The only thing that people want to preserve there is their property values. Constantly voting against new housing is just a "fuck you, I got mine and don't want to share" stance that is extremely close minded. It's basically a giant country club.
If SF really wanted to get rid of the homeless and crime they definitely could with some NIMBYism. They'd shut down all the low income housing and stop helping the disadvantaged and increase arrests.
Context: grew up in SF. don't live there anymore.. but i don't recent the changes to the city. Life moves on
>Most families in SF either have been there for decades or do in fact make 150k/yr. It's not being rich - it's just the local standard
Nope, most families have just been pushed out because it's hard to find a job that pays that much. If your policies are generally "screw the middle class", of course high income is the standard for the people that have managed to remain.
Also, claiming the massive income required relative to the rest of the country doesn't mean rich is ridiculous. That's like saying people who stay at the Four Seasons aren't rich because they all have to pay a lot per night.