I haven't studied it (the specifics of what is going on in SF) well enough to make specific recommendations for San Francisco. If I were on a task force looking for answers, I would start by reading everything I could get my hands on concerning a) California real estate taxes and b) rent control. I would look for studies, I would look for what we can quantifiably show has a measurable impact.
Then I would look at trying to find ways to incentivize making small spaces with housing basics more available.
I would also look at economic factors like the fact that you can live in SF without a car, so some people can afford the nosebleed rental prices because they are paying only for rent rather than rent plus a car. And I would consider creating a PR program around that angle. Walkable communities typically are more expensive, because humans value the high quality of life they afford, and they are mostly zoned out of existence. A lot of things that historically created walkable communities cannot be recreated under modern car-centric zoning laws.
Edit: To be clear, those are things I would start with, not everything I would do.
Thanks for sharing. Since the Peninsula doesn't have rent control, but DOES have Prop 13, it has separate circumstances, but still many of the same symptoms.
Then I would look at trying to find ways to incentivize making small spaces with housing basics more available.
I would also look at economic factors like the fact that you can live in SF without a car, so some people can afford the nosebleed rental prices because they are paying only for rent rather than rent plus a car. And I would consider creating a PR program around that angle. Walkable communities typically are more expensive, because humans value the high quality of life they afford, and they are mostly zoned out of existence. A lot of things that historically created walkable communities cannot be recreated under modern car-centric zoning laws.
Edit: To be clear, those are things I would start with, not everything I would do.