You might have heard of Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan that will upzone much of San Francisco in response to the State’s demand for incentivising developers to build 94,300 units. Here are the details of this plan and how it will impact your homes:
Obviously, our fear is that allowing developers to build much taller buildings in a city where tenant-occupied homes routinely fall prey to developers’ wishes for more profits, this plan may spur a new wave of displacement. We have made this known to our local lawmakers loud and clear. In response, Supervisor Melgar has proposed amendments to Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan to exempt all rent-controlled buildings of 3 or more units from this plan. This amendment has been accepted. Supervisor Chan proposed exempting even more types of units, but the idea may not survive scrutiny from the state. Nevertheless, developers can forgo Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan and choose the State’s program to build the same taller buildings and ignore Chan and Melgar’s restrictions.
That is why the most important aspect of the plan for us is that tenants are not harmed in the process and that we do NOT lose existing rent controlled units. To this end, we’ve been working with Supervisor Chen’s office to improve our local law which governs tenant relocation in case of displacement and strengthens demolition of tenant-occupied homes. This will occur under Chen’s Tenant Protections Ordinance which in our eyes is more important than the mapping details of the Family Zoning Plan.
Let’s face it, the great majority of cases when tenants are forced out involves major alterations to their homes which do not rise to planning’s definition of “demolition”. Given that the State Law SB 330 offers some relief for displaced tenants, BUT ONLY in cases where tenants homes are demolished. In San Francisco, the bar for what is considered a “demolition” is so high that developers can virtually replace the whole building and call it major alteration instead of what it really is: demolition. That is why we’re working with Supervisor Chen’s office to change what constitutes demolition. We need to focus on removing the loophole that allows developers to game the system and disguise their demolitions as just major alterations.
Our goal is to discourage developers from gaming the system and enable tenants to benefit from what little protections the State Law SB 330 offers.
New Amendments to Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan (page updated 11.20.25)
On October 20, Supervisor Melgar amendments to exempt all 3+ unit buildings under rent control from the increased heights of the Family Zoning Plan were adopted and no flags were raised in state review. This covered about 83,000 units in the westside area being rezoned. SFTU supported this amendment. While we wanted to exempt all rent-controlled units from the speculative crosshairs also, it became increasingly evident that this was not possible for the following reasons:
The State has threatened the City with the “Builder’s Remedy” if the potential housing capacity of our plan drops below a certain amount. Removing two-unit buildings alone created a deficit of about -23,000 units from the requirement. Even more extreme was Supervisor Chan’s amendment to remove any lot with housing on it—even single-family homes on large lots that could fit apartment buildings.
Our City Attorney’s Office is run by an avowed YIMBY. The likelihood of San Francisco defending this idea against a lawsuit and succeeding in courts is a stretch.
It is important to note that both Melgar’s and Chan’s amendments—quibbling over which buildings qualify for streamlining—do nothing to address the real problem: DEMOLITION.
Tenant advocates have been far more interested the Tenant Protection Ordinance (Chen) where the real work is being done. As a member of the Anti-Displacement Coalition, we focus our energy and legal minds on solutions where we can help most—strengthening local tenant protections to the greatest extent possible.
Two-unit buildings already bypass our condo conversion moratorium law. Sad but true, tenants in these buildings face an extremely high risk of displacement by owner move-ins or the Ellis Act followed by a condo conversion application. This is why we advise tenants to choose to live in larger buildings if they can. But we may still be able to help existing tenants in two unit buildings with the following:
Supervisor Chyanne Chen’s office is crafting an ordinance for better protections for tenants in the event that demolitions or major alterations are proposed in their building. The legislation tightens the process that the Planning Commission uses (called Conditional Use Authorization) to decide whether a project is worthy enough to warrant demolishing existing buildings.
SFTU has been heavily involved in drafting the ordinance since March. In collaboration with Supervisor Chen and Land Use Chair Supervisor Melgar there continue to be improvements to it. Some features have been on our wishlist for years, such as:
Enhanced relocation for tenants who have to move out temporarily. Low-income tenants will receive up to 42 months of the rent differential so they can afford market rent in a temporary place while their unit is rebuilt. This will also apply to fire victims.
A relocation specialist to help displaced tenants navigate the complex world of planning and Rent Board rules so they are not taken advantage of.
Requiring replacement of units cleared by buyouts, illegal harassment, or occupied by low-income tenants with permanently affordable housing—sometimes at income levels lower than those of the former tenants.
A longer lookback period, where permission to demolish rent-controlled housing requires extra scrutiny and rebuilding requirements.
Is it perfect? No. But thanks to tenant attorneys, advocates, and legislative offices working collaboratively across organizations and offices, we are pushing as far as legally possible given the state laws that stand in our way. There is much to celebrate in the Tenant Protection Ordinance, but also more to push for as state law reforms.
That is why our project next year will be to convince our state representatives to finally reform the bills that stand in our way (the Ellis Act, the Housing Crisis Act (aka SB 330), and Costa-Hawkins). We hope that you will join us in that fight!
(Once these ordinances pass we will give you tips on how to protect your unit from demolition. The most important thing is to stay in place and NOT be pressured into a buyout. Please seek counseling if you are in this position.)