San Francisco’s Rezoning Will Displace Tenants and Small Businesses
One of the many neighborhoods slated for slated for Redevelopment, Clement Street in San Francisco, with a bustling Farmer's Market, restaurants and other small businesses with occupied housing above. (Photo: Joseph Smooke)
August 6, 2024
ARE your home or neighborhood Small businesses targeted for redevelopment?
Instead of moving San Francisco to a future of vibrant, diverse and affordable neighborhoods, the City is proposing policies that threaten what many of us cherish about living here— our diversity, our neighborhood small businesses, and our networks of neighbors and community supports. Worse than that, the San Francisco Planning Department’s proposals threaten whether we will be able to be here at all.
Many San Francisco residents and small business owners are not even aware that their home or business, and those surrounding them throughout their neighborhood, are being targeted for Redevelopment by the San Francisco Planning Dept. The SF Planning Dept is proposing that large areas of the city be rezoned, or upzoned, to encourage developers to tear down existing homes and businesses in order to build new, expensive market-rate condos and commercial spaces.
“I want residents to look at the map of the proposed rezoned areas and think of all the small businesses and homes that are effectively slated for demolition through these rezonings, by encouraging developers to redevelop these areas.”
The Race & Equity in all Planning Coalition (REP-SF) foresees severe negative impacts of their proposed upzonings on historically marginalized communities, small businesses, and neighborhoods. By encouraging developers to demolish and rebuild these areas, the San Francisco Planning Dept. is setting up the same destructive policies of urban renewal, also called Redevelopment, that destroyed our communities, and caused mass displacement and job loss. As during the Redevelopment era, many areas targeted for rezonings now have significant populations of BIPOC and low-income families, seniors, merchants, and workers.
Now, the neighborhoods that the SF Planning Dept are targeting for Redevelopment include: The Richmond, The Sunset, Western Addition (again!), Ingleside, Divisadero, Nob Hill, Cow Hollow, Presidio Heights, and Duboce Triangle.
“I want residents to look at the map of the proposed rezoned areas and think of all the small businesses and homes that are effectively slated for demolition through these rezonings, by encouraging developers to redevelop these areas. The grocery stores, restaurants, medical office buildings and shops we all rely on everyday – mom and pop shops and their employees that got us through the pandemic – will all be gone if all of these plans come to fruition. The same goes for all the tenants that live above these buildings,” says Dyan Ruiz of the REP-SF Coalition.
Displacement through evictions, harassment and rent increases are happening all over the City and the upzonings will only serve to ramp this up. The Planning Department’s upzonings are literally trying to increase real estate speculation and profiteering of housing, which will further heighten the vulnerability of tenants and small businesses.
Plans for the upzonings are currently being considered by the SF Planning Commission, then will need to be approved by the SF Board of Supervisors. The upzonings are part of an effort by the City to build 82,000 new units of housing by 2031 in compliance with regional housing goals set by the State. SF Planning Dept staff have admitted that only by demolishing existing buildings can they reach this goal.
The REP-SF Coalition has the solutions to refocus the City on what communities need most. Through our Citywide People’s Plan and the over one hundred equity-based actions we were able to get included into the SF Housing Element, which guides the City’s housing policies, we know what will work.
REP-SF Community Demands:
Rezone for 100% affordable housing – not market-rate.
Build affordable, family-sized units – not tiny studios.
Increase tenant and small business protections before rezonings.
Areas Targeted for Upzoning
The areas that SF Planning is targeting for rezoning are in orange on this map.
View the SF Planning Dept Rezoning Interactive Map to see if your home or nearby small businesses are targeted for Redevelopment: bit.ly/SF_Rezoning_Map
San Francisco Proposed Rezonings Are Redevelopment 2.0
The rezonings will displace countless tenants and small businesses, destroying critical infrastructure, and neighborhood-serving businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants, retailers, medical offices, and rent-controlled housing. The rezonings will decimate the networks that low-income and communities of color rely on. SF Planning wants to erase us and replace us.
In San Francisco, historic Redevelopment targeted thriving BIPOC neighborhoods, especially Black and Japanese residents, small businesses, and community networks in the Fillmore, Western Addition and Japantown, and Filipinos in the South of Market.
