Blocky additions stir neighborhoods. (neighborhood groups in San Francisco oppose latest housing developement rules from the Department of City Planning)

Blocky additions stir neighborhoods

SAN FRANCISCO - The Department of City Planning, after spending two years developing a new set of rules governing demolition and enlargement of homes, has produced a proposal that everybody seems to hate.

The new zoning rules, which the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors are being asked to approve by a Sept. 29 deadline, set specific limits on the size and shape of new and remodeled buildings, based on a citywide review of the existing buildings in each neighborhood.

Neighborhood groups say the plan won't stop speculators from tearing down sound single-family homes and erecting view-blocking apartment buildings that are one story higher.

At the same time, the Residential Builders Association of San Francisco calls the proposal an "absolute disaster" that would prevent a growing family from expanding its home and staying in the neighborhood.

The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), an independent urban planning …