Why Glen Park's First Multi-Home Proposal in Two Decades Asks for Less Than the Zoning Allows

San Francisco's Family Zoning Plan raised the height limits near Glen Park BART. The first real housing proposal to come up in the neighborhood since then asks for about half of that height. Near BART, a guaranteed approval timeline has proved worth more than the extra floors. So new homes in Glen Park are likely to show up a handful at a time, as townhomes on their own lots, through a state law that changes on January 1, 2027.

If you're comparing Glen Park with nearby neighborhoods, this explains two things buyers often find confusing. Inventory has stayed thin even after the rezoning. And the few new homes that do appear may be single-family-style townhomes rather than condos.

The Gravel Lot on Kern Street

The site is the fenced gravel parking lot that runs along Kern Street in downtown Glen Park. Its official address is 51 Brompton Avenue. SF YIMBY reported that the 0.15-acre lot stretches down Kern between Brompton and Diamond, one block from the station, and that the owner is filing through Hayes-Diamond Properties LLC.

Berkeley's Studio KDA drew up a feasibility study dated March 19, 2026. It shows eight four-story townhomes. Each has three bedrooms, an office and a small private outdoor space, and the ground floor can be built either as a garage with storage or as an accessory dwelling unit. The lot would be split into eight separate parcels, so each townhome would sit on its own land.

This is an early-stage plan. The study was submitted with a request for a project review meeting, which lets an owner get feedback from the Planning Department before filing a formal application. SF YIMBY noted that the details are preliminary and likely to change. We found no public record of a formal application, approval or sale since that spring.

The proposal stands out because so few like it have come before. The Glen Park Association's reporting describes it as apparently the first housing proposal with several units in Glen Park in more than 20 years.

Four Stories on a Lot That Could Carry More

The Board of Supervisors adopted the Family Zoning Plan on December 9, 2025, and the mayor signed it on December 12. Under the plan, buildings on major transit and commercial streets can generally rise 6 to 8 stories. The Glen Park Association's article says housing on the Kern Street lot could potentially go that high because it sits so close to a major transit hub. The exact height limit for this parcel isn't settled in the public material, so treat that number as a possible ceiling, not a confirmed one.

District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman told the Glen Park Association that the plan seems "awfully reasonable" and that "it's way less intensive than they could do."

The study's own wording points to the reason. SF YIMBY quotes it as saying the townhome design under Senate Bill 684 "optimizes development value," is "clearly achievable for the site opportunities and constraints," and is "approvable ministerially." The owners haven't said publicly why they prefer this route, but ministerial approval changes both the timeline and the odds.

What a 60-Day Clock Is Worth

"Ministerial" means the city checks a project against fixed, objective standards. Planners can't apply personal judgment. SF Planning's Director Bulletin No. 8 spells out what that removes for SB 684 projects: no CEQA review, no Section 311 neighborhood notice, and no Discretionary Review requests. The city can deny a qualifying project only if it finds a specific, adverse impact on health, safety or the physical environment that can't feasibly be mitigated.

The Family Zoning height comes through a program called Housing Choice–San Francisco, which works on a different schedule.

Housing Choice projects that meet objective standards may also qualify for a separate ministerial streamlining path. Even so, SB 684 offers the shortest clock with a guaranteed outcome. That matters most to a small owner, because carrying costs and uncertainty eat up a larger share of a modest project's value. In a city where neighbor opposition has stopped many proposals, the Glen Park Association called the Kern Street plan newsworthy mostly because "it might actually get built."

Parking is the other piece. SB 684 allows no more than one parking space per unit and requires none within a half-mile walk of a major transit stop. The Glen Park Association notes that this block easily meets that test. That's why the ground floor can be either a garage or an ADU.

Why Separate Lots Matter in a Market With Almost No Condos

The ownership structure is what makes this relevant to buyers. Each townhome would stand on its own subdivided parcel. The law also permits condo-style common-interest developments, co-ops and, since SB 1123, tenancy in common. This plan uses individual lots instead.

That choice fits how Glen Park actually trades. Condo sales here are so sparse that the most recent neighborhood market report from MLS data, covering August 2026, estimated about one condo closing per month and left condos out of its analysis. In the three months through August 2026, Glen Park single-family homes had a median sale price of $2,457,500 across 18 closed sales, with 88.9% selling above list price and a median of 14 days on market. A three-bedroom townhome on its own parcel would most likely be valued against that single-family pool, where buyers are many and sales happen quickly, rather than against a condo market that barely moves.

Competition hasn't eased. The Glen Park Association's September recap reported that homes sold in September 2026 went for an average of 47% over list price. It also noted that 135 Whitney closed at $4,700,000, 38% over asking. In July, The San Francisco Standard reported, citing brokerage data, that about a third of the 144 San Francisco homes that sold for more than $1 million over asking in the first half of 2026 were in ZIP codes covering Noe Valley and Glen Park.

Citywide, the California Association of Realtors put San Francisco's median existing single-family home price at $1,875,000 in August 2026, up 25.0% from $1,500,000 in August 2025. Borrowing has gotten more expensive too. Freddie Mac reported the national 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.40% as of October 8, 2026, up from 7.28% the week before. Glen Park homes are still selling well over asking even as rates rise.

Hillary Schiraldi, the Glen Park Association's vice president and zoning chair, described the demand to the association's newsletter: "I know plenty of people who would love to live in a new construction townhouse kitty-corner from BART."

The Rules Change on January 1

On September 29, 2026, Governor Newsom signed SB 1116, which revises the Starter Home Revitalization Act, the formal name for the SB 684 framework. The changes apply to applications received on or after January 1, 2027. They keep the 60-day ministerial timeline and the strict standard for denial.

SB 1116 makes some sites easier to use. It allows lot-size averaging down to 480 square feet on multifamily sites, keeps the average unit size cap at 1,750 net habitable square feet while no longer counting internal stairs toward it, and bars cities from setting a floor area ratio below 1.25.

It also adds a new test. Under SB 1116, a site's base zoning can allow no more than 15 units or 26,250 square feet of residential floor area. Land-use attorneys at Allen Matkins note that "this screen may exclude denser urban parcels."

That raises a fair question for Glen Park. If rezoning gives a parcel near BART more base capacity than that cap, could a starter-home application filed after January 1 stop qualifying? Nothing we reviewed answers that for the Kern Street lot or any other specific Glen Park parcel. Applications filed before January 1 are reviewed under the current rules. That gives small owners near the station a reason to pay attention to the calendar this fall.

Questions Buyers Ask About This

Is the 51 Brompton project approved? No. The public material describes a feasibility study and a request for a project review meeting. SF YIMBY reported that once a complete application is filed, the city will have 60 days to act.

Would ADUs add to the unit count? San Francisco's guidance says ADUs can be included in SB 684 projects and don't count toward the 10-unit cap. Reports on how many ADUs this study considered differ. SF YIMBY mentions four, and the Glen Park Association describes an ADU option on every ground floor.

Does the Family Zoning Plan mean towers are coming to Glen Park? The plan allows 6 to 8 stories on major transit and commercial streets. The one concrete proposal near the station asks for four.

Applications received on or after January 1, 2027 fall under SB 1116's new rules. If you're weighing a purchase near Glen Park BART, or you own a small lot or building and want to understand how SB 684 and the January changes might apply to it, Kevin Wong can walk you through the numbers block by block. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.