Is this the end of single family zoning in the Bay Area?

California’s new single-family zoning law probably won’t produce much new housing in San Francisco. Sep. 18, 2021 Updated: Sep. SB9 — plus two associated bills, SB8 and SB10 — will not end single-family zoning in California, though.

Is there a housing shortage in the Bay Area?

Vacancies have also been highlighted as an issue in San Francisco and nearby cities, with Curbed estimating in 2019 that “San Francisco has nearly five empty homes per homeless resident.”

How much of San Francisco is zoned for single family homes?

Parcel level data analysis that Gambhir and his colleagues have done reveals that 50 percent of San Francisco’s residential lots are zoned as single family, which disallows for townhomes, duplexes and apartments.

Did California ban single-family zoning?

Gavin Newsom signed historic legislation that essentially eliminates single-family zoning across the state of California. SB9 (Atkins) will allow up to four dwellings (as many as two duplexes or two houses with attached units) to be built on almost any lot currently zoned for a single-family residence.

Will the Bay Area housing market crash in 2022?

In a real estate context, 2022 will probably be a “diluted” version of 2021. Forecasts suggest that home prices will continue to rise across the region, but at a slower pace than the current year. Sales activity might slow down a bit as well, easing competition among buyers.

Why is homelessness so bad in San Francisco?

Reasons cited for homelessness in the 2019 survey commissioned by the City of San Francisco include job loss (26\%), alcohol/drug use (18\%), eviction (13\%), argument/asked to leave by friend/family (12\%), mental health issues (8\%), and divorce/separation (5\%).

How much of San Francisco is residential?

The average amount of residential land in each city is 81 percent, with a median of 86 percent, which means that most land is available to residential development. The average amount of total land (including commercial areas and parks) exclusively reserved for single-family housing was 47 percent.

Does single-family zoning matter in the Bay Area?

The report also contributes towards zoning reform by identifying high single-family zoned cities in the Bay area that could potentially be upzoned. We find that cities with high levels of single-family zoning have greater resources (even relative to the generally wealthy and expensive Bay Area) in virtually every statistic we are able to measure.

Why do cities have zoning laws?

Accordingly, zoning laws are created for the simple purpose of protecting the health, safety and general welfare of the people as relates to land use. Cities want industrial uses for economic growth, but cities also want single-family residential areas for people to live.

When does a zoning change not justify a rezone?

As an example, if there was no mistake made when the neighborhood was originally zoned, and there is sufficient land elsewhere for high density residential use, the fact the applicant wants to develop a specific piece of property might not be enough to justify a zone change, since there is no need to rezone the neighborhood.

Why take a crash course in re-zoning opposition?

This crash course in re-zoning opposition will educate you about the knowledge and attitudes that will increase your odds of success if an unwanted zoning change is proposed in your neighborhood. Incidentally, professionals would write that as rezoning, but we noticed that many readers don’t do the same.