San Francisco Land Use Committee Advances Family Zoning Package, Strengthens Tenant Protections

San Francisco's Land Use and Transportation Committee moved the city's ambitious "Family Zoning" housing plan closer to reality on Dec. 1, approving a package of General Plan amendments, zoning changes, and coastal program updates designed to unlock more housing on the city's west side. The three-hour hearing also produced significant new tenant protections and a novel policy allowing developers to opt into rent control as an alternative to building below-market-rate units.

• Family Zoning package clears committee 2-1, adding historic preservation and commercial space safeguards before heading to full Board

• New rent-control compliance option advances unanimously for high-resource west-side neighborhoods

• Comprehensive tenant protection ordinance amended with stronger demolition standards, right-of-return provisions; continued to Dec. 8 for final refinements

• Building permit expiration reform passes 2-1 over Vice Chair Chen's concerns about displaced tenants

• Cole Valley merges into Central Neighborhoods Large Residence Special Use District on unanimous vote

The committee spent the bulk of its meeting on the Family Zoning package — formally "Housing Choice San Francisco" — which would rezone large swaths of the city's low-density western neighborhoods to allow more multifamily housing. The plan has been in the works for months as San Francisco races to meet state-mandated housing production targets.