Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan is almost right

When Mayor Daniel Lurie rolled out the Family Zoning Plan, he described it as being a critical step toward making sure that future generations of San Franciscans could call the city home. He’s not wrong about the stakes.

The plan is San Francisco’s blueprint to stay in compliance with the state’s Housing Element — a legal requirement that the City zone for roughly 36,000 new homes by early 2026. To get there, the proposal up-zones the west side and north side, increasing height limits and creating new mixed-use districts along transit corridors like Geary, 19th Avenue, and Taraval. It also introduces two major zoning tools meant to accelerate housing:

• RTO-C (Residential Transit-Oriented-Commercial) — a new district that allows more housing above ground-floor shops in what were previously lower-density neighborhoods.
• HC-SF (Housing Choice San Francisco) — a local alternative to the state density bonus program that removes density control (the count of the number of units per development) entirely for qualifying projects, replacing them with “form-based” height and bulk rules.

On paper, it’s one of the most ambitious rezoning efforts the city has undertaken in decades.

But the details matter. The way these rules are written will determine what kind of housing gets built — and for whom. If we want to build a San Francisco that truly welcomes families, not just investors or studio units, we need to get the implementation right.

That’s where the current plan falls short — and where we think a few pragmatic adjustments could turn a good zoning plan into a great one. Brace yourself - this post is about to get a bit technical.

1. Strengthen the Family-Sized Unit Mix

If we want families to stay in San Francisco, we need homes they can actually grow into. The plan’s new RTO-C district only requires 25% two-bedrooms and 10% three-bedrooms for projects starting at 10 units, a step backward from the stronger standards already in law for similar areas. HC-SF eligible projects with up to four units must have at least one two-bedroom unit; if the project has between five and nine units, 25% of the units must be at least two-bedrooms, with one being at least three bedrooms; for projects with more than nine units, the 25% requirement stands for two-bedrooms, and at least 5% of the units must be three-bedrooms.

We’d like to see the city double its requirement for family-sized units in the new RTO-C district and for projects eligible for HC-SF:

• 50% of the units in new housing projects should have two or more bedrooms, and at least 10% of the units must be three-bedrooms.

That’s how you make sure the new housing wave actually serves the families this plan is named for.

2. Scale Back Density De-Control‍

We support removing density caps along major transit and commercial corridors — that’s exactly where the city should grow. But allowing unlimited density deep into quiet residential blocks risks straining aging infrastructure, worsening congestion, and eroding neighborhood character.

The fix is simple:

• Keep full de-control limited to the corridors where infrastructure can support it. It doesn’t make sense to de-control density along non-arterial roadways that aren’t already primed with things like retail, transit, and other core services that support more population.

Concentrating growth where transit, retail, and services already exist will make new development both more sustainable and more livable.

3. Strengthen Historic Preservation Protections‍

San Francisco’s story is told through its architecture — from craftsman homes in the Sunset to mid-century apartments along Geary. The plan acknowledges existing preservation tools but doesn’t expand them. The City should:

• Strengthen protections for designated landmarks and culturally significant sites.
• Ensure rezoning doesn’t override existing historic resource surveys or local landmark districts.

Growth and preservation don’t have to be opposites — but ignoring one threatens the soul of the other.

The Family Zoning Plan is a solid foundation. But without these pragmatic fixes — stronger requirements for family-sized units, smarter limits on density de-control, and more robust preservation — the city risks missing the point.

San Franciscans don’t just want more housing; they want neighborhoods where families can thrive, kids can stay in the schools they love, and the city’s character isn’t paved over in the process. With a few course corrections, the Family Zoning Plan can deliver exactly that.