San Francisco criticized for slow and costly permitting process in new state report on housing

San Francisco criticized for slow and costly permitting process in new state report on housing

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SAN FRANCISCO — A scathing new report from the state reveals the bureaucratic and costly permitting process builders face when it comes to constructing new housing in San Francisco.

The first-of-its-kind report issued Wednesday by the California Department of Housing and Community Development is calling out San Francisco for making things extremely difficult for people trying to create more housing.

“According to self-reported Annual Progress Report (APR) data and prior research from the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), San Francisco has the longest timelines in the state for advancing a housing project from submittal to construction,” the report said.

So far this year, San Francisco has permitted less than one home per day, leaving the city falling far short of its Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals for building new houses.

The report revealed it takes about 523 days for a developer to get a housing project approved compared to 385 days for the next slowest jurisdiction in the state.

After the approval process, its even worse. It takes San Francisco an average of 605 days to issue a building permit.
It takes 418 days for the next slowest jurisdiction.

The report also found that at least 18 city policies and practices are out of compliance with state law. The result is that many of the people who work in the city — including teachers, police officers and firefighters — can’t afford to live in San Francisco.  

State Senator Scott Weiner has been a huge proponent for affordable housing. He released a statement in response to the report. It said, in part, “This audit puts cities across California on notice: there will be no more leniency for illegally obstructing housing construction. San Francisco has added layer upon layer of unnecessary discretion and bureaucracy for decades.”

The mayor’s office says she agrees with the criticism. Mayor Breed claimed that proposed reforms at San Francisco City Hall have been met with “pushback and resistance.”

She is calling on the Board of Supervisors to work with her on changing legislation.  

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SAN FRANCISCO — A scathing new report from the state reveals the bureaucratic and costly permitting process builders face when it comes to constructing new housing in San Francisco.

The first-of-its-kind report issued Wednesday by the California Department of Housing and Community Development is calling out San Francisco for making things extremely difficult for people trying to create more housing.

“According to self-reported Annual Progress Report (APR) data and prior research from the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), San Francisco has the longest timelines in the state for advancing a housing project from submittal to construction,” the report said.

So far this year, San Francisco has permitted less than one home per day, leaving the city falling far short of its Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals for building new houses.

The report revealed it takes about 523 days for a developer to get a housing project approved compared to 385 days for the next slowest jurisdiction in the state.

After the approval process, its even worse. It takes San Francisco an average of 605 days to issue a building permit.
It takes 418 days for the next slowest jurisdiction.

The report also found that at least 18 city policies and practices are out of compliance with state law. The result is that many of the people who work in the city — including teachers, police officers and firefighters — can’t afford to live in San Francisco.  

State Senator Scott Weiner has been a huge proponent for affordable housing. He released a statement in response to the report. It said, in part, “This audit puts cities across California on notice: there will be no more leniency for illegally obstructing housing construction. San Francisco has added layer upon layer of unnecessary discretion and bureaucracy for decades.”

The mayor’s office says she agrees with the criticism. Mayor Breed claimed that proposed reforms at San Francisco City Hall have been met with “pushback and resistance.”

She is calling on the Board of Supervisors to work with her on changing legislation.  

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Earlier this year, a technician waving a device resembling a magic wand became preoccupied with Adam Michaels’ downstairs shower. “Woah!” Michaels recalls him exclaiming. “We got a hotspot here!” 

This is never a good thing to hear about your shower. 

And especially not on this day. The technician was from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and he was searching for vapor intrusions of the carcinogen tetrachloroethylene, a chemical commonly used by dry-cleaners which is — mercifully — better known as PCE. These vapors are odorless and, without a magic wand, undetectable. On this day they registered at more than four times the acceptable threshold. 

“It doesn’t look good for my home,” says Michaels, a 25-year teacher at Lowell who has lived in the Sunset with his middle-school teacher wife for two decades and raised two children in this house. “There are probably countless people who live near dry-cleaners and don’t realize what they’re breathing. At least we found out.” 

Michaels lives a stone’s throw from 2550 Irving St., which is now a large patch of dirt and was formerly a police credit union — and, notably, was also in close proximity to not one but two longstanding dry-cleaners. The parcel also once housed a former mortuary and was formerly bookended by a pair of gas stations. Elevated levels of toxic PCE were detected on-site at the police credit union in 2019. By March of that year, use of the second floor and eastern half of the first floor were cut off to employees.

In the not-too-distant future, this parcel is slated to be a seven-story, 90-unit, 100 percent affordable structure earmarked for families and the formerly homeless. The Mid-Sunset Neighborhood Association, incorporated in 2021 to, it seems, specifically combat this project, has lost at every turn — including a second reversal before the Board of Appeals last week.

