Opinion: A pattern of concealment on land use by Joel Engardio

From now until September 16, 2025, residents of District 4 will vote on Proposition A, the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio. Nearly 11,000 signatures were submitted on the official recall petition – a clear sign of deep dissatisfaction with the district leadership.

Never in history has a San Francisco district Supervisor been recalled. For many in District 4, it is through Engardio’s pattern of concealing community-altering land-use decisions – plans that will reshape our neighborhoods for decades – that he has betrayed us and broken faith and trust with our community.

While Engardio has attempted to lay claim to accomplishments and popularity he has not earned, his actions on land use tell a different story. Here are key examples:

Quiet upzoning of single-family corner lots

Did you know that Engardio co-sponsored Legislation #230808, a citywide amendment allowing 6-story, 18-unit buildings on residential corner lots – including those zoned RH-1 and RH-2 for single-family homes in the Sunset? Introduced on July 17, 2023, and passed on March 13, 2024, this ordinance significantly altered single-family zoning with limited public outreach. Most residents still don’t know this legislation has taken effect.

Vote to remove coastal protections

That same month in 2024, State Senator Scott Wiener introduced SB 951, which proposed removing parts of the Ocean Beach [urbanized areas of San Francisco also including parts of the Outer Sunset] from California Coastal Commission oversight—making it easier to approve waterfront development.

The Board of Supervisors voted 8–3 to oppose the bill, with Joel Engardio among the only three who voted in support of removing state coastal protections. Although Senator Wiener later withdrew that portion of the bill in response to public backlash, he moved one step closer to the same goal just a few months later, when Prop K was quietly submitted by Engardio, paving the way for future coastal development.

Engardio never consulted Sunset residents before casting his vote on this major land-use decision, which could have threatened coastal access and environmental protections.

Secret sponsorship of Prop. K – Great Highway closure

In June 2024, Joel Engardio secretly submitted Proposition K, a measure to permanently close the Upper Great Highway to create an oceanfront park called Sunset Dunes without informing his constituents or most of his staff.

During his 2022 campaign, Engardio publicly supported a Great Highway compromise, stating in campaign materials that – “Joel supports allowing cars on the Great Highway on weekdays to serve commuters and opening the Great Highway on weekends and holidays to pedestrians and cyclists for recreation.”

Just weeks after his election win, in December 2022, he quietly reversed course. Posting on his X account that he now supported full closure, and without public discussion.

He formally submitted Prop K on June 18, 2024, again without notifying most District 4 residents or most of his own staff. The measure passed citywide but was overwhelmingly rejected in District 4, where over 64% voted “No.” The vote revealed a deep disconnect between Engardio and the voters of District 4.

Concealed role in West Side upzoning for over two years

For over two years, Joel Engardio has sponsored and supported components of the West Side Upzoning Plan, which would allow 6 to 14-story buildings along corridors like Irving, Noriega, and Taraval, and up to 22 stories near Sloat Blvd and the Great Highway on soft sand. Additionally, Joel Engardio’s political circle has already attempted legislation to end single-family zoning.

These large-scale changes pose an existential threat to the Sunset’s multigenerational, immigrant-rooted community, where 77% of households are families and nearly half of residents are Asian – many of whom rely on single-family homes and intergenerationally-shared car ownership to care for both elders and children. Yet Engardio has made these decisions with little meaningful community engagement.

What kind of leadership is this?

Engardio has gained support from powerful outside donors. His anti-recall campaign has received nearly $750,000 much of it coming from a handful of crypto- and tech-bro billionaires and centi-millionaires. The top two donors alone contributed $375,000 – accounting for half of the total funds raised.

Does Joel really represent the families that live here, or the interests of external elites looking to reshape the Westside? District 4 deserves a supervisor who fights for residents who sustain and build this community – not developers and donors who do not live here.

Vote YES on A to Recall Engardio. Vote Yes on A for District 4

* John Crabtree has been writing and advocating for small town and rural places, the people that live in the San Francisco Bay Area and the natural environment that surrounds everyone for decades.