SFMTA unveils joint-development goals, names 25-site portfolio and affordable-housing floor

SFMTA staff presented the agency's first formal joint-development goals and policy to the Planning Commission on March 6, describing a 25-property portfolio the agency has identified as potential sites for joint development and explaining how future projects could both produce housing and generate long-term revenue for Muni.

Wade Whitgriff, SFMTA's joint development program manager, said the SFMTA board unanimously adopted the program goals and policy last month and the Board of Supervisors adopted a supportive resolution this week. Matt Snyder of the Planning Department introduced Whitgriff and emphasized the program's relevance to ongoing housing-element rezoning work.

The policy outlines three primary goals: (1) use private investment to maximize public benefit and generate revenue for the SFMTA; (2) create inclusive, well-connected communities and contribute housing, including in well-resourced neighborhoods; and (3) build sustainable, resilient projects that improve working conditions and reduce driving demand.

Whitgriff said staff narrowed more than 90 agency properties down to 25 portfolio sites that appear most likely to advance goals; 24 of the 25 sites are downtown or in areas targeted for housing-element rezoning. He told commissioners the portfolio contains parking lots (14), parking garages (7) and facility-related sites (4) and that none of the properties would displace existing residents in the program as currently scoped.

To implement the California Surplus Land Act exemption for transportation agencies, Whitgriff said the SFMTA committed to designate at least 50% of the land at large properties for residential uses and to ensure at least 25% of units on those designated properties are affordable at 80% AMI or below. Whitgriff noted that 25% at 80% AMI is more affordable than the agency's usual inclusionary requirements and said how the agency achieves that floor'whether by inclusionary units, fully affordable parcels or other mechanisms'will be determined in project planning.

Whitgriff also cited the SFMTA's structural deficit: staff told commissioners the agency faces an estimated $320 million annual deficit beginning July 2026 and that joint development is one of several long-term strategies for diversifying revenue. He said development projects would not be an immediate fix and that revenue-generation timelines are long: initial consultant work looked at four to 12 projects through 2050 and SFMTA staff said projects could take five to ten years to generate revenue once approvals and construction occur.

Commissioners asked about community engagement, how the surplus-land requirements will be implemented in practice, whether parking would be retained at redeveloped sites, and the potential timeline and revenue impacts. Whitgriff and staff said they have a federal grant to fund a detailed evaluation and will hire consultants to work with Planning, MOHCD, affordable-housing developers and community groups to refine site-level strategies and community benefits.

Commissioners broadly welcomed the policy and asked for ongoing updates. Several commissioners emphasized the need to protect paratransit and accessible parking needs during redevelopment and to ensure the portfolio work is coordinated with the housing-element rezoning.