“Growing up in the Fillmore/ Western Addition, it was physically apparent that our neighborhood was extremely deprived and our neighborhood didn't look like others. As a child, I always thought Black people must have done something wrong for our community to be so desolate,” says Ericka Scott, San Francisco African American Arts & Cultural District, a member of the REP-SF coalition. “Later, I learned about the effects of Redevelopment, the destruction of Black home ownership and Black-owned businesses that left our communities dismantled and scattered. We have not recovered from the traumas it caused. Because of the displacement of Black people, generations behind me have no place to call their own. We are treated as strangers in our community.”
“The Japanese community in the Fillmore suffered through the Redevelopment era and now decades later, we are seeing the that neighborhood I live in is being targeted with upzonings that will create the same type of urban renewal and severe harms for my community,” says Don Misumi of Richmond District Rising, a member of the REP-SF coalition.
While urban renewal was enacted over decades and included extensive outreach, years of study on the impacts, and policies that would mitigate negative impacts, the currently proposed Rezonings are being rushed to the point that very few small businesses and residents targeted for demolition and redevelopment are aware they are being targeted.
“This isn’t planning. We need to protect and stabilize tenants and small businesses across the city – not displace them.”
“These rezonings threaten to displace a huge number of small businesses and tenants throughout San Francisco and will destroy our communities. This is Redevelopment 2.0 and we reject this plan. The rezonings have been arbitrarily rushed to completion two years ahead of the state's January 2026 deadline, and are not the result of any meaningful community engagement. Meanwhile, there are no plans to get to the 57% affordable housing mandated by the state,” said Jeantelle Laberinto of the REP-SF Coalition.
There is no system of accountability to enforce a tenants’ “right to return” and there is no way a small business will survive being displaced for the over two years of construction. There is no overall analysis of foreseen negative impacts such as the number of rent-controlled housing units that will be lost, the number of tenant-occupied housing and small businesses which will be destroyed, or a real plan to assist the huge numbers of people and businesses affected.
“This isn't planning – it's simply a plan to redevelop our communities through market deregulation and developer giveaways. This upzoning proposal does not provide anything our communities need – it only benefits for-profit, market-driven interests. It is completely the opposite of a plan that was supposed to be centered around racial and social equity. We need to protect and stabilize tenants and small businesses across the city – not displace them,” said David Woo of SOMA Pilipinas, a member of the REP-SF coalition.
Small Business Displacement
Countless local small businesses, including 126 Legacy Businesses, are being targeted in Planning’s Upzoning map, Legacy Businesses have served the City for over 30 years and are the backbone of their communities. Several streets and businesses vital to our neighborhoods and City are being targeted, for example in:
The Richmond: business corridors such as Clement St, Geary Blvd, Fulton St, Balboa St. These include small businesses like New May Wah grocery, Green Apple Books, Cinderella Bakery and Balboa Theater.
The Sunset: business corridors such as Irving St, Judah St, Noriega St. These include small businesses like Polly Ann ice cream shop, Thanh Long restaurant, and Other Avenues grocery.
Other Targeted Neighborhoods: Western Addition, Ingleside, Divisadero, Nob Hill, Cow Hollow, Presidio Heights, and Duboce Triangle.
Green Apple Bookstore on Clement Street, one of the 126 Legacy Businesses that are in the targeted areas for Redevelopment.
(Photo: Joseph Smooke)
Neighboring businesses, outside of the targeted areas, will also face threats due to rent increases, other forms of displacement, and the disruptions of ongoing construction. Since there is no commercial rent control in California and most small business owners in San Francisco do not own their buildings, they are incredibly vulnerable to these types of rezonings without affordability requirements or additional tenant protections. The upzonings incentivize property owners to increase rents or sell to developers who will replace existing businesses and housing with bigger, pricier housing and commercial spaces.
“The City has provided no plan for how businesses like mine, or the people that they employ, might survive the proposed upzoning.”
