The Facts

The Board of Supervisors blocked housing again. This time, they permanently cordoned off industrial land (think warehouses and auto body shops) near transit. This permanent exemption to the state's SB79 law slipped in at the last minute via an "alternative plan" and Land Use Committee chair Myrna Melgar refused to consider letter it ever expire.

The Context

San Francisco pursued the SB 79 alternative-plan process because Family Zoning had already added substantial transit-area capacity. That's not the controversial part, though. Rather, it's the permanent carve-out for warehouse-heavy industrial areas that was never part of any prior negotiation and which sailed through without any serious policy engagement.

The GrowSF Take

This goes to show that even when we get great people elected, they'll still let us down once in a while. The Board of Supervisors should have pushed back firmly on the SF Planning Department which pitched this permanent exemption without being asked.

This is a foolish and backwards choice.