17. 2003.1049T (J.IONIN: (415) 558-6309)
DISCRETIONARY REVIEW POLICY - Consideration of adoption of a Policy to create a pre-application process for all new construction and certain expansion applications in RH and RM Districts and to establish criteria for administrative discretionary review.
(Continued from Regular Meeting of November 20, 2003)
SPEAKER(S):
Re: Continuance
Judy Berkowitz
- She met with Mr. Ionin in November and has made suggestions to the draft document.
- They have not had time to present these suggestions. Also because of the holidays, she is in agreement with continuing this item.
Marilyn Amini
- She is in agreement with continuing this item at least 60 to 90 days.
- There has been inadequate notice.
- She submitted letters and documentation from neighborhood groups who are in agreement with the continuance.
Richie Hart
- This is a very important process and there are a lot of things to review.
- Please keep the Pre-Application process separate.
Hiroshi Fukuda - Richmond Association
- Zoning = location, location, location.
- He has not had enough time to look over all the information.
- He is in agreement with a continuance.
Bruce Bonnacker
- He would like to start the pre-application aspect of this proposal in order to give it a "test run".
- He is a little bit confused on a few items. The continuance would allow for time to have some items explained.
ACTION: Without hearing the merits of the issue, the item was continued to February 5, 2004.
AYES: Antonini, Bradford Bell, Boyd, Feldstein, Hughes, S. Lee, W. Lee
18. (L. BADINER: (415) 558-6411)
EASTERN NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY PLANNING - The Planning Commission will discuss and possibly adopt Interim Policies and/or discuss and direct staff to prepare a resolution for initiation of Interim Controls. Planning Department staff will provide a status report on the Environmental Review process for the Rezoning of the Eastern Neighborhoods. The Planning Commission will also schedule a subsequent hearing to review and discuss the work scope of Public Benefit Zoning and Community Impact Report (Socio-Economic Analysis) and to discuss non-conforming uses.
Preliminary Recommendation: Adopt Interim Policies
(Continued from Regular Meeting of November 20, 2003)
SPEAKER(S):
Curtis Eisenberger - Coalition of Economic Justice and Jobs
- He received the document about two days ago. It is very long and it is very complex.
- It is really not fair for the Commission to take action this evening.
- It is important for neighborhood groups to respond to what was presented today.
- There has been a negative absorption regarding PDR space.
Mary Murphy - Forella, Braun and Martel for Bay West
- She is representing the Bay West Group which owns property in the Showplace Square area.
- There is an issue about policies or controls. She is in support of adopting policies and not controls.
Charlie Sciammas
- Moving forward with this process is very important.
- They have organized a community process and have established stakeholders. The present process is much different than a couple of years ago.
- It is important to support interim controls instead of policies.
- With controls there would be a standard set of rules for developers instead of policies that would be based on a case-by-case basis.
- He emphasized that controls are really important.
Emmanuel Zuniga
- He has lived in the Mission for 16 years and used to live in very crowded conditions.
- Now, thanks to affordable housing, he is able to have his own room.
- It is important to have interim controls and not policies.
Kyle Fiore
- She is in support to having interim controls and not policies.
- As an educator, she realizes that it takes a village to make a home.
- Families, youth and community members need to be able to live in a place they can call home.
Fred Snyder
- He is a resident of the NEMIZ.
- He is not in support of policies or controls. The controls meant no development. In his neighborhood, everything has become so political that it has become a "war zone." He needs a stable environment for everyone in the community.
- It is important to look at this information and [continuing for] two weeks is fair.
- He showed a map of the NEMIZ pointing out that in the core PDR areas, housing has been introduced.
- The definition of Core PDR in the information presented to the Commission is misleading.
Robert Meyers
- He is in support of policies and not controls. If controls are adopted, control will be lost.
- There have been controls for two years already. Policies will give flexibility on what should be approved or not.
- If PDR is promoted, there will be more PDR space and less housing.
Chris Selig - Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition
- She is in support of controls.
- In the Mission, specifically, it is very imperative to have controls.
- It is important to maintain the PDR space.
- Control will not be lost with controls. This is a total fallacy.
- Guidelines seem to be like "anything goes."
- They are not against development; just that development should be built intelligently.
Alex Hernandez
- She is a youth project coordinator and affordable housing tenant.
- She is here in support of affordable housing.
- Interim controls promote affordable housing and protect jobs. Interim controls are important because the Planning Department will be adopting this.
- Interim controls will protect the community.
- Interim controls allows the public to be involved in the decision-making process.
Antonio Diaz - PODER/MAC
- He is in support of adopting interim controls.
- It is important to consider the fact that no one knows how the economy is going to be in two or three years. It is important now to have protection in place for neighborhoods.
- The need for protecting PDR spaces has been continually reiterated.
- MAC has done focus groups as well as community meetings and the outcome of all this is that housing and jobs are the most important issues.
- Controls will help allow for these things.
Teresa Garcia - Mission Economic Association
- She is here to advocate for interim controls and not policies.
- It doesn't make sense to have a neighborhood based on a location-by-location basis.
- The decisions being made will be affecting people.
Joaquin Turner
- He supports interim controls.
- Proponents of interim controls state that this will protect businesses but don't state exactly how.
- Interim policies will push [out] PDR and threaten San Francisco's diverse economy.
- Planning for the future is important.
Jeffrey Leibovitz
- Interim policies are the way to go.
- Flexibility is important because the economy is not stable.
- The reality of two years ago is not the reality of today.
- There are some legal ramifications because [some feel that] under interim controls there is no need for approval of the Board. This is false.
- He urges the Commission to put entertainment language in the policies section.
