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Mayor's housing office and planning staff lay out 2008 inventory as market cools; commissioners press for targeted acquisitions
Summary
The mayor's office and planning department told the San Francisco Planning Commission that home prices fell about 20% since April 2008 and that rental occupancy remains high, while commissioners and neighborhood groups urged more clarity on housing-fund levels and targeted acquisition of small buildings for preservation.
Craig Adelman, deputy director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing, told the Planning Commission on May 7 that the city’s housing market had softened since spring 2008 and stressed tradeoffs for policy makers.
"The overall home sales prices in the city are down by about 20% across the city, since April 2008," Adelman said during a presentation on the department’s 2008 housing inventory and related market analysis. He cited Zillow as a source for price movement and said median condo and single-family prices vary considerably across neighborhoods.
Adelman framed the inventory as a data-focused input to upcoming policy work, notably the city’s housing element. He said the inventory is not itself a policy document, but that falling prices coupled with tighter financing are likely to reduce production and local inclusionary fee revenues. "Last year, the city received just about $2.5 million in in‑lieu fees; this year we expect that number to be significantly below $1 million," he said.
Commissioners sought specifics. Commissioner Antonini said the report showed San Francisco produced more dwellings than most Bay Area counties in gross numbers last year, but he asked staff to track where affordable units fall by income band and to consider a nexus study for entitlement extensions in Rincon Hill. Commissioner Borden pressed for current balances in the city’s affordable‑housing fund and whether acquisition programs might target small, rundown apartment buildings that could be rehabbed for seniors and low‑income households.
Planning staff and the Mayor’s Office of Housing described emerging priorities: shifting some funds to small‑building acquisition and rehabilitation while preserving SRO stock and expiring‑use affordable properties. Scott Gowdy of the Planning Department said demolition spikes historically aligned with public‑housing rebuilds and that recent policies have reduced demolition overall.
Public commenters echoed staff concerns and urged policy changes. Hiro Shifuguda of the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods said the city needs more housing for middle‑income workers and pointed to a mismatch between pipeline units and the types of homes residents need. Architect Joseph Butler suggested a demolition moratorium for some historic houses and urged the city to consider acquiring existing smaller houses and apartment buildings as a distributed strategy to expand affordable supply.
The presentation and the public exchange led commissioners to request follow-up details: the current affordable‑housing fund balance, the mayor’s office plans for a Small Buildings Acquisition Fund, and more granular breakdowns of production by income band. Staff agreed to provide additional figures and to coordinate with housing‑element work scheduled for later in the year.
Next steps: the commission will receive additional information on fund levels and acquisition strategies as staff and the mayor’s office continue to coordinate with the housing‑element process.
