California Bill Aiming to Revitalize Downtown San Francisco Passes First Legislative Hurdle

California legislation that aims to make downtown San Francisco less “office-focused” has passed its legislative first hurdle. A bill proposed by San Francisco’s Sen. Scott Wiener aims to help transform the city’s beleaguered downtown by creating a “revitalization zone,” temporarily removing environmental reporting required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and providing some developers with tax breaks. “It’ll help SF make downtown less office-focused,” Mr. Wiener said about Senate Bill 1227 in a post on X April 17. The legislation passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee April 19 and is now waiting for a hearing in the Senate’s Revenue and Taxation Committee....