Over 150 people assembled on the evening of Sept. 4 at the United Irish Cultural Center, tucked into the far southwestern corner of San Francisco, to hear anti-development activists make their case against Mayor Daniel Lurie’s Family Zoning plan. The event showcased both new and established voices in the city’s anti-growth politics. It also demonstrated how the movement has gained traction from the ongoing recall campaign against District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio.
The town hall was organized by Neighborhoods United SF, which presents itself as a new coalition of over 60 groups concerned about the upzoning proposal, City Hall’s current iteration of plans to meet Sacramento’s requirements that the city produce over 82,000 new housing units by 2031. The event was organized to bring the groups’ traveling presentation on the upzoning plan to residents of both Districts 4 and 7. Neither responsive supervisor, Joel Engardio nor Myrna Melgar, was present at the meeting, however, their aides were present for the proceedings.
Neighborhoods United has been active at least since early last year, when a similar but perhaps less polished town hall meeting was held in North Beach. The coalition’s cofounder and primary spokesperson, Lori Brooke, is president of the Cow Hollow Association. Her whip-smart and charismatic image is the new face of the city’s homeowner-centered slow-growth politics.
Nevertheless, the event attracted more than enough veterans of San Francisco’s multigenerational nimby wars, with former Supervisor Aaron Peskin front and center. He didn’t speak at the event and tried to avoid cameras, but he circulated among the attendees and shook many hands. Also present were Quentin Kopp, the former judge, state senator and supervisor; Calvin Welch, often described as one of the city’s “most impactful” housing activists; Dennis Richards, whose term on the Planning Commission was rife with controversy; Katharine Petrin, architect of the plan to designate the entire North Beach as a historic district; David Lee, a perennial progressive ballot management candidate; and outgoing Homelessness Oversight Commissioner Christin Evans, among others.
Albert Chow, the Parkside neighborhood leader and well-known figure in the Engardio recall, was one of the opening speakers. He gave the audience what they wanted — a displacement narrative for upper-middle-class homeowners, driven by a very real war on cars:
These little pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together. They’ve taken away the Great Highway … choking down the streets, no parking, boarding islands, transit lanes, no left turn, no right turn, right turn only. All these little things are deaths by a thousand cuts,” Chow told the crowd. “We just see ourselves being restricted more and more; we seem to be the enemy. And now we’re talking about upzoning. They’re going to allow transit corridors to go up six to 14 stories. Without parking requirements.“
“We are being blamed for San Francisco being unaffordable, which is ridiculous … We’ve always been an expensive city.”
— Lori Brooke
Chow was joined at the meeting by recall campaign volunteers, as well as staffers famously provided by Peskin.
Brooke then made the main pitch of the evening, describing the Family Zoning Plan as developer-driven overkill that would require demolition of existing housing to achieve and would still leave the city relatively unaffordable. She describes the state housing mandate, meant to address both long-term affordability and environmental concerns, as “based on magical thinking.”
Moreover, she argues that the city is already meeting any legitimate demand, citing the current housing pipeline as well as legislation already passed in the last two years to expand form-based zoning to the West side and allow for fourplex buildings on corner lots in almost all neighborhoods, even though the latter has yet to produce any projects.
“How come no persuasive person is explaining how much San Francisco is already doing.… Your area, District 4 and District 7, has already done a lot. You shouldn’t be under the hammer as you already are. We feel the city should be working a lot harder to get full recognition of the entire pipeline.”
But perhaps Brooke’s most telling narrative is a fairly old one: that San Francisco has always been an expensive place to live, where most people who begin careers here eventually head for the suburbs.
“Obviously, we would love the next generation to be here. I want my daughters to be able to be here. We are being blamed for San Francisco being unaffordable, which is ridiculous. It always felt like San Francisco was expensive. We could have an earthquake, and things really don’t drop that much, and then they bounce back.… We’ve always been an expensive city.”
And yet when the next speaker, Christin Evans, came to the lectern, you might have wondered whether you’d gotten your money’s worth after all. Evans was there to spotlight the parallel concerns of small businesses over upzoning, arguing that they can get priced out of changing neighborhoods.
But she’s probably best known in the city’s public policy community as a fierce advocate of current homelessness and drug use policies, which are wearing out their welcome at City Hall, and seem somewhat difficult to align with the interests of storefront businesses.
In a wrap-up, Brooke then doubled down on the incongruity represented by Evans’s presence by giving shout-outs to all the progressive members of the Board of Supervisors who’ve been supportive of the campaign: Connie Chan, Jackie Fielder, Shamann Walton, and Cheyanne Chen.
The next front in the fight over Family Zoning is at the Planning Commission this Thursday, when companion General Plan and Planning Code amendments will be considered for a vote. Neighborhoods United, as well as housing advocates, are expected to mobilize their respective troops.
Updated Sept. 10 to note that both Supervisors Engardio and Melgar had aides present at the event.