San Francisco Housing Delays and Costs Under Fire

A recent report has criticized San Francisco for having the most time-consuming and expensive housing development process in California, causing detrimental effects on housing affordability and the homelessness crisis. Governor Gavin Newsom has been pushing for increased construction to address these challenges, but the city’s sluggish housing development process is hampering these efforts.

The investigation, conducted by Governor Newsom’s housing division, found that San Francisco has set up more obstacles to housing development than any other city in the state. The approval process is slow, with an average of 523 days to gain initial project approval, followed by an additional 605 days for building permits.

To address California’s housing crisis, the state needs to create an additional 2.5 million housing units. San Francisco is tasked with building 82,000 new units by 2031, but it is already behind schedule.

The report identifies several factors contributing to these delays, including the city’s permitting process, failure to comply with state laws promoting affordable housing, and rising construction costs. These challenges have prompted architects and developers to look elsewhere for opportunities, exacerbating the problem.

While San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed agrees with the report’s findings and is working on streamlining the city’s approval process, some local officials argue that high construction costs and limited financing are the primary culprits behind the housing delays.

The state’s recommendations for San Francisco include streamlining the building permit process and eliminating individual rights to block projects that meet city standards. Failure to implement these changes could result in the state withholding funding and taking control of the city’s development decisions.

The state might even allow developers more flexibility, potentially reshaping the city’s housing landscape by permitting affordable housing units in residential areas.

San Francisco’s housing challenges highlight the importance of finding a balance between progressive policies and practical procedures to effectively address housing and affordability issues.