By Mckenzie Locke, CP&DR News Briefs : : cp-dr – excerpt

Three Key Housing Bills to Reach Newsom’s Desk
Three bills considered game-changers by housing advocates have been approved by both houses of the legislature and are headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Lawmakers reached an agreement with labor leaders on AB 2011 and SB 6, two housing bills that would make commercial real estate available for residential construction…Meanwhile, AB 2097, which effectively eliminates parking requirements within a half-mile of major transit stops, also passed the senate…

HCD Calls for Review of San Francisco’s Downsizing of Proposed Residential Project
The Department of Housing and Community Development has, for a second time, notified San Francisco that it may have violated state housing law for a medium-density project. In the newest case, a proposed six-story project in the Mission District, state housing officials wrote to voice their concern about the city’s decision to downsize an affordable housing project. The Planning Commission and the developer agreed to reduce the height of the project by about 10 feet, down to five stories. The height reduction would not change the number of available units, but the state argues that limiting height is a conflict in the fight to increase density. The state wrote that, under the state density bonus law, the city cannot downzone projects that contain enough affordable housing to be eligible for density increases. Officials are requesting that the city communicate its justification…(more)

This is where we are expected to let go of all reason and walk through the looking glass. What is the purpose of increasing height in a building if not to satisfy the need for more units? What is the point in forcing extra stories on a building at considerable costs to the owner and discomfort to the neighbors, if the architects have been able to design the designated number of units without an additional story?

What is the purpose of up-zoning and density if not to build housing units? Adding floors is not the only way to add density. One may eliminate other uses and or use of the many options to reduce open space to extend the footprint of the building and reduce the building height. This project sounds with a reasonable solution was reached that all parties agreed to. The owner probably wanted to reduce the cost of the projects and may realize a greater profit due to those reduced cost. Reducing cost during an inflationary period makes sense and may have been the deciding factor.

What is HCD trying to do? Force the developer to spend more money?