The state Housing Accountability Unit has sent a directive to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (BOS) to revisit plans for a housing development in a little used Nordstrom parking lot that had met required criteria and was still rejected.
This type of action is a relatively new development, under auspices of the Housing Accountability Unit, which was created to help jurisdictions that aren’t complying with all components of California housing law, Matt Regan, senior vice president of public policy with the Bay Area Council, told the Northern California Record.
The 469 Stevenson St. development, which would have 495 units, has been characterized as an exemplary adaptive reuse of underutilized urban land.
“This is sort of the first foray of the new [Housing Accountability] unit,” Regan said. “So I think the city forced the hand of HCD because this is a project that is a really good example of infill, transit-oriented, equitable development; it ticks all the boxes.”
The HAU operates within the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
“The HAU will also be empowered to take escalating enforcement steps to bring municipalities into compliance with state housing legislation in the event of persistent non-compliance,” an HCD news release states.
In one recent example of project stagnation, it took 10 years for a developer to win approval for new housing in Lafayette, the East Bay Times reported.
HAU’s Shannan West wrote BOS officials on Nov. 22 and requested a reply within 30 days for action on the Stevenson project and another that’s a mile away on O’Farrell Street.
The BOS in October had rejected the projects by a vote of 8-3.
“HCD is concerned that the City/County’s actions are indicative of review processes that may be constraining the provision of housing in San Francisco. It is well known that California is experiencing a housing crisis, and the provision of housing remains of the utmost priority,” the letter states.
“Likely outcomes would be a lawsuit filed by an individual or an entity with standing, or the AG files a lawsuit, or the city changes its mind," Regan said.
The Attorney General’s Office on Nov. 3 also launched a Housing Strike Force within the state Department of Justice.
While San Francisco has been working to meet its current RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) number of 28,869 units, Regan noted that under SB 828, that figure increases to 82,069 units in the next cycle, for 2023-2030.
“A lot has changed in in recent years, particularly with the Housing Accountability Act and the more recent Housing Crisis Act,” Regan said. “They have to have a health and safety rationale for saying no; otherwise, if the project is meeting all of your local and state standards, it has to be approved, and it has to be approved in a timely manner.”