Attempts to alter or derail this project followed the predictable playbook used by neighborhood groups who do not wish to endure alterations to their neighborhood. The neighbors complained about its “out of scale” size or impact or aesthetics. They’ve also gone to court: The Mid-Sunset Neighborhood Association has filed a suit against the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation claiming the future 2550 Irving developer didn’t do adequate outreach. This suit is ongoing. 

Other, more strident neighbors — but not, its members claim, the Mid-Sunset group — have objected to the affordable nature of the project. This is more than a little unseemly: The posters that an anonymous person or group littered the neighborhood with in 2021 read “No Slums in the Sunset,” a less-than-subtle allusion to the income level of the future inhabitants at 2550 Irving. And their race.

The future site of a large affordable housing project at 2550 Irving St. as it appears today

So, that was the backdrop heading into last week’s Board of Appeals hearing, during which the Mid-Sunset Neighborhood Association objected to the state’s approach to dealing with PCE on this site. As such “toxins!” was perceived by project proponents and city government officials as one more iteration of “wolf!” being cried by this group, following “out of scale!” and “not enough parking!” and “too darn tall!” 

It warrants mentioning that, at this point, nobody was (overtly) attempting to derail — or even delay — the project. That ship has sailed. Regardless, the appellants lost in what appears to be their final redress. This project, and any environmental remediation here, is out of their control.   

That the project is moving forward is, on the whole, fantastic. But this process was not. Neighbors’ bad-faith or feckless arguments about “scale” and “impact” have jaundiced most everyone else regarding their legitimate concerns about neighborhood toxins. As such, everyone dug in their heels, and what would’ve been a natural concession became untenable — yes, this is about building much-needed housing but it’s also about winning. “It would’ve been nice to not focus on all the other things, so we could focus on the toxic waste,” says District 4 supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the neighborhood. “But that did not happen.” 

It most definitely did not. And this is a shame, because “toxins!” is not just a strategic ploy for Adam Michaels and his neighbors. The process here has taken its course. Their issues remain.

A day after I released my Housing for All plan, the SF Board of Appeals delayed the construction of 100% affordable housing at 2550 Irving. This obstructionism is unacceptable. This project must move forward & we need to reform our laws so we can build the homes we badly need.

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) February 10, 2023

Perhaps the most maddening takeaway from last week’s Board of Appeals hearing — itself a six-hour testament to the ritual nature of San Francisco public process — was that so much clarity could’ve been derived from a series of tests pegged at $20,000 and requiring perhaps a week’s work. When a project requires years of process and scores of millions of dollars, these sorts of numbers are negligible. 

But these tests have not been undertaken. 

We are doing our best to spare you the most mind-numbing details of government process and soil science — but this is a story laden with both. Here goes: Both the neighborhood association and the Board of Appeals thought an agreement was reached in February to undertake PCE testing in the footprint of a former dry-cleaners at 2550 Irving, with the testing method being identical to the tests already performed across the street at the site of a second dry-cleaner. This would enable an apples-to-apples comparison of toxins (PCE-to-PCE, less appetizingly). 

But this did not happen: The Department of Toxic Substances Control in fact, did different sorts of testing analyzing different sorts of things — which cost more than five times as much money. 

Separate and apart from the science here, this is confusing — even for neighborhood residents and city officials staunchly in favor of this project. “You would think that the tests they did on two sites on two different sides of the street would be the same so they’d have a true comparison,” said Engardio. Toxic Substances Control “is claiming it did all the testing, and everything is fine. But it does not match up to what the neighborhood asked for or what a layperson might see as apples to apples.” 

Engardio stresses that “it’s not my role to second-guess a state agency that’s in charge of keeping people safe.” But, if only to check off a box, “it is baffling to me they would not have done apples to apples tests just to take this argument off the table.”

Dan Grasmick, an engineer and environmental consultant speaking on behalf of the neighborhood association, went further. At last week’s meeting, he called the state’s tests “seriously flawed” and said its testing regimen “appears to have been designed to not identify a primary source.”

Let us not step between dueling soil scientists. This is not an area most of us know from a hole in the ground — and the credentials for both the neighbors’ consultants and the state authorities are impeccable. Let’s focus instead on procedure, and basic human relations. If the same set of tests had been undertaken on both former dry-cleaner sites, and the results showed negligible PCE on-site at 2550 Irving, then any attempts by the neighbors to prevaricate and continue their objections would’ve revealed them to be bad-faith obstructionists — and their case would’ve been righteously swatted away, Bill Russell-like, by the Board of Appeals. 

And if the apples-to-apples testing came back showing problematic levels of PCE — then wouldn’t it be nice to know? Wouldn’t that help inform what next steps to take on a site that the state continues to insist does not require environmental remediation? 

Again, let us render unto soil scientists what is soil scientists’. But, for any human being who occasionally relates to other human beings, the argument I didn’t do what you wanted, I did something else. And it cost waaaaaaay more money — and you should be grateful is not a winner. 

