San Francisco has just missed a state-imposed deadline, setting the stage for a potential showdown with California regulators. The bone of contention? Housing, or rather, the lack thereof.

The city now finds itself in a precarious position, with millions in state funding and local control over housing development hanging in the balance. The task at hand is no small feat — the city must find a way to accommodate 82,000 new housing units within the next eight years.

State Sen. Scott Wiener put it bluntly, “This is about whether people are going to have a place to live. We are short millions of homes.”

Matthew Lewis of California YIMBY, an organization working to alleviate the housing shortage and affordability crisis, pointed out that San Francisco is the slowest city to approve housing, with some projects taking up to three years.

The city was given until Nov. 27 to pass Mayor London Breed’s “Constraints Reduction Ordinance,” a piece of legislation designed to cut through bureaucratic red tape and expedite housing projects. However, the city missed the deadline, putting state funding and land use authority at risk.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin is pushing for an extension, while Reina Tello of Communities United for Health and Justice argues against the state’s mandate, stating, “We don’t have a housing shortage. We have an affordability crisis right now and that can’t be solved by building more units that are unaffordable.”

The Clock is Ticking

The city has been granted a grace period of 30 days to comply with the mandate, giving the Board of Supervisors until late December to get their ducks in a row.

Wiener’s advice to the board? “Stop playing games.”

As the city grapples with this housing conundrum, one thing is clear: the clock is ticking, and the stakes are high.

Read more at ABC7 News.