Planning department presents draft 2022 housing element at full‑board hearing as community groups press for deeply affordable program and tenant protections

The San Francisco Planning Department presented the city's draft 2022 housing element at a committee‑of‑the‑whole public hearing Nov. 15, describing maps of priority equity geographies, proposed rezoning strategies, and an updated inventory of development capacity while advocates pressed the board to add a concrete funding and anti‑displacement plan to meet state targets.

Why it matters: The state requires each jurisdiction to adopt a housing element showing how it will house its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). For San Francisco the new cycle assigns a greatly increased obligation that city staff and advocates said requires bold local actions, new revenue, and measures to prevent displacement.

What planning presented: Director Shaun Hillis said the draft element compiles community outreach, an inventory of current pipeline projects, and zoning—finding roughly 60,000 units of plausible capacity under current zoning and pipeline with an additional roughly 35,000 units that must be accommodated by rezoning and other actions to meet the state RHNA target (including a recommended 15% buffer). The department framed five goals—centering racial and social equity, stopping displacement, expanding affordable housing across neighborhoods, and building infrastructure for healthy neighborhoods.

HCD compliance: Hillis and staff told supervisors they are in regular contact with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Staff said HCD's early feedback required stronger…