Housing

Our goal: Make it affordable to live here.

SPUR’s housing agenda:

• Zone for more housing—in the right locations.
• Invest in permanently affordable housing.
• Enable more housing to be affordable by design.
• Rethink parking requirements.
• Encourage secondary units.
• Get housing development fees right.

Read more from SPUR’s Agenda for Change

  • SPUR Report

    8 Ways to Make San Francisco More Affordable

    San Francisco is in the midst of an affordability crisis. Reversing the situation will require far-reaching changes to the city’s housing policies. But there are many things we can do at the local level to make San Francisco more affordable for the people who live here.

    Read More

  • SPUR Report

    Re-Envisioning the San Francisco Housing Authority

    The San Francisco Housing Authority has a budget short fall and lacks funding to meet its capital needs. SPUR offers recommendations to help the agency become financially sustainable over the long term.

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  • SPUR Report

    Affordable by Design

    Housing units that are affordable "by design" cost less to produce because they’re small, efficiently designed and don’t come with a parking space. Could this be a new way to produce middle-income housing without using public subsidy?

    Read More

  • SPUR Report

    A Housing Strategy for San Francisco

    San Francisco’s unique culture is threatened by the high cost of housing. Unless we do something, the city will lose its artists, its progressive politics, its immigrants and its young people. This second edition of our Housing Strategy for San Francisco updates the policy reports that define SPUR's housing agenda.

    Read More

Updates and Events

SPUR Supports SB 828 In Concept

Policy Letter April 12, 2018
SPUR is pleased to offer support in concept to SB 828, as of March 7, 2018. The bill addresses the processes by which the state and regional agencies allocate housing targets.

SPUR Supports SB 827 In Concept

Policy Letter April 12, 2018
SPUR is pleased to offer support in concept to SB 827, as of March 7, 2018. The bill will overcome barriers to the creation of infill homes in the right places — close to major transit stops and high-frequency bus stops throughout California.

SPUR Supports AB 2923 In Concept (TOD near BART)

Policy Letter April 12, 2018
SPUR is pleased to offer support in concept to AB 2923 (Chiu and Grayson), as of March 7, 2018. AB 2923 would require the BART Board to establish transit-oriented development standards for BART-owned land within a half-mile of stations.

What the Bridge Housing Pilot Can Do for All San Jose Residents

News April 5, 2018
With only enough shelter beds to serve 25 percent of its homeless population, San Jose continues to look for short-term housing interventions. One promising step: The San Jose Department of Housing is in the process of piloting Bridge Housing Communities, a micro community of 40 sleeping cabins and community spaces to be placed on city-owned property.

SPUR Supports SB831 (Accessory Dwelling Units)

Policy Letter March 2, 2018
SPUR is pleased to offer support to SB 831 (Wieckowski), which we believe will help grow the number of homes in California in a form that is cost-effective, low-impact and appropriate in many kinds of neighborhood environments.

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