Housing element law mandates that local governments adequately plan to meet the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The City of San Francisco has embraced this requirement as an opportunity for a community based vision for San Francisco’s future. Part 2 of the Housing Element sets forth objectives, policies, and programs to address the housing needs identified. The Housing Element is intended to provide the policy background for housing programs and decisions; and to provide broad direction towards meeting the City’s housing goals. As with other elements of the General Plan, it provides the policy framework for future planning decisions, and indicates the next steps the City plans to take to implement the Housing Element’s objectives and policies. Adoption of the Housing Element does not modify land use, specify areas for increased height or density, suggest specific controls for individual neighborhoods, and implement changes to the Zoning Map or Planning Code, nor does it direct funding for housing development. Any such changes would require significant community and related legislative processes, as well as review and public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors

San Francisco population is continuously to grow  with over 808,000 residents. As a hub for the region, San Francisco hosts a significant proportion of the Bay Area’s jobs, as well as the core of local transportation infrastructure. The recent economic impacts of the crash of dot-com ventures and 2008 recession, industries in San Francisco are continuously growing, particularly in the categories of professional, managerial, health and educational services. Resultantly,  new employment opportunities comes the increased demand for a variety of housing types and an affordable housing is the most salient housing issue in San Francisco. The ABAG projects that at least 38% of new housing demands will be from low income households and  19% affordable from households of moderate. The policies and programs offer strategies to address these specific housing demands.