John Petro

SF Approves Eastern Neighborhoods Plan

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the Eastern Neighborhoods plan last Wednesday. As I've discussed before, this is a great plan that will provide the city with much needed affordable housing while still preserving light-industrial jobs.

The coverage of the plan in the SF Chronicle is generally favorable, but the paper frets about the nationwide housing crisis and the effect it might have on development in the newly rezoned neighborhoods.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin is quoted about the slowdown in housing construction, "[The] plan will guide development well into the future and can be tweaked to adjust for changes in the market."

Please don't tweak. That would be extremely shortsighted. In my mind, "tweak" means allowing developers to build while bypassing the affordable housing requirements. It would be foolish to do so when the housing crisis will probably be with us for only 12-16 more months - maybe shorter in San Francisco proper. The housing crisis is temporary, but an opportunity for affordable housing, once lost, is lost forever.

John Petro: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 9:22 AM, Dec 01, 2008 in Housing | Urban Affairs
Permalink | Email to Friend