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Mayor's Zoning Plan to Finally Allow Density Around Transit in San Francisco – Streetsblog San Francisco

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Mayor's Zoning Plan to Finally Allow Density Around Transit in San Francisco – Streetsblog San Francisco


A new zoning memo from Mayor Lurie’s office aims to raise height and density limits throughout the city, with six-to-eight stories getting permitted on transit corridors. This is intended to make up for a shortfall of 36,200 housing units under the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), as required by state law. From the mayor’s memo to the planning department on how it will achieve these state-mandated housing construction requirements:

One way San Francisco will advance this goal is by focusing the rezoning in areas that have been historically exclusionary. These include neighborhoods that benefitted from redlining, had racially restrictive covenants and rules, and primarily single-family zoning, which are less affordable to non-white households.

This includes the westside of San Francisco and other neighborhoods that are notorious for resisting multi-family housing.

From Senator Scott Wiener, as posted on Reddit:

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We just got the first look at the new vision for housing in San Francisco under Mayor Lurie’s leadership—and it’s great news. This plan stems from our state housing work over the past decade requiring cities to zone for more homes (under I law authored, SB 828), and to streamline approvals for those homes under SB 423. By allowing the homes we need to finally be built, this rezoning plan paves the way for a more affordable and vibrant future for San Francisco.

This plan is projected to accommodate 36,000 new homes in neighborhoods across the City, focusing on high resource areas. Combined with SF’s ongoing efforts, this plan puts the City on track to meet its state housing goal of building 82,000 new units. If passed, this would be the biggest change to San Francisco’s zoning since 1978, and it sets our city on a path to thrive for decades to come.

More from J.K. Dineen’s coverage for the San Francisco Chronicle:

Fisherman’s Wharf could go from a place locals only visit with out-of-town visitors to a mixed-use neighborhood with hundreds of families living in new six- and eight-story buildings along portions of North Point, Bay and Beach streets. The commercial zones around downtown West Portal could see apartment complexes rise eight stories, while two lots next to the Glen Park BART Station could be rezoned for 140 foot towers, radically reshaping that sleepy retail district.

Proposed height changes market in yellow from the mayor’s memo.

“Our administration wants to build enough housing for the next generation of San Franciscans, so that kids who grow up here have the same opportunity to raise their own children here. This family zoning plan will help us do that,” wrote the Mayor in a prepared statement. “For too long, San Francisco has made it easier to block new homes than to build them. And while our needs have changed since the 1970s, much of our zoning hasn’t. Now, the state has given us a clear mandate to build more housing with real consequences if we don’t.”

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And from Mission Local‘s coverage:

“It is courageous, right?” said District 7 supervisor Myrna Melgar, who was quick to point out that many voters in Lurie’s base (and her own district) have expressed hostility toward the city’s upzoning goals. The neighborhoods bothered by the zoning changes overlap almost entirely with Lurie’s base. 

“For decades, our city shirked its responsibility when it came to building enough housing. YIMBYs have pushed back, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that Mayor Lurie is answering the YIMBY call and putting out a strong rezoning plan,” said Jane Natoli, San Francisco Organizing Director of YIMBY Action, in a statement about the memo. “This is an important step to building more homes so that more people can afford to live here.”

Be sure to check out the full coverage in the Chronicle and Mission Local or the Examiner. Or check out the mayor’s memo.



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San Francisco: Anti-ICE protester gets probation for ‘depredation’ of ICE van’s tire

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San Francisco: Anti-ICE protester gets probation for ‘depredation’ of ICE van’s tire


SAN FRANCISCO — A protester who was initially charged with misdemeanor assault has been sentenced to probation for a less serious offense, ending a federal prosecution that only started four months ago, court records show.

On Dec. 8, Angelica Guerrero, 35, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor “depredation” of an ICE van’s tire — a fancy legal term for slashing it with a knife. The same day, a federal judge sentenced Guerrero to probation, according to a minute order of the hearing.

The charge stemmed from an Aug. 20 protest, when Guerrero slashed the tire of an unmarked Chevrolet van being used in an ongoing “enforcement and removal” operation by the Department of Homeland Security on the 100 block of Montgomery Street, according to prosecutors. The complaint alleges that Guerrero “made repeated threats” against one of the officers, including stating, “I’m going to (expletive) you up” and “I’m going after your family,” as well as threatening to stab the officer.

Guerrero was released within 48 hours but complained of “barbaric” conditions inside Santa Rita Jail, during an interview with ABC7.

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Beloved 11-Year-Old Bay Area Italian Restaurant Is Closing Its Doors For Good

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Beloved 11-Year-Old Bay Area Italian Restaurant Is Closing Its Doors For Good


BAY AREA, CA — Vespucci, a longtime Italian restaurant in San Mateo, will close permanently at the end of the year after 11 years in business, its owners announced this week.

