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Posted inLocal News

SF supervisor’s ‘dumb laws’ contest targets confusing, outdated rules, housing barriers

by Alise Maripuu, Bay City News May 1, 2026May 1, 2026

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FILE: Stop Crime SF board member Frank Noto, left, and San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong attend a news conference to announce the launch of a "Dumb Laws Contest" on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. The contest aimed to identify and remove unnecessary, burdensome, or outdated city laws and regulations. (Alise Maripuu/Bay City News)

San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong announced Thursday the winner of a “dumb laws” contest he launched to help identify city rules that may be considered outdated or burdensome.

“San Francisco’s Municipal Code has accumulated for more than a century,” Wong said at a briefing. “Laws get added in response to problems, but they rarely get removed when the problems are solved, when industries disappear, or when modern standards make local old rules unnecessary.”

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Tagged: ADUs, Alan Wong, Bay Area, bureaucracy, Featured, Featured News, History, housing, housing shortage, laws, Local Government, municipal code, Public policy, rental housing, San Francisco, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, weird news

Alise Maripuu, Bay City News

Alise is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering government, elections, housing, crime, courts and entertainment in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Alise is a Bay Area native from San Carlos. She studied history at University of California, Santa Cruz and first started journalism at Skyline College’s school newspaper in San Bruno. She has interned for Bay City News and for Eesti Rahvusringhääling, or Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has covered everything from the removal of former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to the divisive battle over the Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side. Please send her any tips.

More by Alise Maripuu, Bay City News
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