While most people want a single-family home in a safe, pleasant suburb, activists are trying to increase density in San Francisco by putting multi-unit housing.
A legal arm representing a group that favors density housing filed suit against the city, claiming officials had violated laws when they stopped construction of 469-unit housing development in a tower close to Sixth and Market streets.
The “housing advocacy group” is named after the Not in My Backyard movement. This movement has roots that date back at least to the 1980s when homeowners fought for their right to have a say in the fates of their communities.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported the Yes in My Backyard lawsuit — or YIMBY’s –:
The lawsuit, which is 19 pages long, was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court. It alleges that San Francisco officials violated a variety of laws, including the California Environmental Quality Act and the Housing Accountability Act.
YIMBY Law also filed a suit against Los Angeles for similar alleged violations of housing law. This was in relation to a housing project at 450 O’Farrell, in 2021. The Board of Supervisors had rejected a home development there.
Trauss stated that today’s filing was the third in a series of actions against San Francisco and Los Angeles. “It’s now that cities must be accountable. There will be more if they don’t.”