“We at Peña Pachamama are facing displacement because the new building managers refuse to negotiate a fair and just lease,” said founders, artists, and musicians Quentin and Eddy Navia. “Our legacy business is known as a cultural icon, a vital artistic center for hosting world music, artists, poets, dancers, and performers, as well as an important organic restaurant in the City. Yet there is nothing preventing the realty company Hogan & Vest from pushing us out. We hope our story is not only a warning sign but also a call to this wonderful city to protect all legacy and small businesses that give character and magic to our neighborhoods and communities!”
“The rezoning legislation, as it stands today, would have a disastrous effect on San Francisco’s small businesses, including my own. Buildings like the one that houses Bar Part Time would be prime targets for sale and demolition, and the City has provided no plan for how businesses like mine, or the people that they employ, might survive the proposed upzoning,” said Justin Dolezal with Small Business Forward, a member coalition of REP-SF. “The City must have a plan in place to mitigate these negative impacts including relocation assistance, business disruption payments, and a plan to account for job losses.”
Planning code words: Defining key terms
“Zoning” is the set of rules that tell developers what they can build and where they can build it.
“Rezoning” is the process of changing those rules – so developers can build something different tomorrow than they were allowed to build today. Instead of rezoning for 100% affordable, areas are being rezoned for more expensive market-rate housing.
“Upzoning” is a type of rezoning that allows developers to build taller buildings and more units, including smaller units. Upzoning automatically makes properties more valuable, which increases housing costs for both buyers and renters. Upzoning creates incentives for developers to tear down existing buildings to build newly allowed buildings that have higher profits.
“Redevelopment” or “Urban Renewal” was a set of federal policies (officially from 1949–73) that enabled cities around the U.S. to enact aggressive demolitions of inner-city neighborhoods in the name of “slum clearance,” despite – or because – they were vibrant, diverse communities.
REP-SF COMMUNITY DEMANDS for Housing Affordability and Equity
The REP-SF Coalition has spoken at several Planning Commission hearings, wrote many letters and met with Planning Dept leadership to ensure that we focus on City planning for people, and not developer profits. Here are the solutions we are pushing for.
The City Must Rezone for 100% Affordable Housing
We need the Planning Dept. to rezone areas of San Francisco for 100% affordable housing that is truly accessible to low-income families, seniors, and workers! We need the City to build affordable housing first!
Do real city planning. This isn't planning. It's simply a plan for market deregulation to reach the bloated production goal of 82,000 units by 2031. The areas identified for rezoning are in so-called “well-resourced neighborhoods,” a state designation that was supposed to encourage affordable housing. Instead, the City is using it to encourage the development of expensive, market-rate housing.
Build for families and working class people. The upzoning proposal provides nothing our communities need. Despite the developer giveaways, there is no additional requirement for below-market-rate housing or family-size units, even though that's what we need— not tiny studios.
We need development without displacement. The Planning Dept. knows that there will be mass displacement, but has no plan to deal with this. They have not implemented the mandated increased investments in tenant protections, nor any assistance for small businesses. Developers, with no oversight from the City, will manage all the tenant relocation and replacement of rent-control units, creating a situation rife for abuse with no accountability. The City needs a real plan to prevent and mitigate the impacts of tenant and small business displacement.
We need true community-centered planning. The Mayor has arbitrarily rushed the rezonings years ahead of the state's deadline of January 2026, without input from our communities, and most residents and small businesses have no idea they are happening. Communities most impacted, including historically marginalized communities, should be leading the decisions that will shape their neighborhoods.
REP-SF coalition Calls-To-Action
Write to your District Supervisor to voice your concerns about the upzonings and their harmful impacts in your neighborhood! Tell our City leaders to reject SF Planning’s upzoning proposal because it will encourage mass demolitions and displacement in our communities.
Email Full Board: board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org
Email All Legislative Aides: bos-legislative_aides@sfgov.org
Sign REP’s petition & share widely! bit.ly/REPSF-Equity-Petition
Tell San Francisco’s leadership that it’s time to put affordability and equity first!
Advocate for REP-SF’s Community Demands:
Rezone for 100% affordable housing – not market-rate.
Build affordable, family-sized units – not tiny studios.
Increase tenant and small business protections before rezonings.
Download & Share the REP-SF Flyer about the Rezonings
Scan or go here for English & Spanish Flyers.
