Commission Approves Landmark Streamlining After Three Votes, Advances $3B Freedom West Plan

The San Francisco Planning Commission navigated one of its most consequential agendas of the year on Sept. 3, threading the needle between historic preservation and housing production in a marathon session that required three separate votes on a single ordinance — and then unanimously advancing a generational affordable housing project in the Fillmore.

• Landmark designation ordinance passes on third try after two failed motions exposed deep divisions over property-owner consent and development-rights tradeoffs

• Freedom West 2.0 clears first planning hurdle, advancing a $3 billion project to preserve 382 affordable co-op units and add 2,000+ homes in the historically Black Western Addition

• Shovel-ready 29-unit condo at 2051 Market pivots to Housing Choice SF, testing whether new inclusionary rates can unstick stalled projects

• Neighbors' challenge to Russian Hill addition rejected 5-0, reinforcing the city's posture on code-compliant vertical construction

• $38M permitting software contract with OpenGov advances at the Board, paired with a management reorganization splitting current planning oversight

Three Votes, One Ordinance: Landmark Streamlining Exposes Preservation-Housing Fault Line

The basics: Board File 260622, introduced by Board President Mandelman, would allow the Historic Preservation Commission to initiate and recommend landmark designations in a single hearing — consolidating two of the current five required hearings and shaving an estimated four to six weeks off a process that now takes a median of more than 500 days.

Why it matters: San Francisco is poised to landmark hundreds of properties under the Family Zoning Plan. How quickly and transparently those designations happen — and whether property owners can meaningfully participate — will shape the pace of housing production citywide.

Where things stand: The ordinance seemed straightforward until Supervisor Mahmoud's office introduced competing amendments. Raynell Cooper, a legislative aide, presented a New York City–style framework requiring housing-capacity analysis for landmarked sites and transferable development rights (TDR). "When a City Council member in New York is handed this report, they can know exactly what the landmark designation means for the creation of housing. Our decision makers here in San Francisco deserve that same information," said Cooper.

Deputy Director Rich Sucre pushed back, explaining that quantifying lost development potential is far harder than it sounds. "The housing space right now is very broad. There are 19 different programs that allow you to use state incentives to build housing on a particular site," said Sucre, arguing the analysis would be speculative and resource-intensive.

Commissioner Lydia So brought personal experience from serving on the Historic Preservation Commission. "I really wish that no one ever had to sit up here and ask to vote when a property owner called in and literally said I do not want my property landmark and I'm not aware of this," she said, pushing for better owner outreach. She also advocated for including baseline zoning information in landmark reports, arguing commissioners need transparent data to make informed decisions.

The other side: Commissioner Sean McGarry twice moved to approve the ordinance without modifications, arguing the Commission should defer to staff expertise. "If we're saving five weeks and our amendment is going to add — that's on the current situation, and we're going, that's going to add five weeks. That's an extra 10 weeks," he warned, contending that additional requirements would negate the streamlining benefits.

President Amy Campbell framed the broader stakes. "There's this broader narrative that we are aggressively landmarking right now. And we see it in the news and we heard about it in announcements in the beginning of this meeting," she said, referencing the Board of Supervisors' recent passage of more than 20 landmark designations.

Decisions: The path to approval required three separate votes:

1. First motion (approve without modifications): Failed 2-3. Commissioners McGarry and McDonald voted yes; President Campbell, Commissioner So, and Commissioner Chen voted no.

2. Second motion (approve with four modifications — simplified requester language, objective zoning data in reports, owner consent, and TDR consideration): Failed 3-2. President Campbell, Commissioner So, and Commissioner Chen voted yes, but the motion needed four votes. Commissioners McGarry and McDonald voted no.

3. Third motion, crafted by Commissioner Chen, pared the modifications to three: simplified requester language striking the "property owners" reference, better consideration of owner consent without unduly burdening staff, and a recommendation that the Board of Supervisors consider transfer of development rights. It passed 5-0.

The Commission also directed staff to include baseline zoning information in landmark reports as a departmental practice rather than a legislative mandate — a compromise that gave Commissioner So the transparency she sought without adding statutory requirements.

What's next: The ordinance goes to the Board of Supervisors with the Commission's three recommended modifications. How the Board handles the TDR recommendation could set precedent for hundreds of upcoming Family Zoning Plan designations.

Freedom West 2.0: A $3 Billion Bet on Reversing Urban Renewal

The basics: Freedom West is a 10-acre, 382-unit affordable housing co-op in the Fillmore/Western Addition — built in the aftermath of urban renewal programs that displaced more than 20,000 Black residents from the neighborhood. The 2.0 plan would replace all existing co-op units one-for-one, add 133 new affordable units (115 for seniors), and build approximately 1,800 market-rate units plus a possible 150-room hotel across four city blocks under a 25-year development agreement.

Why it matters: The project could become a national model for community-owned equitable development, structured so the co-op nonprofit retains a 20% profit-participation stake in market-rate proceeds — a mechanism designed to flow wealth back to the community that was dispossessed.

Landon Taylor, managing partner of Legacy First Partners and a third-generation San Franciscan who grew up in Freedom West, laid out the co-op's nonnegotiable principles. "Number one, the co-op must stay intact. You cannot replace the co-op. It must stay intact. It must remain 100% owned by the co-op," he said. He highlighted the profit-sharing innovation: "We created a partnership where Freedom West, the nonprofit, has a 20% profit participation with the master developer in the market rate, which therefore flows economics back to that co-op."

