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Board adopts resolution directing planning staff to emphasize affordable housing goals for Eastern Neighborhoods
Summary
The Board adopted a policy resolution directing planning staff to pursue affordable housing production and other objectives in Eastern Neighborhoods area plans, while supervisors said the measure is a policy statement, not an ordinance change.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution on Jan. 9 expressing the board’s policy expectations for area plans and rezoning in the Eastern Neighborhoods. The measure passed unanimously (11-0) after an amendment offered by Supervisor Aaron Peskin to clarify that the resolution references “the general plan, including the policies and objectives listed in this legislation.”
Supporters described the resolution as policy guidance for the Planning Department to prioritize affordable housing production and to include specific policies and objectives when drafting area plans for the Eastern Neighborhoods. Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, the item’s chief sponsor, told colleagues the resolution seeks “a plan that facilitates affordable housing production in these neighborhoods in accordance with the production goals established in our housing element.”
Several supervisors and cosponsors stressed the resolution is not an inclusionary-housing ordinance and does not itself change affordability requirements; it is intended to provide direction to staff and to signal the board’s policy priorities. Supervisor Tom Ammiano and Supervisor Bevan Dufty, among others, said the document sets aspirational targets and a work program for staff rather than creating binding law.
Supervisor Peskin offered a technical amendment — inserting the words “including the policies and objectives” at several points — to clarify that staff should consider the resolution’s listed policies as part of general-plan conformity. The amendment passed without objection, and the full resolution was adopted by voice and roll-call vote.
What happens next: The resolution directs Planning Department staff to include the board’s stated objectives when preparing Eastern Neighborhoods area plans and environmental analyses; later zoning and inclusionary-housing ordinance changes would require separate legislative or Planning Commission processes.
Why it matters: The resolution frames the board’s expectations for planning and rezoning in areas of rapid change, emphasizing tools such as public investment, land trusts, and density/height bonuses paired with community benefits to increase affordable housing production.
