REP-SF Planning to the People Newsletter: May 2025
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Thank you to everyone who joined us for critical hearings and actions in April! Read below for updates and recent articles on our advocacy to keep small businesses and residents in San Francisco! And actions you can take for housing justice this month!
May is Affordable Housing Month! It's time to think big and imagine a bold future where everyone has a safe, stable place to call home.
Our REP-SF Planning to the People newsletter provides the latest news and ways to take action on behalf of grassroots communities for housing justice and equitable city planning – all in one place! We have a lot going on this month, so make sure to expand to view the full newsletter at the bottom!
In community,
The REP-SF Team
Race & Equity in all Planning Coalition
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Policy Win! Public Noticing Legislation for Upzonings
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On April 22, Supervisor Chan's proposed legislation to require public noticing for SF's upzonings went to the full Board of Supervisors for a vote and won 8-3 (veto-proof)! Thank you to everyone who signed and shared REP-SF's letter campaign asking City Leaders to support the proposed legislation!
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REP-SF & Small Business Forward Launch Permanent Citywide Protections for Small Business at SF Planning Commission Hearing (April 17, 2025)
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On Thursday, April 17, REP-SF and member coalition Small Business Forward presented critical community solutions to protect small businesses from threats of displacement due to the City’s upzoning proposal. The Small Business Forward steering committee led a presentation for the Planning Commission focused on our community solutions and demands for permanent citywide protections. After the presentation, small business owners and workers, alongside community organizers from the REP-SF coalition, delivered passionate public comments. Thank you to everyone who spoke in support of protecting small businesses! Check out our new blog post for video highlights of the hearing!
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Planning Commission Hearing: Small Business Protections
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SF upzoning could displace small businesses, advocates warn – San Francisco Examiner, April 22, 2025
REP-SF and Small Business Forward featured! Thank you to the SF Examiner for writing about our advocacy for permanent citywide protections for small businesses, in response to the City's proposed upzonings. “As commercial corridors are upzoned and the value of buildings and parcels in these corridors increase as a result, we anticipate a substantial increase in landlords using these tactics to push long-term community-serving businesses out,” said Justin Dolezal, a co-founder of local advocacy group Small Business Forward. Small Business Forward member Jesse Ahluwalia, who recently opened a laundromat on Clement Street, gave public comment at the hearing along with other small-business owners. “I bought my business with dreams to invest in a remodel with upgrades, so I can better serve my neighbors,” he said. But the uncertainty his business now faces as a result of the proposed upzoning map has thrown those plans into question. “Why would any San Francisco small-business owner invest in their business when there is no protection?”
Community members described small businesses as beloved local institutions that serve as valuable engines of commerce and highly prized communal hubs for the neighborhoods they serve. “This is what we have,” said North Beach tenant advocate Theresa Flanderich. “This is what we are afraid of losing.”
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SF's "Family Zoning" Plan – KALW, April 21, 2025
REP-SF featured! State of the Bay discusses Mayor Lurie's new upzoning plan, which he has called a "family zoning plan." San Francisco Chronicle reporter J.K. Dineen gives props to REP-SF for doing what needs to be done for tenant and small business protections.
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Small business groups push for protections from Lurie’s upzoning (and displacement) – 48Hills, April 17, 2025
REP-SF and Small Business Forward featured! REP-SF and SBF told commissioners that allowing speculators to demolish buildings on commercial corridors would threaten hundreds of community-serving businesses. Joseph Smooke, an architect and co-founder of People Power Media, talked about the Hayes Valley neighborhood between Laguna and Franklin, where a lot of new housing has been built, including ground-floor retail. “It’s one of the most exclusive business areas in the city,” he said. People who live in affordable and public housing in the area, he said, can’t afford to shop at most of the businesses.
“Existing small businesses should not be displaced. If you want all Starbucks and Subway sandwiches all over San Francisco, then you should do this. But if you want to preserve the quality of our small neighborhoods, then leave small businesses alone!” said Ariel Ford of Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt on Irving Street and West Portal Ave. Sean Kim, the owner of Joe’s Ice Cream in the Richmond, said he can’t invest in his business or make a long-term plan because “my landlord wants to demolish the building and build condos."
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Planning Commission Hearing: SF's Proposed Upzonings
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Planning hearing on upzoning shows the two worlds of housing advocates – 48Hills, April 10, 2025
REP-SF members featured in a piece about the latest Planning Commission hearing about the City's proposed upzonings. As Calvin Welch, who has worked on affordable housing issues for more than half a century, noted, if density solved affordability, San Francisco and Manhattan would have the cheapest housing in the country. He also noted that more than 70 percent of the housing built in U.S. cities today is built by ten giant developers.