The project includes a 5,000-square-foot STEM entrepreneurship center, 1.5 acres of new public open space, extension of Octavia Boulevard through the site, and an estimated 9,000 construction jobs. The senior building received its tax credit allocation the day before the hearing. General plan map amendments would reclassify the site from general residential to high-density mixed-use.

Maddie School Scott, president of the Freedom West Home Board of Directors and a 50-plus-year resident, testified about the co-op's founding as a direct response to urban renewal and the current crisis of deferred maintenance threatening residents. Michelle Brown, a Freedom West board member, cited the decline of San Francisco's African American population from 13% to less than 5%. Ernest Burton, whose father photographed the destruction of the Western Addition in 1959–60, said discovering Freedom West 2.0 gave him hope.

Commissioner McGarry offered some of the hearing's most impassioned remarks. "If 1906 was a natural disaster, urban renewal was basically a conscious, ignorant, arrogant mistake — that's a blight not just in this community, this area, but the 638 plus cities around the country," he said.

President Campbell called it "a once in a generation project," adding that it was "exciting to be a resident of San Francisco and be able to witness this and be a part of it."

Commissioner Chen probed the financing rationale behind converting 115 co-op units to senior housing funded through tax credits, with the option to convert back to co-op ownership after 15 years. Landon Taylor explained the structure balances immediate affordability funding with long-term co-op control.

Decisions: The Commission voted 5-0 to initiate general plan amendments and scheduled a public hearing for on or after Oct. 8, 2026. Full entitlement approvals are expected later this fall.

2051 Market Street: Shovel-Ready Condos Test Housing Choice SF

Why it matters: This 29-unit condo project at 2051 Market St. in the Upper Market/Castro is one of the first to pivot from the state density bonus program to San Francisco's Housing Choice SF framework — an early real-world test of whether the city's new 10% in-lieu fee under the TAC legislation can move stalled housing into construction.

Where things stand: The project was previously approved under the state density bonus in 2024 with a site permit issued in March 2025, but the sponsor found neither the old 15% on-site inclusionary requirement at 80% area median income nor the new 5% at 50% AMI penciled financially for a for-sale condo project. Switching to Housing Choice SF with a 10% in-lieu fee makes it viable.

Project architect Jeff Gibson emphasized the project's readiness. "This project is really, really shovel ready. I don't use that term lightly — the site permit is issued. BART has approved the foundation design," he said, noting construction bids are incoming and groundbreaking could happen within months. The site sits over the Muni tunnel, requiring expensive sleeved pile foundations that add to costs.

The Commission approved two major modifications — a reduced rear yard (7 feet instead of the standard 18%) and waiver of a matching light well requirement — for the 7-story, 85-foot mixed-use building containing 15 one-bedroom and 14 two-bedroom units with ground-floor retail.

Decisions: Approved 5-0 with staff-recommended conditions.

Russian Hill Addition Survives Neighbor Challenge

Two neighbors on Glover Street filed discretionary review requests against a proposed 582-square-foot fourth-story addition at 1142 Broadway, citing shadow impacts and Commission precedent against fourth stories on constrained mid-block lots.

Daniel Dion, at 45 Glover St., presented a shadow study showing a 64% average increase in shadow on his south-facing windows over seven months. Seth Subriankur, at 39 Glover St., cited 22 years of precedent and compared the project to previously disapproved additions at 471 Hickory and 30 Edith St.

Project sponsor Doug Lavanchee, a 14-year resident, said the addition is needed for aging parents and complies with all codes. The project architect cited an 18-foot 8-inch rear setback and design modifications including a matching light well and lowered parapet. Staff found no exceptional circumstances and recommended not taking DR.

Decisions: The Commission declined to take discretionary review and approved the project as modified, 5-0.

Minor Items

• 160 Para Eso Place continued indefinitely; 3821 Noriega St. withdrawn from the calendar.

• 1581 Webster St. conditional use authorization approved on consent, 5-0.

• Meeting minutes for July 23 and July 30, 2026, adopted 5-0.

• $38M Open Gov permitting contract (Permit SF) advanced by the Board's Budget and Finance Committee; expected at the full Board within weeks. Deputy Director Rich Sucre will oversee intake, historic preservation, the permit center, short-term rentals, and enforcement. Deputy Director Kate Conner will oversee district teams. Liz Waddy will focus exclusively on the Permit SF buildout.

• Commissioner So reported attending the second annual Chinese Housing Summit, conducted entirely in Cantonese, where monolingual seniors and middle-aged participants expressed broad support for building taller and denser — preferring community complexes with housing, healthcare, programming, and parking over individual homes. Mayor Lurie and Supervisors Chan, Wong, and Melgaard attended.

• Board of Supervisors passed more than 20 landmark designations and a street tree standards ordinance on first read, as reported in staff updates.

• Payment scam warning: Director Sarah Dennis-Phillips cautioned applicants about a new round of scams targeting planning department approval invoices, urging careful verification.

• A public commenter, Georgia Schutish, called on the Commission to issue a resolution asking state legislators to eliminate the Ellis Act for San Francisco, citing recent evictions and buyouts.

• Richard Sinkoff, a 41-year resident, urged the Commission to continue prioritizing design guidelines and view corridors, expressing concern about a "sameness" in new buildings across the city.