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Fearing tall buildings, westside homeowners look to Aaron Peskin

By Han Li : sfstandard – excerpt


Many moderate westside voters are finding themselves attracted to Aaron Peskin for his stance on rezoning—despite his progressive record.

Within San Francisco’s relatively narrow political spectrum, Michael Nohr, a Sunset District homeowner, thinks of himself as a moderate.

He supported the recalls of former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three progressive school board members in 2022 and prefers a more business-friendly environment. Most importantly, he wants a more cautious approach to building dense apartment buildings on the west side of the city.

In the upcoming mayoral election, Nohr is struggling over whether to vote for the most left-leaning candidate—Supervisor Aaron Peskin—because of his similar views on housing.

“It is truly a conundrum,” Nohr told The Standard. “Peskin and I are not in alignment on most policies, but he is the only candidate currently making sense on the issue of housing.”

San Francisco’s west side, which generally refers to the area west of Twin Peaks, had been largely zoned for single-family homes, with multi-family buildings banned on most of the land. But as the city grapples with how to meet a state mandate to accommodate 82,000 new homes and city officials look to loosen zoning restrictions, the opposition is mounting on the west side as residents fear mega-projects that they believe would crowd streets and threaten neighborhood character…

In a statement, Peskin’s campaign said it is gaining momentum on the west side of the city.

“We are finding strong support [on the westside] for Supervisor Peskin’s effective leadership and record of giving neighborhoods a voice at City Hall,” the statement said…(more)

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URGENT — OPPOSE SB 7

This is an URGENT call to action. SB 7 is a terrible bill, and it needs to be opposed before it’s next heard on 6/26. Letters and calls should be in ASAP. Today if possible.

What is the Problem with SB 7?
This is a housing bill that makes HCD stronger and RHNA worse. SB7 takes recommendations from a 176 page report — “California’s Housing Future 2040: The Next Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)” — sent to legislators just two months ago, and hastily tries to get them passed into law in the next few weeks.

Through a sneaky process called “gut and amend,” new language has been put into SB 7 — which already passed the Senate in another form — and is now working its way through the Assembly.

No underlying problems of 6th cycle RHNA are addressed. This bill relies on unsubstantiated claims about the state’s housing crisis to justify usurping local control.

The 6th cycle RHNA is not even mid-way through, and all cities are failing its metrics. The solid reasons why are heavily documented — to the point that a housing element audit was recently authorized to examine the process.

The HCD is doing an end run around the audit and any flaws it might uncover; the new language of SB 7 bolsters their powers for 7th cycle RHNA, and they want it done now.

WHAT HCD GETS WITH SB 7:

  • An increase in authority, zero oversight, no transparency
  • Heavier hand against cities, bolstered by new punitive legislation
  • Further control over local zoning control
  • Eliminates the right to appeal RHNA mandates
  • Allows unchecked lobbyist influence
  • Continue to disregard infrastructure costs and other impacts to cities
  • Continue to disregard actual data, including population projections that show California’s numbers flat through 2060
  • Inclusion of open space in their calculation for how much new development a jurisdiction can absorb
  • No requirement to base policy on robust economic theory
  • No requirement to base RHNA mandates on legitimate population projections
  • RHNA allocations will continue to increase market rate housing
  • RHNA will require — but not advance — affordability.
  • Unelected bureaucrats will continue creating policy with no accountability

THIS IS HAPPENING FAST:
SB7 is being rushed through without due diligence.
This “gut and amend” bill bypassed normal deadlines, and showed up at the last minute. In the Senate it was an innocuous bill about group housing.

June 10th: Amended in Assembly
June 18th: Passed Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee
June 26th: Up for a vote in the Local Government committee

your message can be this simple: I OPPOSE SB 7.
Contact for direct representatives are below, they also need to hear from us.

First Last Email Phone
Chair, D Juan Carrillo juan.carrillo (916) 319-2039
V-Chair, R Marie Waldron marie.waldron (916) 319-2075
R Bill Essayli bill.essayli (916) 319-2063
D Matt Haney matt.haney (916) 319-2017
D Ash Kalra ash.kalra (916) 319-2025
D Blanca Pacheco blanca.pacheco (916) 319-2064
D James Ramos james.ramos (916) 319-2045
D Chris Ward assemblymember.Ward (916) 319-2078
D Lori Wilson lori.wilson (916) 319-2011
Chief Cons. Angela Mapp angela.mapp (916) 319-3958

SB 7 Verville sample letter

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Confederacy of NIMBYS cheer Peskin, criticize Melgar on housing

