Category Archives: politics

July 2, 2012 · 8:02 am

“If the Planning Department must play Santa Claus to some well-connected property owners …”

My remarks to the Planning Commission during public comment on June 28, 2012:

Let’s talk a little more about the Central Corridor Plan. The Planning Department would have you believe that this is all about accommodating the high tech industry. This incursion into the Western SoMa plan area has very little to do with high tech and everything to do with political pressure from the Chronicle, the Flower Mart and other large property owners in that area, the Academy of Art University being the largest of them all.  Continue reading →

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June 6, 2012 · 11:29 am

Neighbors of proposed Warriors’ arena ask Mayor Lee for a seat at the table

Salesforce.com recently backed away from its plans for a 2 million-square-foot campus in the Mission Bay neighborhood, another highly anticipated development in the same area as the Warriors arena and entertainment complex.

Mayor Ed Lee was understandably in an hurry to trumpet the news that he had persuaded the Golden State Warriors to relocate to a brand new arena along the Embarcadero, in the wake of a series of less than stellar developments in recent months.

The once heralded Americas Cup continues to scale back their once grandiose plans; Salesforce.com has abandoned its ambitious proposal to build a 2 million-square-foot campus in the Mission Bay neighborhood; even as Twitter moves into their new taxpayer-subsidized Market Street digs, Facebook’s stock tanks and the glow is coming off other high tech office projects; and the pending loss of the San Francisco 49ers remains a constant embarrassment. Continue reading →

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May 15, 2012 · 9:54 am

Thanks to billionaire boat owners (and no thanks to Twitter), SoMa might get some better public transit

The bounty of blessings that we’re supposed to be getting from the Twitter deal eludes me. MUNI released details yesterday about the special transit service they’ll be providing for the whiz kids at Twitter’s new 10th and Market Street headquarters. The 83X Twitter Shuttle won’t do much to solve SoMa’s transit deficit or encourage many local jobs. The busses will be hauling out-of-town workers from Caltrain to Twitter without any stops in between.  Continue reading →

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May 8, 2012 · 2:37 pm

Has SoMa become “too good” for poor people?

This parking lot at 1036 Mission Street will sit empty for another few years, following TNDC’s decision to abandon a 100-unit project that was approved in 2009. The Mayor’s Office of Housing considers SoMa real estate too valuable for low income housing.

Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation’s 1400 Mission Street affordable housing development might very well be the last non-profit housing we’ll see here in South of Market for a very long time. The Mayor’s Office of Housing has put out the word that SoMa real estate is too valuable for any more of these low income projects.  Continue reading →

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May 8, 2012 · 8:11 am

Group suing over events at Nob Hill Masonic Center

From the San Francisco Examiner:

The permit in question was approved in January by the Planning Commission to allow Live Nation — a concert promoter — to hold 68 live and 219 large evening events annually at the Masonic Center. A neighborhood group unhappy with The City’s decision to allow an increased number of concerts at the Nob Hill Masonic Center has filed a lawsuit to halt the change and require an environmental impact report. Continue reading at the Examiner

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April 17, 2012 · 9:46 am

Redistricting Task Force approves final draft of Supervisorial boundaries

From BeyondChron: At 6:00 p.m. on April 14th (six hours before the City Charter’s deadline), the San Francisco Redistricting Task Force approved a new map of the eleven districts – which will determine all Board of Supervisors elections for the next ten years. Of course, District 6 (which had to lose 20,000 people) will see the most change – but the Task Force really did their best to respect all current boundaries, only nibbling at the edges when necessary. Read more …

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April 13, 2012 · 7:46 am

The “ins and outs” of affordability

201 Folsom Street had an affordability problem. The city told Tishman Speyer they had an obligation to provide a certain amount of below market rate housing and they did not want to include it among the 671 units of luxury housing they’re building across the street from the Infinity. Instead, they chose to put it off-site in a project being built by the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation almost a mile and a half away at 10th and Mission Streets.  Continue reading →

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April 12, 2012 · 10:08 am

Latest D6 redistricting draft leaves South of Market and TL intact

With the deadline for a final redistricting map fast approaching, the latest draft of District 6 looks familiar, with two notable exceptions. South of Market and the Tenderloin are almost completely intact and Treasure Island is still part of the district. But the portion of Hayes Valley and the North Mission that were part of this district for the last ten years are now included in Districts 5 and 9 respectively.  Continue reading →

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April 10, 2012 · 2:18 pm

Why did Jane Kim create the “Ninth Street Power Retail SUD” …

… and what the heck is a power retail special use district anyway?

Update: the Planning Commission chose not to support this legislation, voting it down 4-2, with only Commissioners Antonini and Wu in favor. 

Supervisor Jane Kim has introduced legislation that would exempt 555 Ninth Street, that hulking complex at the corner of 9th and Bryant Street, from current zoning controls on formula retail uses (chain stores). The legislation will be reviewed by the Planning Commission on Thursday.  Continue reading →

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March 29, 2012 · 9:42 am

Community Unity map pushes Redistricting Task Force to keep our neighborhoods together

Draft "Community Unity" map

As the April 15 deadline nears for completion of the redistricting process, which will define the political boundaries of San Francisco for the next ten years, progressives worry that all of the city’s liberal bastions might be concentrated into District 6 (South of Market/Tenderloin), District 9 (the Mission/Bernal) and District 5 (Haight/Western Addition). This could result in a permanent 8-3 fix for downtown and business interests.  Continue reading →

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