On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will consider rejecting Mayor London Breed’s veto of legislation introduced by Aaron Peskin that restricts housing density on the city’s northeast waterfront. The legislation impacts the height of buildings in the Jackson Square Historic District and nearby neighborhoods.
SF Supervisors to Vote on Overturning Breed Veto of Peskin’s Housing Density Law
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin speak with a crowd gathered for a Q&A about the fentanyl drug crisis in San Francisco at UN Plaza on May 23, 2023. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
Breed and Peskin’s sparring on housing is an early salvo in a possible election matchup. Breed is running to retain her seat, and Peskin has said he’s considering joining the race. He would be the only politician from San Francisco’s progressive Democrat wing to run.
“The override of the veto on Tuesday is really going to create precedent as to whether or not San Francisco is going to have sensible planning in the future,” Peskin told KQED.
Catch up fast: The current law allows unrestricted construction in the Jackson Square Historic District and Northeast Waterfront Historic District. Peskin’s legislation passed on March 5. A supermajority — 8 out of 11 supervisors — is the threshold to override the veto. If every member of the Board of Supervisors who voted to approve the height limit also votes to overturn Breed’s veto, the legislation will survive.
Some Telegraph Hill residents fear recently proposed housing projects will change the character of their neighborhoods. Frances Schreiberg, a neighbor who lives on Vallejo Street, wrote in a February letter to the Board of Supervisors that the community would resemble Miami Beach with a wall of expensive high rises built along the Embarcadero if Peskin’s legislation did not pass.
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The opposing view: Breed vetoed Peskin’s legislation on March 14. In a letter to the Board of Supervisors, she said taller and denser housing construction is needed for San Francisco to reach the state’s mandated goal of building 82,000 housing units by 2031.
“Many areas of San Francisco, including eastern neighborhoods like the South of Market, Potrero Hill, and the Mission, have also already removed density limits to encourage new housing,” Breed wrote in the letter.
The context: The legislation and Breed’s veto clearly stake out the two lawmakers’ positions on the future of housing development in San Francisco. Breed is for building housing in an unrestricted fashion across the city, and Peskin favors building in selective neighborhoods depending on the needs of existing tenants and homeowners.
Breed said she would veto any “anti-housing” legislation that crossed her desk in her State of the City speech earlier this month. Peskin argued Breed’s housing policies threaten San Francisco’s iconic nature.
“San Francisco is the envy of great cities around the world because it is a beautiful place, surrounded by water on three sides and has had a history of smart, careful planning,” he said. “All of that is now in jeopardy, as the mayor has pushed a series of laws to allow high-rise development along San Francisco’s waterfront, which is really a very special zone that needs to be treated with the utmost care.”
What we are watching: Win or lose, Breed and Peskin will be able to use this housing battle on mailers to San Francisco voters to argue their philosophy on new development.