soma leadership council

November 18, 2012 · 1:31 pm

Livable City: With Smarter Land Use, SFCTA Could Avert “Total Gridlock”

by AARON BIALICK
sf.streetsblog.org

San Francisco’s South of Market district will be crippled by gridlock within a generation unless the city makes major improvements to its transit, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure and implements policies that entice commuters to travel by means other than driving. That’s according to planners from the SF County Transportation Authority who aim to avert such a scenario by implementing a long-range transportation blueprint over the next 25 years [PDF]. But the blueprint misses some major opportunities to pursue transit-oriented growth, say advocates. In effect, they argue, planners are making it much harder to avoid a traffic-choked future than it has to be. Read more →

Leave a comment

Filed under transportation

November 11, 2012 · 9:23 pm

Kim ponders radical realignment of 11th Street neighbor/nightclub zoning

More nightclubs?

To hear tell, business would be booming and we’d all be dancing in the streets if it were not for “the purple building” and “that lady on Norfolk alley who keeps complaining.” Such is the state of denial the California Music and Culture Association (CMAC) lives in as they plot to foment another war between neighbors and nightclubs in South of Market.

The purple building represents the threat of new development adjacent to existing nightclubs and the Norfolk neighbor has been driving the club owners crazy because she keeps asking the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to enforce the law. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Filed under entertainment, meetings, planning, politics, quality of life

November 5, 2012 · 11:43 am

Voters guide 2012

It’s a little arrogant to be telling people how to vote but if you haven’t read all the material and you’re running out of time, when you pick up your ballot tomorrow you’re going to find a confusing array of ballot measures and candidates. You probably know my politics by now – essentially, I’m a Minnesota liberal – so if you want to vote a practical progressive slate, here are my recommendations: Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under politics

November 2, 2012 · 10:50 am

Fair Play for SoMa – Why I Voted No on Prop B

Published on Nov. 1, 2012 by jamiewhitaker

I want to share with SoMa neighbors why I believe Proposition B, the parks bond, is a bad deal for SoMa and perpetuates the exploitation and neglect of SoMa residents. We should ask for a more equitable parks bond in 2013 or 2014 and refuse to accept Prop B in 2012.

Leave a comment

Filed under community services, economics, politics

October 31, 2012 · 2:27 pm

Proposed legislation seeks to limit bars along Lower Polk Street

by JOSHUA SABATINI
San Francisco Examiner

Sustained neighborhood complaints about raucous nightlife have led one San Francisco official to suggest prohibiting new bars, liquor stores and shops selling tobacco products from opening along a six-block stretch of Polk Street. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, whose District 3 includes the portion of Polk Street dotted with such businesses, said the concentration of watering holes has resulted in unruly behavior that causes problems for area residents. Read more →

1 Comment

Filed under crime watch, entertainment

October 24, 2012 · 5:27 pm

Would you pay extra to have somebody else hose your sidewalk off for you?

Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) are spreading all over South of Market, spurred on by new residents who are horrified by the detritus of urban living and facilitated by the increasing proficiency of organizations like MJM Management Group to satisfy this newfound need. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under community services, quality of life

October 12, 2012 · 8:28 am

Affordable housing, parks bond and taxes on this month’s agenda

Former Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin will argue the case against Proposition B, a ballot measure that asks voters to approve $195 million dollars in general obligation bonds to improve parks, at next week’s meeting of the SoMa Leadership Council. Prop B was put on the ballot by an 11-0 vote of the Board of Supervisors but is opposed by Peskin, two other former Board Presidents (Matt Gonzalez and Quentin Kopp) and a host of community organizations. Taxpayers passed an earlier bond measure worth $185 million in 2008. Opponents say that giving them another $195 million would just encourage more bad management and irresponsible spending. This measure requires a two-thirds vote to pass. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under community services, meetings, politics

October 10, 2012 · 11:28 am

Tech industry posts “soft-sell” pitch for Gross Receipts Tax ballot measure

The San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology and Innovation (also known as “sf.citi”) has posted a video that shows proposed tech solutions to make San Francisco “smarter.” The video also advocates for passage of San Francisco’s Proposition E, a business tax reform measure.

It ends with an advertisement for Proposition E, a ballot measure on the November ballot that’ll be the subject of next week’s SoMa Leadership Council meeting. Prop E proposes to reduce the payroll tax paid by San Francisco firms and replace it with a tax based on gross receipt sales.

“The biggest gift the tech community today can give San Francisco is passing Proposition E to create jobs in San Francisco and small business,” angel investor Ron Conway said last month at a tech industry event. Conway is also chairman of sf.citi.

Leave a comment

Filed under economics, meetings, planning, politics