- The public benefits are extremely important and no one has talked about it.
Maria Hernandez
- She has been living 18 years in the Mission District.
- It is unfair that poor people have had to pay high rent.
- It is important to have rent controls.
- She urged the Commission to do something to help the people who are paying such high rents.
- Low-income people cannot afford to have a decent meal because they have to save the money for the high rents.
Jose Morales
- He is willing to continue to work for housing justice and peace.
- He is here in support of interim controls because without that there is no way to control the situation.
- There are people who want more and more money.
- He has lived in his home for 38 years.
- He is willing to fight for his neighbors. It is important to preserve affordable housing.
Judy West
- She lives and works in the Northeast Mission area.
- It is confusing the way things are presented.
- South of Mariposa there are numerous blocks designated as PDR that have a lot of housing. It is misleading to designate areas as core PDR that contain housing.
- She displayed photographs of buildings that desperately need upgrading.
- There are a lot of people who are testifying today representing low income residents that have been mislead thinking that controls will promote low income housing.
- Core PDR is not the solution and certainly not controls.
Milton Gaines
- He has been living in the Mission District for 34 years.
- The need for flexibility is important.
- If controls are set, it would limit opportunities.
- The word controls--in the eyes of non profit housing--is an effort to shut down all development on a footprint larger than 15,000 square feet.
- Policies are what is important.
Steve Vettel
- The public benefit zoning should focus on open space and the streetscape (things that haven't been able to be paid for from property taxes).
- He would be very cautious about putting the very number one item in the public benefit--zoning additional affordable housing--above the inclusionary ratio that there is now. The inclusionary ordinance was just adopted two years ago and is working well.
- If all of a sudden after two years, the 12 percent/10 percent standards is thrown out, this would cause an impact on the pro-formas.
- The Rincon Hill Draft Plan talks about the mellarouse district and he recommends that this discussion be extended to the rest of the Eastern Neighborhoods.
Luis Granados
- He is disappointed that the full Commission is not present to take a vote on this matter.
- He does have to take issue with a couple of Commissioners and the factual evidence being presented. They dismiss this information because they don't like it. Decisions cannot be made this way.
- This is about creating and sustaining PDR areas.
- He encourages the Commission to adopt controls and adopt the public benefit. It is important to focus on the socio economic impacts.
My Do - Mission Economic Development Association
- The important thing about PDR businesses is that they are a balanced approach to economic development. Yes, people need places to live but they also need jobs.
- These businesses also provide goods and services to other sectors of the economy and contribute to a diverse economic base. This is very important when there is an economic downturn.
- PDR jobs and businesses need to be projected.
- She urges the Commission to adopt interim controls instead of policies.
Sue Hestor
- The developers want flexibility, the people that are concerned about the future in the area being proposed would rather have options preserved rather than options foreclosed.
- The land values should not go so high because the public interest would not be well served.
- People still have to come here and fight project by project and lose project by project.
- Since 1996, all the housing built in the Mission and industrial areas have been market rate. This is not healthy.
Shawn Gorman
- The showplace square workshop process had an unusual amount of consensus for a neighborhood process.
- The mixed use alternative which is used in Exhibit B was the basis for option B of Potrero Hill/Showplace Square.
- The exhibit clearly states that there will be no net PDR loss, then Exhibit A is trying to retain PDR in an area that is NC (neighborhood serving businesses).
- There has been a lot of work done over the years to try to find something that will meet the PDR needs and meet the evolutionary needs that are going to have to occur in this area.
Ada Chan - Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition
- When she received the packet she did like everyone else and looked lot by lot and street by street. Then she decided not to continue and just be excited to be at this meeting.
- A decision needs to be made sooner or later.
- Although there are disagreements with various groups, she believes that controls are the best decision.
- There are also speculations on all sides so everyone just needs to trust staff.
Richie Hart - Residential Builders Association and Potrero Boosters
- Staff needs to check their facts more closely.
- He believes that one can get the names and addresses of new businesses from the Tax Collector. The only thing that one cannot obtain is the amount of tax that these businesses pay.
- Interim controls do not work and do not make any sense at all.
- There is a major shortage of housing in the City.
- No one has thought of UCSF at Mission Bay.
- He would like Commissioners to vote no on Interim Controls.
Joe O'Donoghue - Residential Builders
- Builders are in favor of jobs.
- Before the Commission makes a decision, there is a need for more data.
- Information on the breakdown of the loss of PDR over the 10 years to know what the trend has been.
- This information is not before the public.
- Someone from the Controller's office needs to come to the Commission to answer questions and provide information.
Alice Barkley
- She is in agreement with the comments made by Ms. Murphy, Mr. Leibovitz, and Mr. Vettel.
- She prefers the policy of interim policies.
- If the Board of Supervisors decided to create a special affordable use district, which there are plenty in the Planning Code, the Commission would then have to impose the 4:1 requirement or whatever is in the interim controls. So there is no flexibility. That is why she prefers policy and not interim controls.
Chris Durazo
- There is no consensus in the South of Market. There is a lot of poverty in that area and this is going to grow.
- Although there is West SOMA, which will be taken out of this process, controls are important.
- There are going to be a lot of projects coming before the Commission in the future so she is concerned about all this.
- There are issues about decent jobs with residents of SOMA. Areas around the bridge are being ignored.
- Public benefit zoning is very important although there are a lot of different levels.
ACTION: Public Hearing Closed. Following Commission deliberation, this item was continued to February 12, 2004, to allow the absent commissioner to participate in the final action..
AYES: Antonini, Bradford Bell, Feldstein, Hughes, S. Lee, W. Lee
ABSENT: Boyd
