Housing
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Transit Housing Bill Dies in Committee
State Senator Scott Wiener's transit housing bill, S.B. 827, was defeated by a six-to-four vote in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee yesterday. "While I’m disappointed that Senate Bill 827 won’t be moving forward this year, I’m heartened by the conversation it has started, both with those who support the bill and with critics of the bill," wrote Wiener, in a prepared statement about the vote. "The passion we have seen around this bill is driven by what we are all feeling--that California’s housing costs are unsustainable and our housing policies aren’t working. California needs to get at the heart of our housing shortage, not just work around the edges, or we will become a hollowed out state with no middle class."
April 18, 2018
Amendments to S.B. 827 Help Push Transit Housing Bill Forward
Senator Scott Wiener has revised S.B. 827, the Transit-Rich Housing Bonus, his bill to allow more housing near public transportation.
April 11, 2018
ULI Talk: Breaking Through the Housing Deadlock
"The land in this state is like a sponge--it soaks up all the creative ability of the people," said Kim-Mai Cutler, Operating Partner at Initialized Capital, and a tech journalist. The cost of rent and mortgages consumes all of peoples' work and creativity, without providing the things they need, such as "mass transit, schools, and universities--it’s frustrating for a younger generation," she added.
March 23, 2018
Guest Editorial: San Francisco Housing Advocates Need to Control the Infighting
Over the summer, YIMBY--shorthand for 'Yes-In-My Backyard'--organizers from all over the nation gathered in Oakland to share strategies on how to advance their brand of pro-development urbanism. The 'YIMBYtown' conference brought over 200 attendees and an impressive roster of guest speakers.
September 6, 2017
SPUR Talk: Why is Housing so Expensive?
The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), during a lunchtime presentation yesterday, developed a blueprint to bring down Bay Area housing prices in five years, so that everyone who wants to live in the city can afford a home.
May 31, 2017
YIMBY Asks: How Do We Get the Housing We Need?
"Our planning process is broken," said San Francisco Planning Commissioner and SPUR SF director Christine Johnson, at a panel discussion last night in the Mission held by the YIMBY party of San Francisco. YIMBY's mission, for those who may not be familiar with the group, is to advocate for affordable and market-rate housing, with the goal of bringing down cost in the Bay Area.
March 30, 2017
SPUR Talk: Scratching Away at the Housing Crisis
Yesterday evening the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) held a panel discussion about efforts to provide housing for families. The presentation, held at their downtown SF location, also doubled as a rally supporting legislation from Supervisor Katy Tang of District 4 (Sunset/Parkside), called Home-SF, which aims to increase the amount of work-force and family housing in the city.
March 2, 2017
SPUR Talk: What About the Families?
How can San Francisco keep families from moving away? That was the central question of a panel discussion this afternoon hosted by the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR). The panel included Susan Exline of the San Francisco Planning Department, Daniel Parolek, architect with Opticos Design, and San Francisco's District Seven Supervisor Norman Yee. The panel was lead by SPUR Board Member Doug Shoemaker.
August 30, 2016
Guest Editorial: Solving Our Housing Crisis Will Take Federal Action
Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance that, if affirmed by the voters, would allow them to increase affordable housing requirements. Meanwhile, in Sacramento, lawmakers want to spend $1.3 billion on low-income housing. Both will help with the Bay Area housing crisis and it's great that San Francisco and California are working on the problem. But what about the Feds?
April 27, 2016
Can In-Law Units Help Solve SF’s Housing Woes?
There seem to be two points of view on San Francisco's frustrating housing situation: either the tech industry is to blame for increasing demand or it comes down to NIMBY homeowners hoarding housing stock and preventing new development. Or maybe it's some combination of the two?
March 17, 2016