The Facts

YIMBY Law, an SF-based housing advocacy law firm, says it plans to sue San Francisco in February, arguing Mayor Daniel Lurie’s “Family Zoning Plan” still doesn’t provide enough housing capacity to satisfy state requirements.

The Context

The plan is also facing a separate, opposite, lawsuit which argues Family Zoning builds too much.

SF is required to plan for 82,069 homes in the 2023–2031 cycle, including rezoning that “reasonably accommodates” roughly 36,000 units in the near term.

A state HCD preliminary review found the city’s rezoning package meets the requirement. But projections vary: The Planning Department’s capacity calculations estimate up to ~64,000 units could be legalized, while a city economist analysis projects only ~14,600 homes might actually get built over 20 years.

The GrowSF Take

We find the city in an interesting situation - dueling lawsuits each alleging opposite effects. YIMBY Law arguing it doesn't build enough, and a NIMBY lawsuit arguing it does too much. We're very curious how it'll shake out and just hope that, whatever happens, San Francisco becomes home to more families, immigrants, and people of all kinds.