San Francisco Politics and Urbanism Daily
SF’s Reform Bottlenecks: Budget, Housing Math and Permits
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 · 6 min
San Francisco housing reform runs into harsh feasibility math as City Hall’s budget cycle and small-business permit rules underscore the same problem: reform is real only when process, fees and approvals actually move.
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Show notes
San Francisco housing reform runs into harsh feasibility math as City Hall’s budget cycle and small-business permit rules underscore the same problem: reform is real only when process, fees and approvals actually move.
In this episode
- [PDF] PROPOSED BUDGET - SF.gov
FISCAL YEARS 2025-2026 & 2026-2027 CITY & COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA PROPOSED BUDGET DANIEL LURIE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF PUBLIC POLICY AND FINANCE Joshua Cardenas Daniel Cawley Luisa Coy Jack English Sophia Kittler Matthew Puckett Eliza Pugh Tabitha Romero-Bothi Santiago Silva Tiffany Young 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 CONTROLLER’S OFFICE Greg Wagner, Controller ChiaYu Ma, Deputy Controller Michelle…
- Step Back — San Francisco keeps announcing pro-housing reforms, so why is it still so hard to build homes here: is the real bottleneck zoning, permits, fees, appeals, financing, or something else? And which of those obstacles can City Hall actually fix on its own?
Background sources
- San Francisco stalled megaprojects would bring 20k homes to market — Roland Li
- One of the Slowest US Cities to Build, San Francisco Is Accelerating Housing Permits | KQED — KQED
- One of the Slowest US Cities to Build, San Francisco Is Accelerating Housing Permits | KQED — KQED
- Permitting Progress | SPUR — SPUR
- Report Highlights the Math That Keeps Housing From Being Built in San Francisco | SPUR — SPUR
- SF is slower than other cities in issuing housing permits | Urban Development | sfexaminer.com — Patrick Hoge | Examiner staff writer
- Streamlining San Francisco’s Permitting Process: Q&A With Annie Fryman | SPUR — SPUR
- SF's tax and fee carrots don't stop its home building slide | Politics | sfexaminer.com — Patrick Hoge | Examiner staff writer
- Small Businesses | SF Planning — SF Planning
## Utility Navigation  ## Main navigation # Small Businesses Where do I start? **If you are planning to start, renovate, expand a small business, or change the type of business operating at an existing business location, you may need a permit.** Depending on the business type and zoning district of the property, your project may be approved…