San Francisco Planning Annual Report
Fiscal Year 2024-25

We are proud to present the 2024-2025 Annual Report of the San Francisco Planning Department. The Annual Report outlines the evolving nature of our work alongside caseload, budgetary, and organizational highlights.

During this reporting period, the Department’s policy and long-range planning work has maintained focus on unlocking desperately needed housing, Downtown revitalization, and enabling equitable growth alongside thoughtful preservation of our cultural and historical assets.

Our regulatory work continues to benefit from significant improvements, both legislative and administrative, that have dramatically accelerated the approval process for the housing and small business projects that are critical to a thriving city. Additionally, as a key partner in Mayor Lurie’s PermitSF initiative, the Department is working in lockstep with sister agencies to wholistically transform the permitting experience into one that is customer-centric, fast, predictable, and transparent.

This reporting period has been one of transition, with Planning Director Rich Hillis stepping down in June 2025. Director Hillis – whose first week on the job in March 2020 coincided with the COVID-19 stay-at-home order - stewarded the Department through the pandemic, renewing our focus on equity, housing, small businesses, and government efficiency. In July 2025, the Department welcomed new Director Sarah Dennis Phillips, previously the Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and – earlier in her career – a proud San Francisco Planning Department staffer.

Especially this year, our successful work would not have been possible without the dedication and support of the Mayor’s Office, the Board of Supervisors, the Planning and Historic Preservation Commissions, sister agencies, community partners, and Planning Department staff. Together, we’ve made strides toward a more inclusive, thriving San Francisco.

Looking to the future, we remain committed to addressing the City’s challenges, to making San Francisco a better place to live, work, and play, and to reflecting the values, aspirations, and resilience of all our residents.