DZLU MEETING DATE: March 21, 2023
1. ONGOING POLICY UPDATES
a. MISCELLANEOUS HOUSING POLICY UPDATES
– Proposed AB 1114 to limit permit appeals:
This bill proposed by Matt Haney would eliminate appeals of building permits that are compliant with permit standards after the projects have received planning approvals. This would bypass the city’s charter requirement that such a change go to the voters as a ballot measure. San Francisco may be the sole jurisdiction in California that allows such appeals, which are reported to significantly lengthen the duration of approvals that currently average over 600 days for multi-family housing projects and over 850 days for single-family homes.
Matt Haney takes aim at a unique way of slowing housing in S.F.
(sfchronicle.com)
– Proposed AB 1532 to provide financial incentives to convert offices to housing:
This proposal, the Office to Housing Conversion Act, responds to record high vacancy levels in downtown and is inspired by a program in Calgary, Alberta that offers grants to developers willing to undertake conversions. It would establish a fund, the California Downtown Recovery Catalyst Fund, for this purpose, with eligibility details yet to be detailed. It also makes approvals automatic, imposes time limits on the processing of permits, caps fees and places limits on design requirements. Ten percent of proposed housing units must be affordable to low and moderate-income families. This complements AB 2011 passed last year that fast tracks zoning and permit approvals for housing on commercial sites such as parking lots, strip malls and office parks, and requires that 15% of units be affordable.
California could pay for office to housing conversions (sfchronicle.com)
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