The Facts

John Elberling, the longtime head of TODCO, died of leukemia at 79 on April 2 after decades as one of San Francisco’s most influential land-use figures, J.K. Dineen at The Chronicle reports. TODCO operates eight South of Market buildings that house more than 1,000 families, but The Chronicle reports the group stopped building in the early 2000s. Elberling instead became a major political force, using ballot measures, lawsuits, and negotiations to fight projects he opposed.

The Context

Elberling’s legacy is inseparable from San Francisco’s housing shortage. A 2021 Chronicle profile described him as the figure many YIMBYs saw as the face of San Francisco’s anti-housing politics. That same reporting said critics accused him of using money generated by refinancing federally subsidized buildings to bankroll ballot measures and housing fights. GrowSF’s campaign to support 469 Stevenson came after he helped rally opposition to a nearly 500-home tower on a parking lot near Market Street, a fight that drew state scrutiny. California’s first Housing Policy and Practice Review later said San Francisco is on track to miss its 82,000-home target by 2031 and must reduce delay, discretion, and political obstruction.

The GrowSF Take

That record should be described plainly. Elberling managed an existing subsidized housing portfolio, but he did not keep adding homes as San Francisco became less affordable. Worse, he became one of the city’s most effective anti-housing operators, helping block new development and reinforcing the scarcity that drives up costs. San Francisco needs a very different model: keep vulnerable residents housed, approve far more homes, and stop empowering people who treat new housing as a threat.