Public Policy and Advocacy

Charter

The charter of the AIASF Public Policy & Advocacy Committee (PPAC) is to strengthen the constituency for progressive design action in the Bay Area through direct engagement with neighborhood, advocacy, political, regulatory, and legislative bodies and to advocate for architecture as a force for positive change. More broadly, PPAC seeks to effect positive change through education and action related to urban issues impacting the architecture profession and our communities. We regularly meet with the Director of Planning, Supervisors, and other policymakers to develop legislation and process improvements, and have developed a relationship with the Building Department to help inform more efficient permitting processes.

Meetings

First Wednesday of each month, 5:30 - 7:00 PM (PST), in-person at the Center for Architecture + Design.

Everyone is welcome to join.

Committee Chairs

Kevin Riley Jr, AIA, LEED AP
David Baker Architects
Chair

Vivian Dwyer, Assoc. AIA
Paulett Taggart Architects
Past Chair

Christopher Roach, AIA, LEED AP
Studio VARA
Past Chair

Leadership

Paul Adamson, FAIA

Abigail Campion, Karin Payson architecture + design

Leticia Colnago

Vivian Dwyer, Dywer Design

Amy Eliot, Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture

Vivian Dwyer, Assoc. AIA, Dywer Design (Chair)

David Gast, AIA, Gast Architects

Christopher Roach, AIA, LEED AP, Studio VARA

Irving Gonzales, AIA, NOMA, G7Arch

Julie Jackson, AIA, Jackson Liles Architecture

Linda Li

Gregg Novicoff, AIA, LEED AP, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

Luke Ogrydziak, AIA, Ogrydziak Prillinger Architects

Karin Payson, AIA, LEED AP, Karen Payson Architecture & Design

Kevin Riley, AIA, LEED AP, David Baker Architects

Neal J.Z. Schwartz, AIA, Schwartz and Architecture

Lydia So, AIA, LEED AP, SOLYD Architecture

Tim Wai,Ogrydziak/Prillinger

Havel Weidner,Studio VARA

Lev Weisbach, AIA, Weisbach architecture | design

Stacy Williams, AIASF Executive Director

Sponsors

Thanks to Gonzales Architects for supporting PPAC in 2024!

Background

Over the years, AIASF has supported public policy and advocacy work in many forms, including PPAC, which evolved out of long-standing concerns of AIASF members. The focus was SF Planning Department policies and design review procedures.  During 2015 -2016, AIASF established a joint Working Group with SF Planning that included a small cohort of activist architects committed to meeting every two months with the City of San Francisco Director of Current Planning and other staff. This series of discussions addressed residential design review, historic review procedures, and urban design guidelines.

In 2016-2017, this small group expanded its membership and focus by creating the Steering Committee of the newly founded AIASF Public Policy + Advocacy Committee (PPAC).  This group continued to work with the Planning Department while also developing a Strategic Plan for its second year focused on Short- and Long-Range Advocacy programming.  (In addition, a separate, non-AIASF-sponsored advocacy organization, Design Advocacy Group (DAG_SF), was established and issued a series of Opinion Papers). PPAC also worked and continues to work closely with the AIASF Small Firms Group, reporting back regularly.

From 2017 to 2018, the PPAC Steering Committee expanded and initiated programming.  Half of the year’s PPAC meetings were devoted to SF Planning Department issues in discussion with Planning staff.  This agenda included Historic Review Procedures, Residential Design Review Procedures, and an upcoming Residential Design Guidelines review.  The remainder of our meetings focused on short- and long-range advocacy programming.

Progress

Establishing more formal lines of communication between AIASF and SF Planning has built a solid basis to advocating for change. The first year and a half of our work was marked by open, respectful, but sometimes vocal and contentious debate about the rate and format for meaningful change.  Despite significant agreement about the problems with the then-current residential design review and Residential Design Team, instituting change sometimes appeared elusive.

By spring 2017, staff changes improved design procedures, and significant progress toward our goals came quickly.  This includes a major reorganization of the former RDT staffing and revised procedures before, during, and after the Planning Department review.  Based on this success, the relationship between SF Planning and AIASF deepened and continues to evolve. Hallmarks of this work include the revisions of the Residential Design Guidelines for Spring 2018.