Our questions to a Toxic Substances Control  spokeswoman regarding why the agency chose to do things the way it did was not answered by press time. 

Wolf!

Looming over the entire Board of Appeals process like Banquo’s ghost was SB35, a Sen. Scott Wiener law that streamlines the construction of affordable housing and undercuts much local impediment-making of the sort San Francisco is famous for. It remains unclear if the appeals board could’ve legally returned any verdict other than approving the 2550 Irving development process — no matter what the arguments were. 

It’s hard to inveigh against SB35 in either the abstract or the concrete. San Francisco (and other municipalities) set up land-use procedures like something out of “The Lady or the Tiger” and the state has stepped in. The city had this coming. What’s depressing, however, is to see a query regarding toxic contamination handled via the familiar rote political script of partisans trading barbs in an endless public hearing. 

Do citizens owe state authorities respect in matters such as these? Yes. But they are not owed obeisance. The Department of Toxic Substances Control’s methodology and continued insistence that no environmental remediation is called for remain counter-intuitive and baffling — to the neighbors, to the neighbors’ hired subject-matter experts, and, notably, to area residents and elected officials who fervently support this affordable development.

And, perhaps most of all, to Adam Michaels. After testing revealed high levels of PCE at his home, he says state officials told him there may be some manner of contaminant throwing off the results. Perhaps paint, or a gun-cleaning fluid. But he has no gun, and, to the best of his knowledge, nobody dumped any cans of paint down the shower. 

Watching the hearings regarding 2550 Irving was troubling for Michaels and his wife. Neither of them missed the part where experts stated that PCE is most harmful for the elderly and the young — and they raised their children here. “It would be nice,” says Michaels with a sigh, “if someone said ‘Let’s get rid of that stuff.’” 

But that’s not the plan moving forward. 

“I understand why the developer wouldn’t want to pay to clean up the entire neighborhood,” he says. That wouldn’t be fair. “I understand why the Department of Toxic Substances Control would protect them.” 

“But I also thought they’d protect me.” 

Prior coverage:

Irving St. affordable housing to proceed after soil toxin appeal is rejected — again

After a six-hour Board of Appeals hearing on Wednesday, an appeal to delay a 100-percent affordable housing project at 2550 Irving St. was denied. The project will now almost certainly go ahead. The decision split the board down the middle in a 2-2 vote. Commissioners Alex Lemberg and John Trasviña favored granting the site permit…

90-unit Irving St. housing OKed despite toxin fears

On Wednesday night, the Board of Appeals struck down an environmental appeal that would have imposed extra requirements on the construction of a 90-unit affordable housing project in the Sunset in a 3-2 vote. The 2550 Irving St. project is poised to replace the former Police Credit Union building with a 100-percent affordable, seven-story apartment…

The post San Francisco land-use course of stays unusual, horrible — poisonous appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – COVID-19 restrictions have left many hopeful parents in the Bay Area with open but empty arms as the pandemic has slowed or suspended their adoption plans.

Jessica, who preferred not to use her last name, learned sign language while preparing to adopt a young hearing impaired boy in China. Her problem: she can’t get him to San Jose.

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“Sometimes I feel anxious, impatient; and really sad, “she said.

She was matched with the 7-year-old boy last year, but China stopped all overseas travel during the pandemic.

“The wait is difficult because I had long expected to travel and complete the adoption,” she said.

Susan Soonkeum Cox of Holt International Children’s Services has 40 years of international adoptions experience.

“I’ve never seen anything comparable to the scale of this problem,” said Cox.

There are currently 400 American families on hold to adopt Chinese children. Holt International works with 140 families. From China it is said that the services will reopen as soon as things are safe.

However, Cox said, “Who knows when that will be?”

The best guess? After Beijing hosted the Winter Olympics in February.

“We are confident that there will be no travel at least after the Olympics,” said Cox.

The good news? To protect them from COVID, China’s adoptive children have locked down with their caregivers.

And sometimes the carers share updates: Jessica emailed sign language videos she recorded at home to connect with her son an ocean away. In response, his supervisors sent back videos of him after their class.

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“It’s really cute,” smiled Jessica. “You can see him watching, listening, and doing the signs so that I may have a glimmer of joy and hope.”

The pandemic has also delayed domestic adoptions. Kimberly Batson of San Francisco filed papers to adopt her 5-year-old great-niece Sariah when the city provided shelter.

“It’s been stressful all along,” said Batson.

In addition to many difficulties, it was particularly difficult to get the required physical condition.

“They wouldn’t allow you to go to the hospital,” added Batson.

And visits to Ann, the social worker, were socially distant to the outside world. Even when it rains.

“Ann didn’t want to be wet and I didn’t want to be wet,” said Batson.

