The Outer Richmond Was Upzoned. Why Are Its Biggest Housing Projects Using Other Rules?

"So it starts," Planning Commissioner Sean McGarry said this summer, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "The Richmond is getting height." He said it as the commission approved an eight-story condo building at 230 Anza St. on the Lone Mountain edge of the Richmond District.

The line got repeated a lot. If you're comparing west-side neighborhoods right now, you've probably heard some version of it. Since the Family Zoning Plan took effect on January 12, 2026, Geary Boulevard has had a base height limit of about 85 feet and Clement Street about 65 feet, under SF Planning's adopted maps.

The filings tell a different story. The three largest housing proposals in the Outer Richmond follow three separate rulebooks, and only one of them even mentions the new local program. The height map shows how tall a building could be. Each project's approval route sets the size, the timeline and how much public review it gets, and in a neighborhood where so few projects are moving, that matters more than the map does.

One Mile, Three Rulebooks

Here is where the Outer Richmond's largest proposals stood as of late October 2026.

The two Geary sites are neighbors. Both sit on the block between 18th and 19th avenues, so one stretch of Geary has two eight-story proposals moving through two unrelated approval processes.

The Alexandria project doesn't use the Family Zoning Plan at all. Its application invokes Senate Bill 423 to streamline approval. It also relies on a special use district the city created in 2024 for that one lot, which allows "a density bonus and modifications to existing zoning controls," according to SF YIMBY. The design keeps the exterior marquee, the sunburst chandelier and the art deco lobby murals. It rebuilds the Alexandria blade sign and sets the new floors back above the fifth story, which is the height of the original building.

Next door, 5420 Geary is the only project in this group that points to the new local zoning. Even so, its application keeps its options open by naming either the State Density Bonus or the Family Zoning program as the way to waive the height limit and rear-yard requirement. The Chronicle reported that 42 units on that 0.16-acre lot is more than twice what the old rules would have allowed.

The Safeway Took the Faster Route, and It Has Its Own Catch

The biggest proposal, by a wide margin, is the full-block Safeway site bounded by 48th Avenue, La Playa Street, Fulton Street and Cabrillo Street. SF YIMBY describes the store as the only full-service grocery in the neighborhood.

Align and Albertsons filed under SB 330 and the State Density Bonus Law, not the city's new program. Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon reported in October that the streamlined path means the project needs no Planning Commission hearing and is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Streamlining doesn't mean approval, though. The same report said the project may have to drop as many as 114 units to comply with the Planning Department's reading of the Planning Code. Bridget Maley of Neighborhoods United San Francisco told a community meeting that the developers had 90 days to respond, Richmond Review reported.

So the 562 units in the May application should be treated as an opening number. The current mix is 124 studios, 188 one-bedrooms, 192 two-bedrooms and 58 three-bedroom units. Of the 113 below-market-rate units, 30 would be priced at 50% of Area Median Income and the rest at 80%, according to figures presented at the meeting.

The Planning Association for the Richmond hosted that meeting at St. John's Presbyterian Church on Lake Street on September 24. Mission Local reported that about 60 people attended, that the Safeway was still open, and that attendees raised concerns about scale and about losing a grocery during construction. Neither outlet reported a construction start date or a plan for a temporary grocery.

Why the Map Alone Hasn't Moved Much

By August, seven months after the rezoning took effect, the Chronicle counted seven projects filed citywide under Family Zoning, adding fewer than 40 housing units in total. That's a sharp contrast with earlier rezonings in Rincon Hill, Central SoMa and the Eastern Neighborhoods, where the Chronicle said developers raced to lock up sites. The paper pointed to the same forces that have stalled market-rate construction since the pandemic: rising construction costs and high interest rates.

Developers are still testing the numbers. Bora Ozturk of March Capital Fund told the Chronicle his firm is "very seriously analyzing a few sites right now on the transit corridors," including Geary. Witt Turner of the Housing Action Coalition described the period as one where people are "tweaking projects and talking to lenders."

That's where the second rule change comes in. On July 21, 2026, the Board of Supervisors approved legislation reducing the city's inclusionary affordable housing requirements, and it took effect on August 22, 2026, according to SF Planning. Mission Local reported that the citywide rate dropped from 15% to 5%. The ordinance does a few different things depending on project size:

1. Projects of 25 units or more get reduced inclusionary requirements.
2. Projects of 24 or fewer units no longer have inclusionary requirements.
3. Certain other development impact fees go down.
4. Qualifying pipeline projects can request the lower rates if they vest their approval within three years of final approval.

That creates a sharp line at 24 units. 230 Anza, with eight condos replacing a duplex that had been boarded up for about a decade, sits well under it. The Planning Commission approved the project 4–0 in July, and SF YIMBY reported on October 18 that demolition and new-building permits had been filed and were waiting to be issued. 5420 Geary, at 42 units, falls on the other side of the line, where reduced requirements still apply.

Height brought 5420 Geary to the table. Whether it actually gets built depends on costs, financing and fees, and those factors work the same way under every rulebook in the table above.

What This Means If You're Comparing the Outer Richmond

Most coverage of the Family Zoning Plan focuses on the map. If you're deciding where to buy, the approval route behind each project tells you more about timing and certainty.

Expect change one site at a time, not a corridor-wide rebuild. The Outer Richmond's largest proposals sit on a former movie theater, a single lot next to it and a supermarket block. Sites like these were already candidates for redevelopment before the rezoning. SF Planning Chief of Staff Dan Sider told the Chronicle that closed gas stations and single-story vacant retail buildings are the kinds of west-side lots he expects to draw interest.

Each project runs on its own clock. As of the latest reporting, none of the three has a public construction timeline or cost estimate. The most recent project-specific update on the Alexandria dates to April 2026.

The approval route determines how much public input there is. The Safeway project's streamlined path skips a Planning Commission hearing. 230 Anza went before the commission and got a vote. If you're looking at a home near one of these sites, the route its neighbor is using tells you where the decisions get made.

For owners of small multi-unit buildings, the 24-unit line is what changes the math. It doesn't create an opportunity on every lot. It does mean that a small project and a mid-size project on Geary now face meaningfully different requirements under the same height limit.

Everything here describes rules and filings as they were publicly reported. It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If you own property near these sites or are weighing a purchase, confirm your own situation with a land-use attorney, tax advisor or lender.

Quick Answers

Is the Outer Richmond Safeway closing?

As of Mission Local's September 25, 2026 report, the store was still open, and no construction start date had been announced.

Will the Alexandria Theater's facade survive?

The plans filed in March 2026 keep the exterior marquee and rebuild the blade sign. They also preserve the lobby murals and the sunburst chandelier inside.

How tall can buildings get on Geary and Clement now?

SF Planning's adopted maps show base limits of about 85 feet on Geary and about 65 feet on Clement. Designated nodes and bonus programs can allow more.

If you own a building near Geary or La Playa, or you're weighing a purchase near one of these sites, Kevin Wong can go through which filings are near your block, what each approval route means for timing, and how that fits your plans to hold, lease or sell. Let's Connect.