Dyan Ruiz, working with the REP-SF coalition, said that “the real estate model relies on making housing more expensive.” Between 1950 & 2013, Ruiz said, San Francisco has seen two new units of housing built for every new resident; prices have only gone up. Ruiz said that “you don’t upzone unless you plan to demolish what’s there.” That’s not just architecture (there are plenty of low-rise buildings in some parts of the city that have little historic value). It’s about the existing tenants and small businesses that will be displaced by demolition.
AnaChristina Arana, who also works with REP-SF, said the new rules would not encourage family housing. Because of the way the market works, she said, “this will encourage the production of overpriced studios.” Putting more small units on a lot makes more money for developers—and that’s really the whole point.
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SF housing combatants brace for ‘citywide showdown’ over upzoning – San Francisco Examiner, April 9, 2025
REP-SF featured! Many tenants’ rights advocates have been railing against the upzoning proposal, which they say will do little to meet state-mandated requirements for the production of new affordable housing. “There’s still no affordable housing plan,” said Joseph Smooke, the co-founder of People Power Media. In fact, he warned, upzoning could make the development of affordable housing — which typically requires government subsidies — even more difficult to pull off by driving up the value of land, in turn, making it more expensive for affordable housing developers to purchase. “So what we’re doing is we’re creating a disadvantage in the marketplace for creating affordable housing,” Smooke said. To level the playing field, Smooke said, The City should be setting aside more public land to be used exclusively for affordable housing.
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SF’s Single-Family Home Neighborhoods Could See More Apartments, 65-Story Towers Near Downtown – KQED, April 3, 2025
REP-SF and Small Business Forward featured! Dyan Ruiz, a member of the Race & Equity in all Planning Coalition, said her organization wants to make sure developers are following the city’s laws and that it can make sure tenants aren’t displaced. “We want to increase the accountability and enforcement of existing laws and making sure that there aren’t gaps and loopholes that tenants are falling through,” she said.
“I can see people being forced out of their homes, rent-controlled apartments and buildings being destroyed and luxury market-rate housing being built in its place,” said Don Misumi, a member of tenants’ rights group Richmond District Rising. “There’s not really much doubt in my mind unless things start to change and I see some concrete proposals that are going to provide tenant protections, that are going to provide protections for small businesses.”
Yoland Porrata, an esthetician and board member of nonprofit Small Business Forward, owns a skincare studio in the Lower Haight. She is trying to work with the city to establish new protections against displacement for small business owners, even if they do not own the building. “Do we have a right to return? We already have super vulnerable commercial leases that are not nice and tidy in the way that some of the residential leases are.”
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No, Mayor Lurie, Overpriced Studios Aren’t “Family” Housing – April 9, 2025
Read our press release about the City's latest upzoning proposal. SF Mayor Daniel Lurie is calling the latest proposal for major zoning changes throughout the City, “Family Zoning” when in fact, they will encourage a proliferation of overpriced studio apartments. The latest proposal to upzone most of the city:
- will make rent and home prices more expensive,
- will increase the displacement of tenants and small businesses, and
- incentivizes neighborhoods across the City to be demolished by developers.
REP-SF members spoke out in opposition of the upzoning proposal during public comment at the Planning Commission hearings on April 10 and April 17.
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REP-SF Members: Heroes for Housing Justice
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"Housing is a Human Right" Day of Action at State Capitol
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Veritas Tenants Rent Strike & Fight for Language Justice
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For nearly three years, the tenants of 781 O’Farrell have been fighting for basic dignity, repairs, and language justices from their landlord, Veritas Investment, with support from REP-SF members, the Housing Rights Committee. On April 23, they faced a pivotal moment as the first of the remaining strikers entered a Mandatory Settlement Conference with Veritas in court. Standing as a united force, the tenants of 781 O'Farrell gathered to accompany their neighbor and friend. The tenants were sent into the courthouse by a crowd of fellow Veritas residents and community members, chanting and speaking their support for the Veritas Tenants Association (VTA).
Read more in El Tecolote: Immigrant tenants lead rent strike movement against San Francisco's largest landlords (April 26, 2025)
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Fighting for the SF People's Budget
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On April 22, the SF People’s Budget Coalition, a powerful alliance of labor unions and nonprofit groups, called on City leaders to commit to a clear and transparent budget process that ensures the public has a meaningful way to participate in decisions that impact their lives. Thank you to all of our REP-SF members who made their voices heard!
