Unfamiliar Terrain

As discussed in our last update on the November 2022 Proposition M, Empty Homes Tax Ordinance (the “Empty Homes Tax”), the San Francisco Apartment Association, the Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute, the San Francisco Association of Realtors, and four individual landlords (“Challengers”) filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court challenging the constitutionality […]

With support from nearly 70% of voters in the November 2024 election, Proposition M will substantially modify the San Francisco Business and Tax Regulations Code (the “SF Tax Code”), which imposes a number of taxes on entities engaging in business in the City. The following is a summary of key existing provisions in the SF […]

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco Can downtown be saved? Mayoral candidates’ big ideas to stop the bleeding (SF Standard): The candidates agree that something must be done, but who has the right formula to make the downtown boom again? State labels S.F. as a pro-housing city, one […]

UPDATE: As of September 30, 2024, Governor Newsom signed all but one of the bills we wrote about in our original post of September 16, 2024. We have updated that post to identify the bills that have been signed into law and to reflect the veto of AB 3068. During the 2024 California Legislative Session, […]

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco S.F.’s Stonestown to become west side’s largest residential development in 50 years (SF Chronicle): The plan to convert the Stonestown Galleria from a suburban shopping center to an urban neighborhood with thousands of units of housing received its final approvals from the […]

As expected, on June 28, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) determined that San Francisco has not made adequate progress toward its State-mandated housing production goal. The City’s Housing Element—which it adopted and HCD certified in January 2023, just in time to avoid triggering certain penalties under the State Housing Element Law […]

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco Ultra Wealthy Are Putting Money Behind Bets on San Francisco’s Comeback (Bloomberg): Big investments in City businesses and real estate assets continue. New data reveals what’s really fueling downtown San Francisco’s recovery (Business Times): New data suggests nightlife and after-hours activity may […]

The California Supreme Court recently upheld the Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for the Long Range Development Plan (“LRDP”) for the University of California Berkeley (“UC Berkeley”) and a controversial housing project at a site known as People’s Park. In so doing, it applied the principle that “no matter how important its original purpose, [CEQA] remains […]

On April 12, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion that may significantly affect how development impact fees are assessed in California. In Sheetz v. County of El Dorado,[1] the Court unanimously held that legislatively imposed permit conditions are subject to the same constitutional test – informally referred to as the “Nollan/Dolan” test […]

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently amended the Planning Code’s controls to further regulate Fleet Charging and Parcel Delivery Service uses, primarily affecting Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) zoning districts. Below, we provide an overview of the legislative changes. Fleet Charging Background Fleet Charging[i] describes facilities that exclusively serve commercial or institutional vehicular fleets, […]

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco Small and Mighty: How small businesses can reinvent downtown San Francisco (SPUR Policy Brief): SPUR’s research, drawn from a literature review and interviews with City staff, small business owners, and nonprofits, pinpoints seven interventions that would make a difference to help small […]

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco San Francisco’s Montgomery Street Could Signal a Downtown Revival (NY Times): Why a seven-block stretch of Montgomery Street, from the Transamerica Pyramid to Market Street, offers hope for recovery in the City. Why TMG Partners Co-CEO Matt Field is still betting on […]