Fiscal Year 2023-24
Highlights
Permit Streamlining and Legislation
Working in partnership with the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”), the Department completed broad changes to satisfy State mandates intended to shorten the development review process, provide applicants with greater certainty, and facilitate housing production.
HCD issued their “San Francisco Housing Policy and Practice Review” on October 25, 2023. This first-of-its-kind document “identifies, and seeks to remove, barriers to housing approvals and construction at all income levels.” It contains 18 required actions and 10 recommended actions to resolve San Francisco's inconsistencies with state law and accelerate housing production. Through internal process improvements and local legislation, we have satisfied the vast majority of them. The City continues to partner with HCD to advance our shared goal of approving more housing, faster. These process improvements not only address state requirements but also reflect the tangible results of streamlining efforts, such as significantly reducing project review and approval times.
Since July 1st, 2023, SF Planning has made significant strides in streamlining project review times. Between 2022 and 2024 average project approval times have been cut by 47%.
The reduction in timelines is credited to a combination of legislative reforms and internal procedural improvements. The Department has implemented stricter review goals than those mandated by the State’s Permit Streamlining Act, ensuring more efficient processing and predictable outcomes for project sponsors.
Faster to start work
All applications are now reviewed for completeness within 30 days, with an average turnaround time of 14 days.
Faster plan-checks
Compliance review is completed within the 30-day target.
Faster approvals through new legislation
Housing approval timelines have been drastically reduced (see new legislation below).
These enhancements have not only accelerated project timelines but also provided sponsors with greater predictability. A clearer and more reliable timeline allows sponsors to effectively plan and overcome construction and financing hurdles, enabling a more dynamic development environment in San Francisco.
New Legislation
Timelines for housing approvals have been drastically reduced because of new local and State streamlining laws enacted in 2023 and 2024. Including Mayor Breed’s Constraints Reduction Ordinance, these have significantly reduced bureaucratic hurdles while safeguarding transparency. Especially significant State laws that directly impact San Francisco’s housing production include:
Constraints Reduction Ordinance
Mayor London Breed's local legislation (effective January 1, 2024) streamlines San Francisco’s housing permitting process by simplifying code requirements, cutting bureaucratic hurdles, and introducing new incentives to boost affordable housing development.
SB 423
California Senate Bill No. 423 (effective January 1, 2024) is an extension of SB 35 that accelerates affordable housing development by making the streamlined approval process permanent and applicable to a broader range of projects. A provision unique to San Francisco made the program more widely accessible on June 28, 2024 by increasing the types of eligible projects.
AB 1287
California Assembly Bill No. 1287 (effective January 1, 2024) effectively doubled the State’s density bonus program by increasing the maximum density bonus from 50% to 100% for eligible projects.
AB 1114
California Assembly Bill No. 1114 (effective January 1, 2024) eliminates certain post-entitlement building permit appeals that uniquely affected San Francisco and requires strict timelines for building permit review.
AB 2011
California Assembly Bill No. 2011 (effective July 1, 2023), also known as the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, facilitates the development of housing in commercial zones. It establishes a streamlined, ministerial approval process provided certain affordability and labor conditions are met.