SF Mayor Daniel Lurie is picking a fight with big-money development interests for maybe the first time since he took office, and he has nothing but contempt for the 800-unit double tower proposed for the Marina Safeway site.

Everyone was fairly shocked by last week’s news that developer Align Real Estate was planning to build a 25-story, 790-unit apartment complex on top of the Marina Safeway on the 2.6-acre site on which that Safeway sits. Though it was not a surprise that within 24 hours, Marina residents were lining up against the idea, in many cases because it would block their view of the Bay.

But a new Chronicle analysis lists SF Mayor Daniel Lurie as one of the opponents of the Marina Safeway project, largely because it defies the family zoning plan he got passed last week.

“This is just a developer playing games, because that won’t be possible once our plan goes into practice,” Lurie told the Chronicle. “We will work with anybody to do the right kind of building — and that one is just not in line with what we are doing here in San Francisco.”

The Marina’s Supervisor Stephen Sherrill is also on record against the proposed complex, calling the plan “cartoonish,” “outrageous,” and “a publicity stunt.”

Under Lurie’s family zoning plan, height limits in that part of the Marina would be capped at 40 feet. The proposed Marina Safeway project would go up to 250 feet.

How is this even possible? The Chronicle’s article is actually more of a deep-dive analysis of zoning laws, and a highly informative one that deserves a read. But the Cliff Notes version is that recent state laws have provided “density bonus” incentives for developers to build taller buildings. And state law overrides San Francisco law, so the 250-foot tower could indeed be built in an area with a 40-foot height limit.

And who was one of the main cheerleaders of these state laws, and sometimes even the author of them? Our own state Senator Scott Wiener, who’s now running for Nancy Pelosi’s House of Representatives seat. And he may face political blowback for this in that race.

“I’m confident that Align will work with the city to come up with a great project,” Wiener told the Chronicle. “I’m optimistic that there will be a collaborative working relationship.”

Folks, that is a complete non-answer. Wiener’s challenger, Supervisor Connie Chan, is likely already counting the Marina voters she can pick off because of this project’s unpopularity in the neighborhood, too. And a third challenger Saikat Chakrabarti might also assail Wiener’s pre-development record, that is, should we ever get much of a policy pronouncement out of Chakrabarti’s campaign.  

Related: Marina Safeway Also on the Redevelopment Docket With Plans For 790 Units In 25-Story Complex [SFist]

Image: Rendering of the proposed complex at 15 Marina Boulevard via Arquitectonica and Align Real Estate.