By Liz Miller with other Northern Neighbors board members

I became involved in pro-housing activism in response to what’s going on in my neighborhood in San Francisco. People are living and dying on the streets. People with families or artistic careers make the difficult decision to leave the city they love. Many teachers and police officers cannot afford to live here, causing us to lose their talent and capability. People commute for hours each day to and from their job in the city, greatly decreasing their quality of life and adding to climate breakdown.

I learned that that in almost 75% of San Francisco, it is illegal to build apartment buildings. I also found out that my district, over the last 10 years, has consistently been near the bottom of the list in net new housing per year.

I had no choice but to take action. I want to help my community to do its part to reverse the horrible effects of this housing shortage crisis.

Through talking with people in my neighborhood, I became connected with others who also support housing more neighbors in our backyard, reaching destinations with non-carbon-emitting modes of transportation, and gathering at lively local businesses. We founded Northern Neighbors. We began to show up to speaking events on housing issues and town halls related to housing construction and housing bills. We stood up and said, “We want more neighbors.”

Members of some (not all) other associations voiced opposition to new housing in our neighborhood. When speaking at meetings recently, they cited concerns with parking, traffic, and loss of trees. However, increased housing density, especially near public transit stops, is shown to actually decrease traffic. The enormous housing shortage in San Francisco causes much more traffic and demand for parking as more people have to move farther from their jobs. The carbon emitted from these commutes more than cancels out any amount a few trees in a potential housing site could absorb.

Change can be difficult, and the thought of changes in one’s neighborhood can be distressing. This could be one reason for the resistance to increased housing (though I don’t know for sure). The reality, though, is that the needs of families and our community, as well as the environment we live in, must take precedence. We need to move forward and provide hospitable surroundings for the next generation.

Enter California State Senate Housing Bill 50, also known as the More HOMES Act, carefully crafted with input from cities and groups all over the state. It includes strict protections for renters and respects local demolition controls. It allows multi-family housing to be built to a height of up to five stories near transit and job centers — or wherever districts and cities see fit. This is housing that we desperately need.

One neighborhood association in the district where I live, The Cow Hollow Association, hands out flyers and distributes emails containing dramatically-worded and inaccurate statements about SB50.

Northern Neighbors researched each of these statements, sent our research to Cow Hollow Association and asked them for response, in case they were perhaps not aware that the information they were distributing is completely incorrect. However, they chose not to make any updates to their statements.

For example, Cow Hollow Association claimed in a flyer last April, “SB50 will up-zone 96% of San Francisco and allow greater heights and density similar to Van Ness [a busy commercial street] in residential neighborhoods — and you won’t have any way to stop it.” This is incorrect on a number of levels.

First, public comment and input is required by law and will always be part of the process.

Second, SB50 allows for modestly sized apartment buildings within a half-mile of rail and ferry stations — or where districts see fit in order to reduce car miles traveled. It is only in these specified locations where SB50’s increased height allowance could apply; namely, five stories. This is much shorter than the 12-story buildings on Van Ness.

Here, you can read a detailed list of inaccurate claims followed by facts and links to further reading.

Of course, CHA and Northern Neighbors can disagree about priorities and policies. It is fine to support or not support a bill, but viewpoints should have a basis in fact. Misinformation is dangerous to democracy and we want to set the record straight. As an organization fighting for more housing for all, specifically calling on our neighborhood to do our part and do what’s right, the least Northern Neighbors can do is try to make sure people understand the facts of the housing bill SB 50 (also known as the More HOMES Act).

Please join us in the fight for a more lively, livable, diverse, and inclusive San Francisco for all.

Northern Neighbors is a volunteer neighborhood organization centered in San Francisco’s Supervisory District 2