SoMa Development Tsunami

Change both good and bad is nothing new to SoMa. But now the neighborhood’s special character is threatened by an unprecedented wave of proposed development.

Nearly every block in the area bounded by Market, 2nd Street, Townsend, and the Central Freeway on Division Street, has at least one project seeking approval from the city.

Pending projects in the neighborhood as of August 2015; doesn’t show projects that are already approved; Source: San Francisco Planning Department web site

These projects are not a done deal. They have to seek approval from the Planning Commission—and in some cases from the Board of Supervisors.

Other neighborhoods have stopped inappropriate development by persuading the city to modify projects or to reject them altogether. We can, too.

The South of Market Leadership Council has long served as an information clearing house and forum for discussion about neighborhood planning. Continuing that tradition, we’re providing the following list of significant projects and the dates of their upcoming hearings at the Planning Commission.

September 3, 2015:

• 75 Howard, APPROVAL (Items 14 and 15 on the agenda)
  220’ tall high-rise on the waterfront, extreme luxury housing
• 5M (Fifth and Mission) mega-project PRESENTATION (Item 16, 3:30 p.m.)
  For more info, contact the South of Market Community Action Network (DontSupersizeSoMa@gmail.com) Share this information flyer with your neighbors.

September 17, 2015:

• 5M mega-project APPROVAL
• 1532 Harrison APPROVAL
  7 stories, 136 residential units (formerly 6 stories, 119 units of group housing)

September 24, 2015:

• 525 Harrison (right next to the bridge) APPROVAL
  raise Rincon Hill heights and shrink required separation distance between towers

October 1, 2015:

• 363 6th Street STAFF REPORT
  9 stories, 104 residential units, shadows Gene Friend Rec Park

October 15, 2015:

• 363 6th Street APPROVAL

What You Can Do:

• Contact District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim (Jane.Kim@sfgov.org).
• Share this information with your neighbors, your formal and informal neighborhood organizations, your local merchants, your schools, your places of worship, and anyone you know that shares your love for South of Market.
• Subscribe to the SoMa Leadership Council e-mail list by sending an e-mail to SoMaJournal@yahoo.com with your first name and last name in the e-mail.
• Get involved with the SoMa Leadership Council or any other SoMa neighborhood organization.
• Tell the Planning Commission what you think about specific projects either in person during public comment at one of their Thursday afternoon meetings at City Hall (Room 400) or in writing. You can find Planning Commission meeting agendas here. To learn how to sign up to receive notices for public hearings regarding these proposed South of Market neighborhood development proposals and changes, please e-mail SoMaJournal@yahoo.com and ask for information on how to be added to the Planning Department notification mailing lists.