By KELLY WALDRON : missionlocal – excerpt

As dozens of slides on the evils of new housing construction flashed on the screen, the 100 or so residents gathered Wednesday night at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center agreed on one thing: Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin best represented their views, while the local district supervisor Myrna Melgar did not.
Peskin, who is running for mayor and spoke for around 10 minutes, often skeptical of new market-rate housing, was a clear winner for the crowd. District 7 Supervisor Melgar, who represents the area in which the meeting was held and is running for re-election there, attended but did not speak. She was not a fan favorite — and she made it clear the feeling was mutual.
“These are not my people,” said Melgar about the event put on by Neighborhoods United, a coalition of over 50 neighborhood associations across the city…(more)  
 
Melgar was invited to speak but just sat in the audience and said nothing. One of her opponents, Stephen Martin-Pinto was in attendance and gathered a lot of support last night. There were a lot of people from D-4., D-7, and D-11 that I recognized.

RELATED:

An Open Letter to Mission Local reporter Kelly Waldron

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Longshot mayoral candidates to host ‘People’s Debate’ every Saturday at Dolores

By Oscar Palma : Missionlocal – excerpt

Mayoral candidates Serena Hughes, Dylan Hirsch-Shell, Shahram Shariati, Guy McCoy and Honest Charley Bodkin spoke in Dolores Park during the first People’s debate for mayor this season on Saturday June 1, 2024.

Cruise ships to alleviate the housing crisis, temporary get-out-of-jail cards to allow prisoners to work, blue poles around the city with buttons that summon a police officer and many more gardens to grow food for San Franciscans.

These are all ideas from San Francisco mayoral candidates. Nope, not Mayor London Breed, Mark Farrell, Daniel Lurie, Aaron Peskin or Ahsha Safaí. Instead, they come from some of the other 48 candidates hoping to defeat incumbent Breed in November and claim Room 200 in City Hall… (more)

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Breed proposes $1.3 billion budget bump, despite months of deficit warnings

By Gabe Greschler and Noah Baustin : sfstandard – excerpt (see graph at the source)
For months, Mayor London Breed has been ringing the alarm about an $800 million deficit and asking city departments to plan for budget cuts. But instead of cutting overall spending, Breed’s latest budget proposal calls for a record $15.9 billion outlay next year, a nearly 9% climb from this year’s budget…

Breed’s plan is likely to spur intense debate and discussion this summer and comes as the mayor—along with two supervisors and another two City Hall outsiders—seek the city’s top job in November.

Breed’s challengers are already casting her as having squandered years of bright economic growth—and a moderate versus progressive fight is almost certain in the coming weeks over at least some of the mayor’s spending priorities.

Last year, Breed was able to plug up a similarly large deficit through the use of Covid-related reimbursements and reserve funds. But by October, Breed warned that cuts were coming and directed city departments to make 10% reductions to their budgets.

San Francisco’s supervisors will propose their own tweaks to the mayor’s budget proposal before sending it back to her for a final signature by the end of July… (more)

RELATED remarks via email

…Supervisor and Budget Chair Connie Chan blasted the mayor on Friday over what she described as the mayor’s “wasteful spending and inefficiencies” in city contracting and departments.

“My task is clear—we must comb through the mayor’s proposed budget and advance a budget that prioritizes all San Franciscans—not just the demands of the wealthy few,” Chan said.

Likewise, Safaí had some harsh words for Breed: “Her budget is out of touch with working families, and there’s no way it will pass as is.”

Other critics of the mayor echoed Chan’s remarks: “We’re going to have to understand and digest the money machinations,” said Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club President Jeffrey Kwong.

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Trump convicted: San Francisco, tell us how you feel after guilty verdict

By Stanford Staff : sfstandard – excerpt
Are you headed to a party? Planning a protest?

Former President Donald Trump prepares to make comments to members of the media after being found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Thursday. | Source: Seth Wenig/AP

Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts in his New York hush money trial Thursday.

The landmark jury verdict makes him the first former American president to be found guilty of felony crimes in the nation’s nearly 250-year history.

Trump is set to visit San Francisco next Thursday for a fundraiser dinner at David Sacks’ ritzy Pacific Heights home.

Sacks has already shared his feelings about the trial on X… (more)

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SF Police Commission cancels five meetings, awaits mayor’s appointees

By ELENI BALAKRISHNAN  : missionlocal – excerpt

When the San Francisco Police Commission began repeatedly canceling meetings this spring, it raised questions about whether Mayor London Breed — who has made her disdain for the commission very clear — was behind it.

