Scott Wiener

Wiener is really good on housing, much better than the Peskin group of Supes. Read his post when he came out against the Mission Moratorium to get a sense of his housing views:

http://www.scottwiener.com/more_affordable_housing_not_a_housing_moratorium_is_what_we_need_in_san_francisco

Alternatively, read his post on Medium titled, "Yes, Supply & Demand Apply to Housing, Even in San Francisco":

https://medium.com/@Scott_Wiener/yes-supply-demand-apply-to-housing-even-in-san-francisco-193c1b0c190f#.b56wxd854

> These trends are exactly why the supply-and-demand deniers pose such a significant challenge to actually fixing our housing problem. As we work hard to try to produce new housing — through market-produced housing, below-market-rate housing, new types of housing such as co-housing and micro-units, and more flexibility toward in-law units — we have a vocal and influential set of advocates pronouncing that we shouldn’t even bother to build market-produced housing, since, according to them, doing so won’t lower housing costs and may even raise housing costs. This argument, to the extent it succeeds, not only reduces the amount of housing produced in San Francisco but actually slows the production of below-market-rate housing, since market-produced housing, through our inclusionary housing program, is the most significant source of new affordable units coming online.

This is simple supply and demand. Everyone from liberal economist Paul Krugman [1] to SF board of supervisors member Scott Wiener [2] agrees that California and bay area housing policies are horrible. The only people who actually like these policies are the people who are benefiting from them, typically because they moved to a neighborhood decades ago and are either on rent control or "rent control for property tax" (aka Proposition 13).

The solution is simple. Set aside a square mile in each city on the peninsula and zone it such that it is illegal to build a building of less than 10 stories. At the same time, and more importantly, repeal both proposition 13 and rent control statutes.

For step 3, sit back and watch the California economy go into turbo drive as there is a massive construction boom, which funnels money away from rich landlords and into the pockets of ordinary construction workers and the service workers that support both them and the engineers the region's wealth is built on.

1 - http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/opinion/reckonings-a-rent-affair.html
2 - https://medium.com/@Scott_Wiener/yes-supply-demand-apply-to-housing-even-in-san-francisco-193c1b0c190f

SB 827 upzones for apartments half a mile around every major transit stop https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB827

SB 828 would double the amount of zoning capacity that each city is required to provide in the Housing Element report (currently each city must provide zoning capacity for only 100% of estimated RHNA population growth; this would increase it to 200%) and carry over approval deficits (currently if a city does not approve any housing, the deficit is forgiven every 8 years and the city can reuse the unbuilt parcels in the next Housing Element report). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB828

SB 829 would allow farmers to build farmworker housing https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB829

All of these bills have just been announced by Senator Wiener (https://medium.com/@Scott_Wiener/california-needs-a-housing-first-agenda-my-2018-housing-package-1b6fe95e41da) and may be watered down, heavily amended, or dropped over the next year.

That was sort of the point. The bill was not authorizing anybody to raze existing homes to create new homes. It was not changing demolition controls, and it was not changing any approval processes. It was about setting baseline numbers for what would be legal to build. Scott Wiener is a nerdy guy and his policies are very nerdy.

SB 827 was about allowing dense housing near transit. Wiener’s political rival held an anti-SB-827 rally next to a major transit stop with 3 light-rail train lines and a major bus line (and several minor bus lines). That location has a 26-foot height limit. If SB 827 had passed, those 1-story boutique shops could be replaced by 4-story apartments over retail.

https://medium.com/@Scott_Wiener/offering-no-solutions-jane-kim-cynically-flips-and-attacks-senator-wieners-transit-housing-bill-f51765f86a22

This is one reason why I support London Breed for mayor.

Here's Scott Wiener's post about meeting 2040 housing growth plans: https://medium.com/@Scott_Wiener/want-to-know-why-the-bay-area-has-a-housing-crisis-read-this-map-b4d7a56d12f1

Looks like East bay is falling behind schedule.

Here's housing prices since crash peek:http://west.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/hugolefebvre-changeinhousingprice.jpg

I live several doors down from the old KFC. I miss the old Sugoi Sushi that was there - but am fine with the new construction. Am lucky to have rent control. Right now, if I move away, I wouldn't be able to afford moving back.