A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco
Mayor Lurie names new S.F. planning director (SF Chronicle): Sarah Dennis Phillips has been named the City’s planning director, replacing Rich Hillis.
Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan Is a Leap Forward for San Francisco Housing Policy (SPUR): According to SPUR, a proposal to make changes to the City’s zoning code could help the City meet its state-set target for new housing construction.
Lurie unveils a new San Francisco-specific alternative to state density bonus law (SF Business Times): Mayor Daniel Lurie proposed a local alternative to the state density-bonus law, which would give developers additional options to build more housing units in the city.
Here’s how many homes downtown S.F. office conversions might create under new incentives (SF Chronicle): A new report found a total of 49 commercial properties in downtown would be most suitable for conversions into housing.
Balancing San Francisco’s Budget, Part 3: Closing the Structural Deficit (SPUR): Third in a three-part SPUR series examining the City’s structural deficit and the difficult decisions required to close it. Part 1 looked at the budget process. Part 2 outlined the growth of the City’s revenues and expenditures.
This California Highway Is Now a Park. The Cars Are Gone, but Not the Anger (New York Times): The transformation of a two-mile stretch of the City’s Great Highway into a pedestrian promenade has set off a clash over anti-car culture.
Bay Area
Balancing Oakland’s Budget (SPUR): Nine recommendations for closing the city’s structural deficit to move toward fiscal solvency and economic growth.
Bay Area’s dominance in AI funding fuels real estate boom (SF Chronicle): According to a new report, the Bay Area continues to dominate venture capital funding for artificial intelligence, fueling office demand.
California and Beyond
This small California county is building housing at the fastest rate in the state (SF Chronicle): Even while California is facing a post-pandemic construction slump, several of its smaller and midsize counties have produced new homes at more than twice the speed as the state overall.
Newsom picks more housing over CEQA in backing two bills meant to speed construction (CalMatters): The effort by two Bay Area lawmakers to exempt most urban housing developments from the state’s premier environmental regulation just received a prized endorsement from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Is the secret to housing affordability in California buried in the building code? (CalMatters): As lawmakers scramble to turbocharge post-fire recovery efforts in Los Angeles and to tackle a housing shortage across the state, a new addition may be coming to California’s building code: A pause button.
Controversial land bill faces rewrite after public backlash (Axios): Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) says he’s revising a proposal to sell millions of acres of public land to housing developers after backlash from outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
When Towns Rebuild From Disaster, Some Get Priced Out (Wall Street Journal): In Panama City, Florida, and Paradise, California, money poured in after natural disasters, squeezing some residents out. The dynamic is repeating across the country.
American Homes Are Shrinking. Why Are They Still So Unaffordable? (Wall Street Journal): More starter homes are being built, but the situation isn’t a return to the 1950s.
A Former Office Tower Goes Big for Residents (New York Times): With 1,320 rental apartments and a host of amenities, 25 Water Street is the country’s largest office-to-residential conversion to date.