Dec. 31 will be the restaurant’s final day of service, according to a message shared by owners Manuela Fumasi and Francesco Zaccaro, who reflected on more than a decade of serving the local community.

“From the moment we opened our doors, this community welcomed us with a warmth and kindness we will never forget,” the owners wrote. “As Italian immigrants, far from our first home, you made San Mateo feel like our home.”

The couple described the restaurant’s run as a “beautiful adventure,” acknowledging that it was often challenging but filled with meaningful connections, friendships and lasting memories. They thanked customers for celebrating milestones with them and for supporting the business over the years.

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“This decision hasn’t been easy, but we know it is the right one for us at this time,” they said.

Vespucci has been a fixture in San Mateo’s dining scene since opening in 2015, offering Italian cuisine and serving as a neighborhood gathering spot for residents and regulars alike.

Inside, all of the artworks displayed were created by Maestro Vittorio Fumasi, with several pieces having been exhibited in major art shows in Italy and internationally. While some works predate the restaurant, others — including the low-relief piece “Italy” and the high-relief portraits of Vespucci — were commissioned specifically for the space.

Fumasi has also adorned Vespucci’s dining tables with her own artwork, and said some of those pieces will be offered for sale after the restaurant closes, allowing longtime customers to take home “a piece of Vespucci,” she told the San Mateo Daily Journal.

“We are going to miss you all,” the owners wrote. “With all our affection.”

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The restaurant is located in downtown San Mateo at 147 E 3rd Ave. The menu can be found here.



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What have San Francisco police been doing at 16th and Mission?

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What have San Francisco police been doing at 16th and Mission?


It’s been nearly 300 days since Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a plan to clean up the 16th Street BART Plaza.

To mark the occasion, Mission Local is adding a new tool for tracking his promises: A dashboard, updated daily, that notes the arrests and citations issued by San Francisco police officers in a 300-meter radius around 16th and Mission streets.

Our dashboard uses daily incident reports filed by officers to track the enforcement of common violations, including drug-related offenses or disorderly conduct. 

The San Francisco Police Department releases incident reports with a 24-hour lag. Our dashboard updates daily at noon to include the most current data: Arrests and citations issued the day before. 

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While the number of incident reports may form the basis of official crime statistics, it would be wrong to think of them as the “official” count, according to the SFPD. There are groups doing outreach work in the plazas, like Ahsing Solutions, that do not regularly release public data quantifying their activities, for example. 

What this police data does show, over time, is where the police department is focusing resources and attention.

For example, reports show that in March 2025, after Lurie stated his intention to crack down around 16th and Mission streets, there was a massive spike in arrests and citations. This does not necessarily mean drug-related crimes increased in the vicinity, but simply that, spurred by the mayor’s statement, police officers began enforcing more proactively.

Use our interactive graphics to explore the number and reasons for arrests and citations issued, and keep tabs on trends in SFPD’s enforcement around the 16th Street BART plaza.

You can read our ongoing coverage of the crackdown on 16th Street plaza here.

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Arrests and citations issued in last 6 months around 16th and Mission

You can access our archive, with arrests and citations data from 2018, here.

The calendar below shows a snapshot of the arrests and citations issued around a 300-meter radius of the 16th Street BART Plaza for the last six months. 

The darker the date, the more arrests and citations took place that day. 

The department continuously updates the status of incident reports as they are investigated, and it is possible that the official statistics reported by SFPD to the California Department of Justice may differ from our numbers. 

The data below should be considered the most accurate moment-in-time representation of arrests and citations on the day they were filed. Hover over each date to see the reasons for each arrest or citation. 

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Drug incidents around 16th and Mission

Arrests and citations issued for drug-related offenses skyrocketed earlier this year, after Mayor Lurie made the plaza one of his targets to show how the city can make a difference. 

Explore the number of drug-related arrests and citations issued by SFPD around 16th and Mission each month since 2018. 

Data for the most recent month will always be incomplete (and consequently lower) because it includes only arrests and citations through yesterday, while previous months reflect full monthly totals.

Drug incidents at 16th and Mission vs. citywide  

In most years, the area around 16th and Mission accounts for a majority of the Mission’s drug-related police enforcement. 

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In the spring of 2025, this area, which accounts for a mere 0.2 percent of the city’s geographical landmass, was responsible for nearly 27 percent of San Francisco’s drug incident reports that resulted in an arrest or citation.

During the pandemic, drug-related arrests and citations dropped to an all-time-low around 16th and Mission but it has recently surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Most common incidents around 16th and Mission

The table below shows the top 15 offense categories at 16th and Mission, ranked by total number of arrests and citations, over the past 12 months. The sparkline — the small line chart — shows how each category has changed month to month, and the percentage compares the current year to the year before.

We use a rolling 12-month window (365 days from yesterday’s date), rather than a calendar year, so the data stays current. Because the dashboard updates daily, the most recent month will always be incomplete, but using a full year of data minimizes the impact of any one partial month on the overall totals. 

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