Oakland Alternative Family Services saw a third fewer adoptions last year as Zoom meetings replaced in-person parenting training, CPR classes, and court hearings.
Coordinator Alma Woodard said the agency needed to switch.

“It took a lot longer because we couldn’t meet in person. But we could do it, ”said Woodard.

Batson’s adoption became final after a year. Jessica’s application is now in its fourth year.

“I keep reminding myself that everything is in God’s timing,” she said.

So she waits for the day when she will no longer hold the picture of a little boy on a phone, but a son in her arms.

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For more information on the services of these organizations, please visit the Alternative Family Services and Holt International websites.

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OAKLAND (CBS SF / BCN) – Alameda County’s housing authorities this week announced a new program that will simplify the process of adding in-laws to single-family homes in hopes of adding 18 affordable housing units in unincorporated areas of the county.

The pilot, known as the Accessory Dwelling Unit (or ADU) program, is expected to result in the development of 18 in-law units through a lottery system with an application deadline of Nov. 27 as demand is expected to be high.

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The program follows a related move to San Francisco, where regulators waived fees for building inspections, plan reviews, record keeping, and location surcharges for affiliated units in March.

The Alameda County Program also provides free consulting and project management services to more than 100 homeowners looking to add an additional unit to their single family home.

It will initially serve the unincorporated areas of the county, in particular Ashland, Cherryland, Castro Valley, Castlewood, Fairview, Happy Valley, Hillcrest Knolls, Sunol and San Lorenzo, as well as the unincorporated areas in the cities of Hayward, East Pleasanton and South Leber more .

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Officials hope to eventually roll out the program nationwide.

“We must continue to look for creative housing solutions to support the stability and vitality of households across the county,” said Housing Director Michelle Starratt. “With ADUs we can increase the naturally affordable housing stock by creating new apartments in existing neighborhoods. With bespoke advice, we can ensure that homeowners get the support they need to successfully build a new unit that is safe and legal. “

Interested homeowners should submit an online application to hellobright.org/one-stop-shop-ac by November 27th. Property owners who meet the basic eligibility criteria will enter a random lottery and go through a remote screening process in the order the lottery number starts in November.

The county will work with the nonprofit group Hello Housing to administer the program. Visit the hellobright.org website for more information.

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© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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A 141 year old Victorian house was picked up and moved six blocks from Franklin Street to Fulton Street.

“It’s phenomenal to see this huge seven-bedroom house move into,” said Wanda Ramos, who lives near the home’s original location.

Gary Carter lives near the new location and was repeating the same thoughts. “That’s pretty big, pretty amazing,” said Carter.

Sebastian Luke was one of many who watched the entire procession and only said, “It’s a beautiful building.”

And this beautiful historic building quickly took San Francisco and the internet by storm. Every nook and cranny was captured by hundreds of San Franciscans, many of whom compared it to the Pixar animated film Up, in which a house was moved by balloons.

There’s nothing to see here, just a historic San Francisco Victorian house coming down the street! Today it moves 6 blocks for more than $ 400,000. The old location near Turk and Franklin will soon accommodate more than 60 apartments. @ abc7newsbayarea
Courtesy: Lehoa Nguyen pic.twitter.com/3ztOAtaVRU

– JR Stone (@jrstonelive) February 21, 2021

This house, known as Englander House, was towed six blocks. Six blocks in about six hours.

“There were a few mishaps along the way. Trees getting in the way, stop signs, lights and signs and what not,” said Lana Costantini of the San Francisco Historical Society

“They met a light pole right there on the corner of Golden Gate and Franklin, and also some trees,” said Eddie Ramos, who was watching the movement closely.

But don’t worry, there were loggers, roads were closed and the police were there to show the way, even if it didn’t always look so perfect and even into the night.

“I was scared when they tried to turn into Golden Gate Street. I was surprised, I thought there was no way, but they made it,” said Saron Eyob, who lives nearby.

Historical Society says this is the first time since 1974 that a Victorian house like this has been relocated in San Francisco.

Huge dollys carry it at about a mile an hour and it cost $ 400,000. More than a dozen city agencies approved the relocation.

The Englander house is converted into single-family houses. A former morgue next door and the old property will also be converted into residential buildings. As a result of the move, between 50 and 60 new units will ultimately be available and of course the historic house will be restored and saved.

RELATED: Historic San Francisco Victorian Home Ready To Be Converted To Apartments Blocks Away

“I was up on the 11th floor at the time, looking down and I just couldn’t believe what was happening. I thought this was one for the history books,” said Eddie Ramos.

Moving was not an easy task. Power lines, parking meters and street lights were removed for the move. and Muni had to reroute some bus routes

The six bedroom, three bathroom house still has the original wood and 19th century “anchor bolts”.

The moving worker says houses like this are worth preserving instead of tearing them down.

Copyright © 2021 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

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