Mayor Lurie Signs Legislation Streamlining Process to Build Housing in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today signed the Slashing Housing Appeals and Delays Everywhere (SHADE) Act, legislation that makes it easier to build housing as many San Franciscans navigate the rising cost of living. Authored by District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, the SHADE Act aligns San Francisco’s environmental review requirements with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and associated state guidelines—speeding up and reducing the cost of the city’s environmental review process while maintaining strong environmental protections.

The new law builds on Mayor Lurie’s work under his Family Opportunity Agenda to make it easier to build more housing. Through Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning plan and a major investment proposed for affordable housing, the city is driving new housing creation so San Franciscans can afford to raise their kids here. Through PermitSF, the city is also speeding up the permitting process to get housing built more quickly, and a recent expansion of the digital permitting hub has brought 75% of the city’s building permits online. Earlier this week, Mayor Lurie introduced legislation to unlock 2,400 new homes in the Fillmore, after breaking ground on 7,200 long-awaited homes at the former Candlestick Park stadium site. While building more housing, the mayor is also helping San Franciscans stay in their homes today, recently announcing a package of immediate actions in partnership with the Board of Supervisors to protect renters from unwarranted evictions and prevent sudden rent spikes.

“For decades, San Francisco has made it easier to block housing than to build it. Now, we are using every tool available to build more housing more quickly, and this is just the latest example,” said Mayor Lurie. “By aligning local requirements with state law, we’re cutting red tape that has long delayed and driven up the cost of building new homes. I want to thank Supervisor Mahmood for his leadership on this legislation and for helping our city unlock the potential for new homes in our neighborhoods.”

“San Francisco is done letting red tape cast a shadow over our housing future. The SHADE Act clears the way for more homes, a more predictable approval process, and a city where more people can afford to put down roots,” said Supervisor Mahmood. “We can protect our parks, respect our environment, and welcome more neighbors. We don’t have to choose. It’s time to let housing projects see the light of day.”

The SHADE Act streamlines the environmental review process by:

• Removing shadow impact analysis from local CEQA review. The Planning Department will continue to evaluate building shadow impacts on city parks.
• Reducing the appeal window for local CEQA determinations from 30 to 15 days.
• Eliminating three types of CEQA appeals: Preliminary Negative Declarations, “No Substantial Modifications” determinations, and updates to the “Not a Project” list.
• Requiring the Board of Supervisors to act on a CEQA appeal within 14 days of the hearing date and to issue findings within 14 days of any reversal of a CEQA determination in most cases.
• Eliminating the requirement for a Planning Commission hearing for a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
• Reducing noticing requirements for determinations and providing more flexibility in how notice is given.  

The SHADE Act could save between three and nine months on some environmental reviews and up to $25,000 per project in reduced staff, consultant, and administrative costs.
“The SHADE Act aligns San Francisco’s rules with California’s environmental review requirements, which are among the strongest in the nation, to unlock potential housing while continuing to protect the environment,” said San Francisco Planning Director Sarah Dennis Phillips.

“San Francisco just made it easier to build homes. For years, shadow appeals have held up projects that otherwise met every zoning rule. The SHADE Act ends that by aligning local review with state requirements, while retaining sunlight review for tall buildings near parks,” said Corey Smith, Housing Action Coalition Executive Director. “This creates a clear process for builders and neighbors from approval to construction. Thank you to Supervisor Mahmood and his staff for their leadership on this legislation, and to the Board for getting it done.”  

“While there is still more we need to do to address our housing crisis, the SHADE Act is a step in the right direction. Shadows should never have been a reason to delay housing, and now they won’t be, thanks to this legislation,” said Ben Ewing, San Francisco YIMBY Lead. “We appreciate Supervisor Mahmood’s continued efforts to cut down on the unnecessary delays that have bogged down San Francisco’s housing production, and we look forward to continuing to work together to build a more affordable city.”

“Lining up San Francisco’s environmental reviews with state law just makes good sense,” said Seamus Naughten, Dolmen Property Group Managing Director and Principal. “There’s a real sense of momentum coming out of City Hall. The mayor and supervisors are taking meaningful steps to remove unnecessary barriers to development, restore confidence, and get construction moving again in San Francisco.”

“Carrying costs for projects delayed through years of entitlement have historically played a very damaging role in the financial feasibility of projects. Removing unnecessary layers of CEQA added by past local policies is a move in the right direction, giving much-needed hope to new projects,” said Sean Sullivan, Founder of JS Sullivan Development. “Our city’s housing production backlog is a complex, multi-layered issue, but policy changes like this one, taken together with others, will make a greater contribution to moving new projects forward.”