San Francisco's West Side: finally opening up to more housing?

Illustration by Erika Rae Langdon // Public Press and Stamen Maps // Creative Commons

Some within the San Francisco Neighborhoods Coalition say they are open to allowing growth within current zoning limits. Affordability for middle-income residents, not “densification,” is their biggest concern.  

“They’re building the wrong type of housing for people who don’t even live here,” Fukuda said.

According to a survey by Civinomics, a startup public policy research company, 40 percent of polled western neighborhood residents said they “strongly support” or “somewhat support” rezoning of their block for higher density.  

“For someone who’s not a native, my wife and I chose deliberately to raise our children in the city, so I don’t want a suburban existence,” said Ike Kwon, who bought a home when he moved to the Sunset District with his family six years ago. “A city is rich when it’s very diverse. You want to be in a dense area. Otherwise, go somewhere else.”  

District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang supports additional development up to the existing 40-foot height limit. She recently published a Sunset District Blueprint in consultation with community groups, developers and the Planning Department. Most of this new housing would be built above retail space, in the transit and commercial corridors.  

The city has already targeted many of these corridors for business district improvements. The Invest in Neighborhoods Initiative aims to distribute resources from city agencies and nonprofit groups to boost commercial growth.  

Increased density would provide more customers for older commercial corridors, and a report from SPUR, a local urban policy research organization, said mixed-use projects with housing above retail could improve the streetscape, add new public spaces and enhance shopping choices.

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