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Planning staff outline 12 short-term steps to speed housing approvals under mayor—s directive
Summary
Planning department staff presented 12 short-term administrative measures in response to the mayor—s housing executive directive, including expanded priority processing for certain market-rate projects, an ombudsman for major affordable projects, concurrent review with DBI and Fire, and improved public project tracking. Commissioners and residents pressed for stronger tenant protections and clearer timelines.
Planning Department staff on Thursday outlined a set of short-term, mostly administrative steps they say will speed housing production and preserve existing units in San Francisco.
Liz Waddy, the department planner who led the presentation to the Planning Commission, said the package responds to the mayor—s December executive directive and reflects work by an interdepartmental task force. "Not only will we continue prioritizing 100% affordable housing projects, we will also prioritizemarket-rate housing projects that either include 20% on-site BMRs or 30% off-site BMRs," Waddy said, describing a new tiered priority-processing system already posted on the department—s website.
The short-term recommendations include: creating an ombudsman role focused on Hope SF and other large affordable projects to guide applicants through Planning and DBI; drafting interagency MOUs to clarify affordable-housing review; requiring applicants who remove dwelling units to justify that change at application; prioritizing completion of the housing-element EIR; implementing targeted concurrent review with DBI and Fire to reduce back-and-forth delays; building an online pipeline tracker for housing projects; improving interagency coordination for asset-holding agencies; expediting hiring to add review capacity; and adopting measurable performance and accountability standards.
Director Rand told commissioners the budget team proposed funding for the ombudsman and that a temporary hire could be in place within weeks, with a permanent position proposed in Julybudget adoption. Staff said some changes are already implemented and that the department expects to refine mid- and long-term items with a broader task force convening next week.
Members of the public at the hearing pressed for more urgency and detail. Francisco DeCosta said hundreds or thousands of rental units have been removed and called the task-force work "fluff" without explicit timelines. Other speakers from Bayview-Hunters Point and low-income neighborhoods urged the commission to track 3-11 notices, require stronger tenant protections when units are legalized or removed, and to ensure the rent board and planning coordinate so tenants in illegally converted units understand their rights.
Commissioners generally welcomed the administrative focus but asked staff to return with measurable timelines and to show how the new online tracker will display affordable-unit tallies, lost rent-controlled units and other metrics. Staff estimated the priority-processing changes might save "roughly 3 to 6 months, per project," but said exact savings will be clearer as projects come through the revised workflow.
Next steps: staff said they will roll out the updated director—s bulletin and continue developing the online tracking system and the performance standards. The commission requested periodic written updates as the short-term items are implemented.
