By Calvin Welch, HANC Board
In a surprise move, Mayor Breed ordered a halt to the community planning process being done by the non-profit developers the city selected for the 100 % affordable housing development at 730 Stanyan Street.
Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) had conducted a pre-application meeting and a series of community planning meetings since June 2020, and were poised to hold their fifth and seemingly last meeting with the community which was to present the modifications to the design gathered from the community.
But Mayor Breed seems to have other plans for the site. While no official announcement has yet been made to the community in over a month since the April 29 meeting was cancelled, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) did respond to an Examiner op-ed drafted by the co-chairs of the Coalition for a Complete Community (CCC) which called upon the Mayor not to delay the development of the proposed 120 unit development (The op-ed piece can be found at: https://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/city-should-stop-foot-dragging-on-critically-needed-affordable-housing-in-haight-ashbury/).
In a follow-up news story by the Examiner on May 12 (https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/affordable-housing-project-on-former-mcdonalds-site-delayed-as-city-adds-units/) , an MOHCD spokesperson said that the project is to be enlarged from a six story 120 unit development to an eight story 150 unit building. MOHCD claims that the new project will break ground in 2023, a year later than originally estimated by MOHCD.
Breed has refused requests to meet with a broad coalition of community members to discuss the City's decision NOT to accommodate dedicated senior units in the project. Broad support has been given in all of the developer held planning meeting for three populations--families with dependent children, transition-aged youth (18-24), and seniors--to be served by the housing development. MOHCD has repeatedly claimed that seniors will be "affirmatively marketed" for the site while the Mayor has refused additional requests by the community to meet and define just what specific steps and support will be offered for this "affirmative marketing".
The developers hope to make announcement in the near future on new meetings with the community around the new proposal. Join HANC's monthly meeting on June 10th at 7 pm for more information. (See the adjacent article for details on joining the Zoom meeting).