Membership Meetings: 2nd Thursdays ~ 7-9pm
Park Branch Library, 1833 Page St, SF, CA 94117 (except August)
By Christin Evans, HANC Board Member
It was one of the most competitive mayoral races San Francisco has seen in years. And after a lengthy week that dripped out updated voting results, the city learned that it had elected District 5 Supervisor London Breed to occupy room 200 – the Mayor’s office suite at City Hall.
By Rupert Clayton, HANC Housing and Land-Use Chair
Several local projects and initiatives have progressed in recent weeks.
First, the Department of Public Works has postponed the start of sewer replacement work along upper Haight Street from July to early September 2018. Many merchants had been concerned that this work would massively disrupt their businesses during their peak summer season. DPW said that, “after hearing from HAMA and HANC members, residents, and discussing with District Supervisor London Breed, we have decided to postpone our start date until after Labor Day 2018.”
1355 Fulton
In planning news, the architect (SIA Consulting) and owners for a proposed development that would replace the F. Lofrano auto body business at 1355 Fulton St (between Divisadero and Broderick) held a public pre-application meeting on Thursday June 14. They plan to build a 71,000-sq-ft, 9-story building behind the façade of the existing garage. There would be 2,100 sq ft of commercial space on the 1st and 2nd floors and 75 residential units above, divided among 22 studios, 45 two-bedrooms and 8 three-bedrooms.
By Bruce Wolfe, HANC President
Last month, Senator Scott Wiener and Senate Pro Tem Kevin de Leon tried to combine their respective California bills to save Net Neutrality, SB 822 and SB 460.. Wiener had a fight on his hands. His bill was introduced and moved through the Capitol sausage making machine, making it through the Senate but running into heavily-industry-financed legislators in the Assembly, who opposed the strong intent of the bill.
HANC has been working on Municipal Fiber for over a decade including measures to save Net Neutrality. Our colleagues and allies, including a retired CPUC attorney who had worked in this very area, all say Wiener's bill didn't go far or deep enough.
Makena Kelly, a reporter with The Verge, puts it quite right, "Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, chair of the Communications and Conveyance Committee, proposed his own amendments to the bill at the beginning of the meeting, morphing it into what Sen. Wiener called it a ‘fake net neutrality bill.’ AT&T is one of Assemblyman Santiago’s top donors, according to advocacy group Fight for the Future."
By Calvin Welch, form HANC Board Member
A broad spectrum of community residents and organizations have undertaken a community planning process to devise both interim and permanent uses for the old McDonalds site at 730 Stanyan (at Haight Street). The lot, just under an acre (40,000 square feet), represents the largest developable site in the neighborhood since the City leased the two acre, abandoned Polytechic High School site on Frederick Street some 25 years ago. Like Poly, the site has been acquired by the City for a 100% affordable housing development. The Board of Supervisors has designated the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) as the lead City agency in charge of the development of the site.
By Carlie Leduc, HANC Board Member
Our May meeting started out with a presentation from Allison Collins from Yes on C. Proposition C is a corporate tax that will fund Childcare and Early Childhood Education. “Proposition C was designed to levy a tax on commercial property leases in addition to the existing tax, which ranged from .285 percent to .3 percent at the time the measure was placed on the ballot. Proposition C exempts commercial landlords with less than $1 million in gross receipts, along with rents for nonprofit, government, arts, industrial, and non-formula retail uses, among other state exemptions.” - ballotpedia.org
By Laksh Bhasin, co-author of the SF Community Housing Act
Editor’s Note: The SF Community Housing Act (or, per the San Francisco Department of Elections, “Parcel Tax for Affordable Rental Housing Program”) is in the signature-gathering phase to qualify for the November ballot. HANC has not yet made its endorsements for November, but has given the proponents of this measure an opportunity to explain their measure both here in the Voice and at our June meeting.
The housing affordability crisis in San Francisco didn’t begin overnight: federal cuts to HUD by presidents like Reagan and Trump, coupled with trickle-down tax cuts for corporations, and an unchecked, insatiable real-estate market, have driven displacement. Development decisions are often guided by private investors looking for a return on investment, not social good.
By Christin Evans, HANC Vice-President
Alex Murillo from the Department of Public Works let us know that although no contractor has been secured for the bulk of the planned Muni Forward / Public Realm Haight Street project, the city may start tearing up Haight street as early as June for sewer work.
Upon the news, the Haight Ashbury Merchants Association made a request for the city to delay. The concern being that the city was about to abandon its “Dig Once” policy in favor of a piecemeal approach to the project which was already planned to take a lengthy two years. The fear being that once the sewer work is completed, temporary asphalt would be put in until a contractor to complete the remainder of the work is secured adding to the overall time Haight street construction lasts.
By Chrisitn Evans, HANC Vice-President
In May, three petitioners submitted a ballot measure to the Department of Elections for the November election. I was fortunate enough to be one of them. Joined by housing advocate Jacquelynne Evans and housing services provider Lauren Hall, we filed the necessary papers to start signature collection for our measure to be added to the November ballot.
Championed by the Coalition on Homelessness and other housing and homeless activists, the measure would achieve a nearly doubling of funds, an estimated $300 million annually for the prevention of homelessness, ending waits for shelter beds, bringing thousands off the streets, including care for people with severe mental illness.