Bay Area Land Use: Can Brisbane Be Forced to Add Housing It Doesn't Want?

In a controversial project on the Bay Area peninsula, a 684-acre Baylands site that has been seeking approvals for a massive development plan is back in the spotlight as tensions rise over the details of the mixed-use site.

In an interview with the San Francisco Business Times, partner Tim Tosta talked about the developer's plan, which would involve commercial, residential, and hotel space, Brisbane officials' pushback on housing, and the new, dramatic question of a San Francisco annexation.

Annexation would be a difficult strategy in this case because it would involve transferring land from one city to another and one county to another, he told the Business Times. Typically annexations involve an unincorporated area joining a nearby city to gain municipal services such as police, fire and water. “It would be a tortured process and likely to fail,” Tim said. However, the suggestion shines a light on the dysfunction of cities wanting the benefits of job growth without having to take on the responsibility of housing workers, he added.

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