West side San Francisco homeowners interested in adding more units to their family homes will face fewer restrictions and less red tape, thanks to legislation the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved on Tuesday.
The “family housing opportunity” legislation, introduced by Supervisor Myrna Melgar, tackles a problem that most space-deprived city residents can only dream of having: too much square footage in a single-family home.
The legislation streamlines approval — and relaxes rules — for property owners who wish to replace single-family homes with two-, three- and four-unit buildings. Eligible projects will be exempt from some height restrictions, conditional-use authorizations and neighborhood notification requirements. It also creates a special use district on the west side to allow homeowners the opportunity to expand their homes with fewer hurdles to support multigenerational living, downsizing or for a rental unit.
It targets empty nesters in Melgar’s west of Twin Peaks district — which includes Forest Hill, Forest Knolls, Midtown Terrace, Mount Davidson Manor, St. Francis Wood, West Portal and Westwood Park — who may simultaneously want a smaller, more efficient place to live as well as a second, third or fourth apartment for extended family.
“This legislation will give homeowners options to age in place, or growing families to expand by adding more private units on the same lot,” said Melgar. “This is one small piece of a plan for San Francisco to grow into the future that makes sense for the west side.”
The legislation would allow some qualified projects to skip the Planning Commission’s discretionary review process, which can add 12-18 months to the approval timeline.
“It is time to make it easier to live in this city that we all love,” Melgar said in a statement. “It is time for government to make it easier to adapt their properties to modern living, upgrade electrical and plumbing systems to meet safety codes, and add permitted units that provide homeowners income and stability.”
The legislation doesn’t raise height limits and is limited to “well-resourced neighborhoods” as defined by the state Department of Housing and Community Development map. The new housing created will also be rent-controlled, as the legislation exempts the units from state restrictions that limit rent control to buildings constructed before 1979.
The legislation comes as San Francisco is grappling with its housing element, the state-mandated plan for building a sufficient number of units over the next eight years. It’s a tall order: San Francisco must plan for 82,000 new units between now and 2031, and 46,000 of those must be affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
Reach J.K. Dineen: jdineen@sfchronicle.com
