Planning Commission hears divided public on 2022 housing element as staff urges rezoning and reparative measures

Planning Department staff on April 7 presented a draft 2022 Housing Element that frames housing as a racial and social equity imperative and proposes sweeping changes — including targeted rezoning, streamlining review processes and community‑driven investments — to meet a state‑set Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) that officials said will be roughly triple the city’s recent targets.

The presentation, led by Planning Director Miriam (Joan) Hillis and senior staff including Kimia Herrera, laid out the department’s case: state law and HCD expectations require San Francisco to significantly increase its housing capacity over the next eight years. Staff said the plan aims to add roughly 20,000 units of development capacity through small‑ and mid‑rise upzoning, rezoning of well‑resourced neighborhoods, and incentives for mixed typologies. It also proposes a reparations framework that would target home‑ownership opportunities and preference certificates toward communities harmed by past discriminatory…