Melgar Modifies Family Zoning Plan to Exempt Rent-Controlled Buildings

The Facts

Supervisor Myrna Melgar's amendment to exempt buildings with three or more rent-controlled apartments from the Family Zoning Plan's upzoning provisions has been accepted. The amendment prevents redevelopment of 84,000 rental units in 11,700 buildings, according to analysis by Io Yeh Gilman and Kelly Waldron at Mission Local.

Melgar's amendment responds to concerns about demolition of pre-1979 housing—the only buildings in San Francisco subject to rent control. Mayor Lurie accepted the amendment, saying "Supervisor Melgar's new amendment to advance our Family Zoning plan will strengthen tenant protections while keeping our city on track to meet state housing mandates."

The amendment will be formally introduced at the Land Use Committee meeting on October 20.

The Context

The Family Zoning Plan was approved by the Planning Commission in September 2025 and validated by the state to create capacity for 36,000 new housing units.

Melgar's amendment leverages a technical aspect of the state's housing element formula, which already assumed buildings with more than four units constructed before 1979 would not be redeveloped. By setting the threshold at three units instead of four, her accepted amendment prevents redevelopment of additional rent-controlled housing while maintaining compliance with state mandates.

Two-unit buildings remain subject to upzoning under the plan, affecting approximately 20,700 properties. However, only about 16% of these buildings are receiving height limit increases, as most are not located on the commercial and transit corridors targeted for the bulk of the upzoning.

The GrowSF Take

This is a nice political victory for Supervisor Melgar that doesn't meaningfully change the housing capacity created by the Family Zoning Plan. While we don't love the idea that rent-controlled tenants will be stuck in old housing forever, there's also no reason to fight this small change.

The best solution for preserving rent-controlled housing is to build more housing overall, which the Family Zoning Plan does. By creating more housing options, we reduce pressure on existing rent-controlled units and help keep rents in check across the board. The best rent control is a surplus of high quality housing options.