by Jennifer | Friday, 1 August, 2008
Imagine my surprise to pick up the phone on Tuesday evening (while again sitting on my French Quarter balcony) to find Phil Bronstein, Editor at Large of the San Francisco Chronicle and former spouse of Sharon Stone on the other end of the line! Seems that my blog post promoting the Board of Supes hearing Tuesday afternoon about the AT&T boxes in the Inner Sunset was picked up by Curbed SF and then by Bronstein for his column. As I am currently out of town, I was unable to attend the hearing, but was able to refer him to Tim Tonella and Bruce Willems, Clients in the Know who did attend. If there are others among you who attended, many thanks for your efforts! The result of the 3 hour long hearing and the more than 50 opposing parties showing up was that AT&T withdrew their application! According to Susan Maerki, who organized the original email campaign that I re-posted:
“This means that all ATT/DPW activity is stopped — no excavation permits for previously approved locations, no DPW review of requested locations, no accepting new ATT requests. ATT will have to submit a new application and will undergo a focused environmental review (for example, the EIR probably does not have to discuss impact on water quality !!!)
ATT has said they want to make this work — although they could threaten to put San Francisco at the bottom of the list for the technology upgrades. We have won the battle, but have not won the war. We will to stay in touch with you as AT&T develops its next stage plan.“
Tim Tonella was interviewed by Mr. Bronstein and has a well-articulated quote in his column, which you can read here.
I am very excited to report that this is my second time in print this month. In case you missed my column in the Castro Courier, you can read that here.
I feel pleased to have contributed to preserving the quality of life in the neighborhoods where these boxes were to be installed. My part was small, but I am glad to have helped. Larger was the part of those who brought it to my attention and who attended the hearing. As always, I appreciate your contributions, topic suggestions and, of course, your referrals! They keep me energized and excited about my business. Keep them coming!
by Jennifer | Friday, 30 May, 2008
I ran across the San Francisco Planning Department’s excellent Web site about the Eastern Neighborhoods program a few weeks ago, and I wanted to share this information with you for two reasons. First, it’s a chance to observe over the next 10 years or so how the decisions made now will affect the development of a huge swath of the City. Second, there is still an opportunity to become informed and involved and perhaps made real estate investment decisions based on what you learn. A number of you know I am very bullish on the Mission, and this program supports my enthusiasm.
The Mission, Central Waterfront, East South of Market and Showplace Square/Potrero Hill neighborhoods are home to much of the city’s industrially-zoned land and are the subject of the Eastern Neighborhoods program. As these neighborhoods have changed over the last 10-15 years from industrial use to more residential use, the City has seen a number of land use conflicts and is seeking to improve the situation by doing some of the following:
- Building Heights: Height limits would be adjusted both up and down in various areas. No heights would be raised above 85 feet.
- Parking: In mixed-use areas, parking requirements would be changed generally to remove minimum parking requirements and establish maximum requirements instead.
- Open Space: In many areas, the amount of open space required as part of new development would be increased. Additionally, these spaces will be required to be greener and more usable.
- Unit Mix: Existing density requirements would be replaced with a bedroom-mix requirement to ensure a diversity of housing units.
- Zoning Mix: Transitioning about half of the existing industrial areas in these four neighborhoods to mixed use zones that encourage new housing. The other remaining half would be reserved for “Production, Distribution and Repair” districts, where a wide variety of functions such as Muni vehicle yards, caterers, and performance spaces can continue to exist.
The City is, of course, having public hearings on this important topic. The next meeting is on June 2 in front of the Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee. For a complete schedule, check here.