Breed, as mayor, appoints the majority of the Police Commission’s members. But ever since she fell out with her own appointee, Max Carter-Oberstone, in 2022, she has worked to stymy the powerful commission that sets policy for the San Francisco Police Department. In March, voters approved Prop. E, her measure to restrict the commission’s policy-setting abilities.

And then the cancellations started. Of the past eight scheduled meetings going back 11 weeks, five were canceled: one in March, two in April and two this month. The reasons: vacancies, and absences for personal and business reasons. Maintaining a quorum — at least four out of the seven commissioners are needed for the body to meet — became more difficult after April 30 when two of Breed’s four appointees, Debra Walker and James Byrne, vacated their seats…(more)

 

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Opinion: Changing the West Portal entrance is a terrible idea

By George Wooding : 48hills – excerpt

As usual, the SFMTA came up with a bad plan, without any meaningful community input.
The draft plan infuriated local residents and merchants. SFMTA graphic.

Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Mayor London Breed, and SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin have attempted to redirect traffic on the first block of the West Portal Avenue.  The proposed changes would hurt West Portal Avenue businesses, cause traffic congestion, and destroy the character of surrounding neighborhoods.

From the San Francisco Standard, April 18:

“If it were up to me, I would take all of the cars off West Portal,” Melgar said. “I think that this plan takes most of the cars off the intersection, and that is my goal.”

The Melgar and Tumlin plan was so hated by Westside residents and businesses that the SFMTA was forced to allow residents and business leaders three additional months to form a committee to evaluate impacts to parking and traffic congestion, and “come to a consensus that works for all parties,” according to a statement from Melgar’s office.  Prior to the committee formation, the SFMTA had done none of these evaluations…

The SFMTA’s Slow Streets road experiments are causing more accidents and business failures than they are stopping…(more)

The subject of Tumlin’s job will be high on the list of questions asked of the candidates running for Mayor. The tongue twisting, fact shifting Tumlin is nearing the end of his useful shelf life and everyone can see that. The emperors’ clothes are falling off at a fast pace as his mouth gives him away.

Next on the list of disasters is the Third Street Bridge that will put the T-Line out of business south of the stop to the north of it. Traffic and buses will be forced onto the two lane, rather sketchy Illinois bridge, making access to the Bay View more difficult than ever. There are some route around it, but nothing near Third Street. We can only hope that the repair is short and sweet, unlike what is happening with Taraval. and likely to happen on Folsom soon.

RELATED:

Are cars, buses, bikes, small businesses, and safe walking a zero-sum game? By Tim Redmond

Or is there a way to make SF really a transit-first city without making a lot of people miserable?…It sometimes seems as if everyone is mad and there’s no way to make drivers, bikers, merchants, and walkers better off without making someone worse off. Most of these folks are not rich or powerful; they’re just trying to make a living and get around town… So let me offer some perspective… (more)

 

 

 

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New Planning Commissioners

Gilbert Williams nominated by President Peskin
Gilbert Williams dedicated PODER member for over a decade has spent the entire pandemic learning about Land Use through his participation in the Race & Equity in all Planning Coalition’s “All Planning to the People” series. Always wanting to learn more by asking questions, and supporting his fellow community members leadership development, his leadership presented an opportunity to have a seat at the decision making table. After months of careful consideration, weeks of sleepless nights navigating the application process to join the Planning Commission. It was a whirlwind finale that started with the Rules Committee on Monday March 11th, Full Board vote Tuesday March 12th,  Sworn in Wednesday March 13th, and first day as Planning Commissioner on Thursday March 14th… (more)

Lydia So nominated by Mayor Breed
Mayor London N. Breed announced the nomination of Lydia So to the San Francisco Planning Commission. In June 2023, Mayor Breed appointed So to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors, where she has worked to advance the equity, safety, and efficiency of Muni for San Francisco residents and visitors… more)

The Current member of the SF Planning Commission are
Sue Diamond, President; Kathrin Moore, Vice-President;
Derek Braun, Theresa Imperial, Joel Koppel, Lydia So, Gilbert Williams

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Wednesday, June 5, 7-9 PM
Scottish Rite Center, 2850 19th Avenue (parking garage)
Upzoning Impacts presented by Neighborhoods United SF
District 7, along with many neighborhoods in western San Francisco, face significant upzoning mandated by the State and the City, aiming to raise building height throughout the area. These significantly taller structures won’t address affordable housing but will instead lead to luxury high-rises, tenant and small business displacement, and neighborhood gentrification, profoundly impacting our neighborhood and quality of life for all residents. Register Here: https://www.neighborhoodsunitedsf.org/d7-town-hall