Planning Department outlines broad General Plan modernization with mandated housing and climate updates

Planning Department staff told the San Francisco Planning Commission on Nov. 4 that a parallel set of mandated updates — the housing element, transportation element, community-safety element and an environmental-justice framework — will modernize the city's General Plan and carry substantial staff and consultant costs.

"The general plan is San Francisco's vision for the future," Planning Department planner Anne Marie Rogers told commissioners, outlining why the department has prioritized housing, transportation, safety and environmental justice and why recent state laws require climate and EJ content. She described the housing-element work as a "two-plus-year effort" that includes a full environmental impact report and a staff/EIR budget in the millions: "the EIR budget alone of $3,000,000 plus," she said, and said failure to adopt the housing element by the state deadline could jeopardize access to affordable-housing funds and expose the city to fines of up to $100,000 per month.

Rogers told the commission the transportation element has benefited from prior interagency investments, with the Planning Department contributing about $2,000,000 in staff resources and an $800,000 consultant budget to date. She said the department will center updates on racial and social equity, environmental justice and resilience, and that the updates will be tied to implementation plans such as the Climate Action Plan and the Housing Crisis Resolution.

Commissioners asked about regional accountability and possible further state legislation. Rogers said San Francisco already considers regional planning and that more specificity from the state on housing and climate is likely, citing recent state laws (including SB 379 and SB 1000 as examples cited by staff) that require local general plans to address climate and environmental justice.

Staff emphasized the opportunity to align policy and capital spending through a modernized General Plan, and invited the commission to provide policy direction and help steward community engagement and timely approvals.