"The city budget reflects our city priorities and values. The budget can determine whether working class San Francisco residents have a roof over their heads, programs for their kids, or a bus to take them to work,” said Sanika Mahajan, Director of Community Engagement & Organizing at Mission Action, member of REP-SF. “As our communities face a barrage of attacks from the federal government, in addition to the prospect of devastating cuts to health care, social security, and food assistance, the People’s Budget Coalition demands that the City work with the public to prioritize investment in immigrant and working class communities. Sanctuary isn’t just a buzz word – San Francisco must take an active stand."
Read more in 48Hills: Budget battle begins as labor, CBOs push back against brutal Lurie cuts (April 23, 2025)
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May 8: Mother's Day Action at City Hall: "Resilient Mothers, Thriving Families: A Safe Home for Every Child"
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Join REP-SF members, the Coalition of Homelessness, on May 8th at 11AM on the City Steps of City Hall for their annual Mother's Day Action! Mothers are demanding an end to family homelessness and are demanding the city provide pathways to safe and permanent housing for families and children! Come rally with us outside City Hall, then walk inside to meet with local policymakers and demand change!
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May 15: STOP "La Muerte" (2588 Mission St): SF Planning Commission Hearing
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May 15, 12 PM: Stop "La Muerte" (2588 Mission) Hearing at SF Planning Commission, City Hall Room #400. Join us in making our voices heard to STOP “La Muerte”! Tell Planning Commissioners we need 100% affordable housing! Food, interpretation, and child care will be provided. For more information, email eriq94110@aol.com. Read our blog post to learn more about the community fight to oppose La Muerte: bit.ly/AboutLaMuertedelaMision
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May 7 & June 3: Critical Actions for SF People's Budget
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Mass Lobby Day: Wednesday, May 7th from 12–2 PM, San Francisco City Hall
WE NEED YOU! Join us for a powerful mass lobby day where we will walk the halls of City Hall and demand that our voices be heard. We’ll visit every Supervisor’s office and the Mayor’s office to deliver one united message: Ask 1: Protect our communities from cuts | Ask 2: Use the City’s reserves to stabilize us during this crisis
Wear your organization’s t-shirt and come prepared to speak with courage and clarity. We’ll meet on the front steps at noon for a prep and debrief, then head inside at 12:15 PM sharp. It’s critical that you’re there – let’s show the city what collective power looks like. RSVP!
March for a People’s Budget: Tuesday, June 3rd at 11 AM at City Hall
Join us as we march to stop devastating cuts to vital city services. We cannot let the Mayor balance the budget on the backs of working-class San Franciscans. We need YOU there to make a powerful statement. RSVP here: tinyurl.com/march4people
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May 7: Celebrate the Movement: CCHO Annual Party!
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This Wednesday, May 7, 5:30–7:30 pm at El Rio (3158 Mission St). Let's celebrate housing justice together at the 2025 Council of Community Housing Organizations (CCHO) Affordable Housing Month Party! This is a time to reimagine what’s possible when we invest in real solutions—and when everyone has a safe, stable place to call home. CCHO will be honoring outgoing Executive Director John Avalos for his service to the housing justice movement and welcoming new ED Quintin Mecke into the role at this pivotal time. Swing by to see old friends, make some new ones and learn how you can be part of the affordable housing movement! RSVP!
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May 8: Know Your Rights Training
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Thursday, May 8, 5:30–7:30 pm, San Francisco Main Public Library (100 Larkin Street). We warmly invite you to a Know Your Rights Training hosted by REP-SF member SOMA Pilipinas and APALA (Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance). This is a special community event designed to support and empower immigrant workers and those concerned about the safety of our vulnerable community members. Join us for an informative and welcoming gathering where you’ll learn about how to access local resources and ways to protect yourself and your family. At the event, you’ll hear from lawyers and community leaders who will answer your questions about your rights—all in a safe and supportive environment.
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May 15: Immigrant Housing Leadership Panel
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Thursday, May 15, 2025 6:30–8:30 pm, Bayanihan Community Center (1010 Mission St).
Join REP-SF members SOMA Pilipinas and South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) for a critical panel with immigrant community leaders tackling housing issues and sharing REAL solutions. As threats to housing, language access, and immigration rise, NOW is the time to unite – in dialogue and solidarity. RSVP!
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Our monthly Planning to the People newsletter (that you are reading now!) provides the latest news and ways to take action on behalf of grassroots communities for housing justice and equitable city planning – all in one place! Help us build our momentum by encouraging your networks and communities to subscribe to our newsletter: Share our subscription form!
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