SPUR is sponsoring or supporting more than a dozen state bills to reduce housing construction costs and timelines in California. Among them are proposals to enhance affordable homeownership opportunities through condominium construction financing, promote housing construction innovation through factory-built methods, improve development fees transparency, and streamline existing housing approvals. What Is SPUR?

Understanding the Context

SPUR — the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association — is a nonprofit public policy organization. We bring people together from across the political spectrum to develop solutions to the big problems cities face. Based in San Francisco, San José, and Oakland, we are recognized as a leading civic planning organization and respected for our independent and ... SPUR hosts a conversation with Mayor of San José Matt Mahan to explore his policy priorities and vision for the future of California.

Key Insights

This session offers a deep dive into his leadership approach and strategies for addressing state challenges like housing, transportation, and climate resilience. SPUR invites candidates for governor of California to speak directly to our membership in this special conversation series. These events are designed to introduce candidates to the SPUR community while offering a deeper look at their policy priorities, leadership approach, and vision for California’s future. Through thoughtful, moderated one-on-one discussions, candidates will share how they ... Source: SPUR analysis of total state and federal revenue in Data SF “Budget” dataset.

Final Thoughts

Finally, the voters of San Francisco have approved a number of mandatory baselines for and set-asides of General Fund revenues. Baselines are generally expenditure requirements that bind the city to spend a certain amount on a specific set of services. SPUR asked Leigh Lutenski, the city’s director of Joint Development, about her division’s work supporting the city on its affordable housing obligations. She emphasized the need for policies that balance affordability goals with economic feasibility, in part by providing greater certainty to housing developers about affordability requirements. This year, SPUR's work included successfully persuading Governor Newsom to propose a new state housing agency, inspiring a reorganization to make the San Francisco Mayor’s Office more effective, leading progress on transitioning Bay Area buildings to clean energy, and helping pass local laws that support small businesses and make it easier to convert office buildings into much-needed housing ... SPUR is examining financing and governance models for cross-jurisdictional, multi-hazard mitigation and climate adaptation.

Photo by Sergio Ruiz for SPUR This article is the third in a series examining climate adaptation and hazard mitigation financing at the federal, state, and local levels.