Business & Land Use Committee Meeting Notes for June 21, 2007

Meeting was called to order with nine members of the Task Force in attendance. There were five members of the public in attendance.

Following a discussion of committee issues and questions for the Town Hall meeting on June 27^th, the Committee began a discussion of the needs to balance Residential and Commercial Uses in the neighborhood. The following major points were brought out in the subsequent discussion:

ü Efforts should made in the plan to control the unabated increasing residential character of the neighborhood.

ü When ever possible rehabilitation of old buildings should be favored over new construction.

ü A small concentrated neighborhood commercial strip along a two-way street in proximity to concentrations of residential uses is appropriate in the W SoMa. It is entirely appropriate that this commercial area contain a mix of uses including zoning provisions for some light industrial and wholesale uses.

ü New curb cuts in this proposed neighborhood commercial area should be discouraged or banned.

ü New housing in the SLI zoning district should be discouraged if not banned in the new zoning proposal.

ü A new flavor of office uses needs to be considered in the W SoMa that would meet the needs for small enterprises and professional services.

ü W SoMa alleys should have a predominantly residential character while the major streets should probably be more concentrated with commercial and other non-residential uses. Proposed controls to keep and area predominantly residential or non-residential included:

o Parking restrictions,

o Residential and Commercial Floor Area Ratio limitations,

o Adaptive reuse incentives,

o NCD type controls by floor of occupancy, and

o Transfer of Development Rights programs.

The Committee next discussed the term and meaning of  boom proof zoning. The variables that were discussed in the context of a Proposition M type of limitation to new development permitted in the W SoMa included annual restrictions on:

§ The size of buildings (by square feet and number of dwelling units),

§ Number of BMR, workforce housing and market rate housing units,

§ Size of housing units,

§ Controlling residential and non-residential use production by location (e.g., targeting some areas for growth and others for slow or no growth).