WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON

REIGNING IN MONSTER HOMES IN D8: In March, the Board unanimously approved an ordinance I introduced to reign in the conversion of existing housing into luxury monster homes that erode our existing housing stock and only exacerbate the affordability crisis. For decades San Francisco zoning has made it easier to flip existing housing into monster homes than to build small apartment buildings for middle class households, and this ordinance seeks to change that pattern in District 8. It will create a Central Neighborhoods Special Use District in District 8 neighborhoods, including Noe Valley, Dolores Heights, and Glen Park, where units larger than 3,000 will require a Conditional Use approval and units over 4,000 square feet will be prohibited with limited exceptions. We’ve done a really good job of building housing for millionaires and billionaires, but we need to be building housing for the rest of us.
 
PROVIDING SHELTER TO EVERYONE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS:  On March 22, I introduced “A Place for All,” an expanded version of my 2020 ordinance to make it the policy of the City and County of San Francisco to offer all people experiencing homeless a safe place to sleep. San Franciscans are understandably frustrated that after multiple decades and many billions of dollars spent to “solve homelessness,” thousands of unhoused people continue to sleep on the streets night after night. We cannot continue to rely on residential neighborhoods as campsites of last resort. The waiting line for permanent housing cannot be the streets, sidewalks, and other outdoor spaces of our neighborhoods. This policy is a modest step to produce a long overdue plan to end unsheltered homelessness in San Francisco.    
 
HONORING LGBTQ ACTIVISM: San Francisco will soon be honoring Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence co-founder Sister Vish-Knew with a street of her own. For more than four decades the Sisters have been fierce activists and fundraisers for queer and transgender rights, LGBTQ+ youth, people living with HIV/AIDS, and so many other causes. What began on Easter weekend in 1979 in San Francisco has grown into a worldwide community service, activism, and arts organization that has been at the forefront of the queer liberation movement ever since. In February, the Board approved my resolution to add ceremonial street signs proclaiming Sister Vish-Knew Way to Alert Alley, just around the corner from the Sisters' first public appearance.
 
SUPPORTING MASSAGE AND WELLNESS PROVIDERS: In March, the Board approved my ordinance updating zoning controls for massage businesses in commercial districts across the city. The ordinance will allow massage therapists to operate in acupuncture and chiropractic offices, a follow-up to a larger effort I co-sponsored last year to simplify zoning for this legitimate health service, which had been overly restrictive even though these businesses are already heavily regulated by the State and our Department of Public Health. This ordinance recognizes that massage therapists, who are predominantly women and have been especially hard hit during the pandemic, are health service providers whose care we welcome in our neighborhoods.
 
MOVING FOURPLEXES FORWARD: My ordinance to make it easier to build small, multi-family buildings in residential neighborhoods citywide continues to advance. In February, I introduced a new version of the ordinance that would up-zone all RH-1 zoning districts in the city to RH-2 to allow duplexes in every neighborhood, while allowing a density exception to go up to four units, or up to six units on corner lots that historically have accommodated more density. The Board’s Land Use committee considered this ordinance on March 7 where a number of amendments, including rent control requirements for new units that use the density exception, were added and the ordinance is expected to be heard again later this month.
 
OPENING THE DOOR TO LGBTQ BATH HOUSES: During the 1970s and early 80s bathhouses were a focal point of gay social life in San Francisco and were important community meeting places where friends would gather to share stories, or watch a live show. Sadly, these community institutions  were mostly shut down by city and court orders during the height of the AIDS crisis. In 2020 I authored legislation to roll back those outdated health orders. But, last year we learned that a number of queer entrepreneurs seeking to open a new generation of bathhouses were still blocked under current zoning rules. 

In March, I introduced an ordinance to clarify the zoning for adult sex venues and make sure they are allowed in historically LGBTQ neighborhoods like the Castro and SOMA. I hope this ordinance will complete the work we began in 2020 to overcome the lingering stigma of a painful chapter in the history of San Francisco’s queer community by once again welcoming these safe, LGBTQ-affirming spaces in our city, and paving the way for queer entrepreneurs to open them up and contribute to our post-pandemic economic recovery. 

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