The clearest supported finding
SF Planning says written HCD guidance required the city to remove certain housing-permitting parcels from its permanent industrial-exclusion list.
This closely matches SOMA West’s September announcement. It does not, by itself, establish immediate access to SB 79’s default development standards, a promise to build housing, or a state finding that services are excessively concentrated.
There are three different questions: What can be permanently excluded? What remains temporarily exempt? And what housing will actually be approved and funded? Each needs different evidence.
Permanent exclusions are a parcel designation
This close-up shows the SoMa portion of the official SoMa–Mission industrial-hub map. The prominent blue SALI corridor lies mainly south of Harrison Street. The image is a contextual crop, not an official SoMa West association boundary.
Color alone is not the exemption. A parcel’s zoning color and its black exclusion outline convey different information. Being inside the industrial hub also does not mean every parcel in it qualifies for permanent exclusion.
Show the complete official map and legend
Purple shows a separate temporary exemption
The purple parcels are mapped as temporarily exempt low-resource parcels. This layer covers a broader area than the SALI corridor. The two excerpts use different scales and are not aligned parcel-for-parcel.
Show the complete official map and legend
Open the original temporary-exemption map PDF
There is also a citywide Alternative Plan
The purple map is only one exemption layer. In its October 1 implementation bulletin, Planning says the Alternative Plan covers the entire city, with covered parcels exempt from SB 79’s default provisions until January 2032. It states that no San Francisco parcel is currently subject to those default provisions.
Unshaded does not mean immediately eligible. The Alternative Plan is separate from the purple low-resource layer. These exemptions concern SB 79’s default rules; they do not prohibit construction under other applicable approvals or housing laws.
What changed in the permanent list?
Planning’s revised industrial-hub memo says HCD supplied written guidance making parcels in SALI and M districts, plus certain P-zoned parcels, ineligible for permanent industrial exclusion because housing is permitted there. Planning says it adjusted its excluded-parcel list accordingly.
Read the revised industrial-hub memo—page 4
| Question | What the records support |
|---|---|
| Was the permanent list changed? | Yes. The city explicitly attributes its adjustment to written HCD guidance. |
| Was SOMA West’s complaint responsible? | The newsletter claims a partial win; the city memo establishes the change but does not identify the complaint as its cause. |
| Are all affected parcels immediately available under SB 79? | No such conclusion follows. Separate temporary exemptions and Alternative Plan provisions must be checked. |
| Is this a promise of additional low-income housing? | No construction, financing or unit-allocation commitment is established by these documents. |
Not yet mapped here The exact parcel-by-parcel difference between the original and revised exclusion tables has not been reconciled for this page. The maps above show the official published layers, not a newly calculated “parcels removed” layer. The underlying HCD guidance itself has not been located.
Permitted housing and financed housing are different
SOMA West’s broader complaint concerns geographic concentration. A change in zoning eligibility does not establish the income levels, referral pathways or support needs of future residents.
| Layer | What to examine |
|---|---|
| Zoning and approvals | Permitted residential uses, applicable exemptions, density and height allowances. |
| Capital financing | City or state loans, tax credits and recorded affordability or occupancy restrictions. |
| Operations and referrals | Operating subsidies, homeless-designated units, HSH contracts and coordinated-entry agreements, where applicable. |
SALI already allows specified affordable housing under Planning Code §803.8 and ADUs. P districts already permit qualifying 100% affordable and educator housing, subject to exceptions. Removal of a permanent exclusion alone does not settle what additional housing types a particular parcel can accommodate now.
HCD states that income and rent limits depend on the financing and its program rules. State participation does not automatically make a project supportive housing or an HSH placement site.
HCD financing and income-limit guidance · SALI affordable-housing provision · P-district residential provision
Source trail
- SOMA West, September 9, 2026 newsletter: reports a partial win concerning SALI and Public parcels.
- SF Planning, revised June 2026 industrial-hub memo: page 4 acknowledges the HCD guidance and adjustment.
- HCD, July 1, 2026 review letter: conditional approval of the Alternative Plan; requires nonenforcement of a State Density Bonus restriction. It does not itself narrate the parcel-list change.
- SF Planning implementation bulletin, updated October 1, 2026: current explanation of temporary exemptions and local eligibility.
- SF Planning implementation page and official maps: includes industrial-hub and low-resource map layers.
- Board File 260132: legislation, original parcel table and revised June materials.
- SOMA West’s April 3, 2026 complaint: allegations and requested relief, not state findings.
This page documents a change to SB 79 exclusions. It does not establish that HCD upheld the complaint’s broader allegations about service concentration, or that the change resulted in additional housing construction.