San Francisco voters recently approved a ballot measure that will require residential developments of 25 units or more to include 25% affordable units, up from the current requirement of 12%.
Proponents of the new law are hoping it will be a step forward in the effort to provide enough affordable housing in a city with some of the highest home prices and rents in the country. A grandfathering provision allows developers with completed applications to take advantage of a lower requirement depending on the date applications were approved.
Critics charged that the measure will actually reduce affordable housing because the costs of compliance would be too high to make larger projects financially possible, and developers would now focus on projects with less than 25 units. A recent San Francisco Bay Area Council survey determined that more than 33% of the Bay Area's residents are considering leaving the area due to housing costs, lengthy commuting times and the increasing cost of living.
Related Stories
Wood | Oct 19, 2018
Design revealed for mass-timber residential tower in Milwaukee
The developer is confident that the city will approve construction, which is scheduled to start next year.
Mixed-Use | Oct 15, 2018
35-story mixed-use tower will be tallest residential building in Long Beach
Studio One Eleven designed the tower.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 10, 2018
Affordable treasures
This year’s prestigious Gold Nugget Awards honor four projects that provide affordably priced housing for homeless families, seniors, and veterans.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 9, 2018
Breaking new ground: The New Home Company
The company, which is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif. relies heavily on focus groups and market research to understand buyer preferences specific to each new community.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 9, 2018
Bjarke Ingels Group creates 66 homes for low-income citizens in Copenhagen
The building is approximately 73,000 sf.
Mixed-Use | Oct 4, 2018
Four-story hotel and adjacent affordable housing community opens in California’s Sonoma County
Axis/GFA Architecture and Design was the architect for the project.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 25, 2018
Fitness centers go for wellness
Equipment choice, room size, program offerings—a lot of thinking has to go into creating a fitness facility that pays off in resident satisfaction.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 24, 2018
Topsy-turvy: Creative use of air rights results in a model of urban luxury design
Using bold cantilevering and imaginative structural design, ODA and its project team created a 12-story building whose massing grows in width as it steps upward.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 21, 2018
A place of ‘voluntary and cheerful resort’
A project team soldiers on in the wake of a nightmarish turn of events.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 19, 2018
Multifamily market trends 2018: What the experts are saying
The growth of keyless entry solutions and demand for oversized units are among the trends and ideas shared at Marcus & Millichap’s 2018 Multifamily Forum in Chicago.