Understanding Housing Production in San Francisco

1. Understanding Housing Production in San Francisco Chad Major Stuart Brady Andrew Abou Jaoude Sponsors: SF Planning Department Scott Edmondson Urban Studies Senior Seminar Professor Pamuk

2. ABAG’s fair share housing projection for San Francisco: 30,000 units by 2020 and 20,000 by 2006 or about 2,717 units annually 1990 - 2000 saw an annual production of only 1,130 units Shortage of 1,587 Homes per year Affordable vs. Market rate housing Since 1990, Only 28% of units produced were affordable Desperate Housing Shortage

3. Our Goals • Find the biggest limitations to further residential production • Determine which limiting factors of production might be open to change • Gain general incite into the perspective of residential builders and developers • Learn about conducting a real world research project

4. Methodology • Background research • Choosing a survey format • Creating a survey instrument • Formulating a list of developers • Conducting the survey • Preliminary Analysis & Recommendations

5. Background Research • The February 2003 draft of Housing Element of the SF General Plan • San Francisco Planning Department “2000 Housing Inventory” • Policy papers from SPUR (SF Planning and Urban Research) and HAC (Housing Action Coalition) • Speaking with people in the SF Planning Department and the Housing Action Coalition

6. Survey Type • A phone survey enabled us to contact many different developers in a short time allowing for a reasonable response rate • Limited time and resources would not permit for: • Face-to-face surveys • Mail surveys • Focus Groups • Currently there is little existing research documenting developer perspectives in San Francisco

7. Creating a Survey Instrument • Determining questions and categories • Organizational questions • Building and Land Costs • Financing • Planning Regulation • Community Input

8. Creating a Survey Instrument • Specific formatting for a phone survey • Layout • Different fonts • Coding • Contact/Cover sheet • Approval

9. Formulating a List • Qualifications • San Francisco Residential developers and builders • One unit/single family to multi unit high-density developers • Adequate contact information • Free and prompt access to list

10. Possible List Sources • San Francisco Planning Department • San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing • Office of the County Clerk & Tax Collectors Office • Residential Builders Association (RBASF) • Habitat For Humanity

11. Drawbacks of Potential List Sources • Planning Department • Many of the contacts are builders’ representatives, not builders themselves • Mayor’s Office of Housing • Very limited list of developers • County Clerk/Tax Collectors • Service required fees and waiting time for list • Residential Builders Association • Confidential list of members (not all developers) • Habitat For Humanity • Limited to large developers

12. Final List • Chosen sources: • SF Planning Department (6,800 entries) • Habitat For Humanity (100 entries) • Filtering the List: • Selected entries with adequate contact information • Eliminated all duplicate contacts • Separated the list into categories by number of units per project

13. Conducting the Survey Contact And Cover Sheet: • Preliminary Calls • Validating contact information • Redirecting to appropriate contact • Interviewing or arranging time for future interview • Follow up Calls • Interviewing or arranging time for future interview

14. Preliminary Analysis • Preliminary Analysis • Created a SPSS file for data analysis • Continuous data entry of survey results • Classifying & Coding of open-ended questions • Analyzing Results into graphs & tables for the final written report

15. Preliminary Recommendation • Secondary Survey should be conducted within the planning department to understand the interior perspective and solutions on delays and hold-ups of the process

16. Thank You!