may receive two 14-story residential towers across from the already-extant BART station. Glen Park resident Mike Schiraldi has wished for more housing in his neighborhood since he moved in.
“My friends can’t live here. My daughter’s friends are moving out of school,” Schiraldi told CBS News Bay Area. “If we don’t allow housing to be built [on] a site like this, where are we going to build it?”
The city has until January to submit its upzoning plans to Sacramento.
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