Land Use Committee continues Central SoMa, Transit Center zoning changes to allow more housing while retaining key site benefits

The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on March 3 continued two related ordinances that would remove mandatory commercial development requirements in the Central SoMa Special Use District and the Transit Center District subarea, while directing staff to return with amendments that retain previously negotiated community benefits.

Committee Vice Chair Supervisor Cheyenne Chen presided over the hearing, and Supervisor Matt Dorsey, a sponsor of the legislation, said the package is aimed at "reimagining this sub-neighborhood of downtown and to unlock more housing." Planning staff and the controller's Office of Economic Analysis presented background and economic modeling, and the committee voted to continue the items to the March 10, 2025 meeting.

The two items called together would: remove an existing requirement that a large-site project in Central SoMa dedicate a specified share of gross floor area to nonresidential uses; delete the Transit Center C-30-SD commercial special use district; and amend corresponding area-plan policies so those policies encourage rather than require commercial development. Planning Department staff and the sponsor said the change responds to long-term declines in office demand…