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Mayor, supervisors push for more West Side affordable housing; mayor backs Housing Innovation Fund
Summary
Supervisors for District 7 and other West Side members pressed Mayor Breed on tools to spur affordable housing in the Sunset and Richmond. The mayor said she supports building more housing across the city and highlighted a new Housing Innovation Fund as a financing tool for West Side needs.
During the mayoral appearance on July 20, Supervisor Myrna Melgar (District 7) pressed Mayor London Breed for a coordinated effort to develop affordable housing on San Francisco's West Side, citing limited production in recent decades and the area's growing senior population. Melgar asked whether the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development would explore zoning and financing tools tailored for West Side needs to produce a range of income levels, particularly housing that allows seniors to age in place and multigenerational households to remain.
Mayor Breed said she supports more housing "everywhere in this city, including the West Side," and described multiple proposals she's advanced to increase supply. Breed highlighted the Housing Innovation Fund as a new financing approach intended to leverage city dollars and "get creative" where state tax credits and traditional sources are unavailable. "I'm definitely open to all possibilities," Breed said, adding that she wants the board's partnership on zoning approaches including fourplexes and density changes that could include below-market-rate units.
Why it matters: The West Side (Sunset and Richmond) has pockets of low housing production and a sizable senior population; supervisors representing those neighborhoods sought both zoning flexibility and additional financing tools to expand affordable options locally. The mayor's emphasis on financing tools signals a push beyond zoning alone.
Follow-up: Breed and Supervisor Melgar agreed to continue working together, with the mayor's office identifying the Housing Innovation Fund and state/federal resources as areas for further collaboration.
Ending: Supervisors and the mayor presented shared support for more housing citywide while acknowledging the need to combine zoning changes with new financing approaches to deliver affordable units on the West Side.
