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SF commissioners tweak plan to build taller housing on Westside

By ANNIKA HOM : missionlocal – excerpt

The Westside is one step closer to raising the roof.
As a strategy to increase housing density, Supervisor Joel Engardio this summer proposed allowing six-story buildings on corner lots and four units on single lots in better resourced neighborhoods of San Francisco, including the Westside. The Planning Commission on Thursday passed three amendments to tweak it and lowered a height limit on corner lots from 65 feet to 55 feet, with no density change.

The one amendment prevents odd-shaped lot mergers, another clarifies rear yard space, and the third proposed by planning requested larger lot mergers…

All three modified legislation by Engardio that went into effect on Oct. 15 — one of several policies the Planning Commission must consider as San Francisco completes the ambitious task of creating some 82,000 homes over the next eight years.

Planners are zeroing in on the city’s well-resourced neighborhoods, which has historically avoided tall or dense buildings, to help fulfill that lofty goal…(more)

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Once it was hailed as a drought fix — but now California’s moving to restrict synthetic turf over health concerns

By Shreya Agrawal : Calmatters – excerpt (includes audio track)

IN SUMMARY: California cities can ban synthetic turf under a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed. He rejected a bill to ban PFAS in fake lawns.

Gov. Gavin Newsom last week passed on a chance to limit the use of the so-called “forever chemicals” in legions of plastic products when he vetoed a bill that would have banned them in synthetic lawns.

His veto of an environmental bill that overwhelmingly passed the Legislature underscores California’s convoluted guidance on the plastic turf that some homeowners, schools and businesses use in place of grass in a state accustomed to drought.

Less than a decade ago then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law prohibiting cities and counties from banning synthetic grass. At the time, the state was in the middle of a crippling drought and fake lawns were thought to be helpful in saving water…(more)

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The Power of Public Banking

Watch our new video: Unlocking the Power of Public Banking!

We’re excited to share a new video that will shape the future of your community and pave the way for economic prosperity. As passionate advocates in this ongoing journey, our latest explainer video shows the transformative potential of public banks and how they prioritize people over profits and drive community-focused projects. It’s a big step forward in our ongoing quest to champion public banking for a future that’s all about fairness and growth.

Unlocking the Power of Public Banking: Public banks are a financially secure solution, dedicated to funding critical community projects like local revitalization efforts, transit systems, green infrastructure, and affordable housing. Unlike traditional banks, public banks channel banking revenue back into our communities, not shareholder profits.

Your Community, Your Choice: The democratic essence of public banks will empower us to define our community’s future and needs, as these banks operate as public utilities rather than profit-driven entities. Community members have a say in what gets funded, impacting everything from school improvements to renewable energy projects.

Supporting Sustainability and Resilience: Public bank loans are pivotal in advancing climate justice by reducing costs associated with energy-efficient housing and sustainable transportation. By partnering with community banks and credit unions, public banks level the playing field against Wall Street megabanks, supporting local small business growth.

Financial First Responders in Tough Times: In times of crisis, public banks emerge as financial first responders, swiftly financing reconstruction efforts after disasters. These public servants understand their community’s unique needs, ensuring a faster recovery and a resilient future.

 

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First Look: San Francisco Towers Could Bring 1,100 Homes

by George Kelly :sfstandard – excerpt

Fresh images for two new towers near San Francisco’s Caltrain station that could bring over 1,100 new homes to the area have been filed with the city.

Developer Tishman Speyer is behind the project at 655 Fourth St. between Townsend and Bluxome streets. The towers will both be over 400 feet tall. The 4th Street Tower, would be 38 floors tall and reach 405 feet; the Townsend Tower would be 40 stories tall and top out at 435 feet…

Construction of the podium building would require the demolition of three current buildings along with seven surface parking lots and landscaping. The site will be just steps from Caltrain and the Central Subway’s 4th/Brannan station as well as several minutes’ walk from the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park.

When complete, it would include 129 studio apartments, 539 one-bedroom units, 400 two-bedroom apartments and 37 three-bedroom homes. Of the building’s total 1,105 residential units, 391 would have balconies for private open space.

READ MORE: Massive San Francisco ‘Floating Cube’ Tower May Bring 826 New Homes …(more)

More housing in SOMA proposed.

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Why SF advocates say now is wrong time to cut food bank funding

By James Salazar : sfexaminer – excerpt (includes audio track)

A critical lifeline for over 18,000 San Francisco households will soon come to an end.

Earlier this month, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank announced it would shutter roughly 20 pandemic-era pop-up pantries throughout the region by 2025 and roll back enrollment in its grocery delivery program, utilized by some 13,000 households.

The pop-ups, which opened in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, have become an essential service in a city where food insecurity impacts one in four San Franciscans…(more)

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Downtown San Francisco Luxury Apartment Tower Loses Half Its Value

by Kevin Truong : sfstandard – excerpt

The value of one of Downtown San Francisco’s largest luxury apartment buildings has been cut nearly in half, according to commercial real estate data provider Trepp.

NEMA, the glass-covered tower at 8 10th St., has seen its value drop from $543.6 million in 2018 to $279 million. Trepp notes that this decline means the value sits well below the loan balance, making the debt more expensive than the property itself.

The Real Deal first reported the news…(more)

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SF-Marin Food Bank to cut staff, all Pop-Up Pantries by 2025

By Griffin Jones : missionlocal – excerpt

The SF-Marin Food Bank announced in a sobering 8 a.m. press conference that, by 2025, a majority of the food-distribution services introduced during the pandemic will be closed or reduced, significantly affecting the growing number of hungry households in San Francisco.

Over the next two years, all 21 Pop-Up Pantries introduced during the pandemic will close. And, by January 2024, the Home Delivered Groceries program, serving seniors, families and people at their households will be reduced by 40 percent.

Currently, upwards of 18,000 households rely on the farmers market-style pop-ups each week. Around 13,000 San Francisco households receive weekly food deliveries…(more)

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San Francisco Marina Greens

Chris Kaplan, owner of Marina Greens Gas House Cove Fuel Dock Operator for 50 years Comments Upon the City’s Proposal to Rebuild the East Harbor and Add a New Boat Harbor in Front of the Marina Greens Promenade.

Play the Video produced by Joe Bravo on YouTube.

Outflow during December 2022 floods.

Christine has operated the fuel dock for 50 years – hear what she has to say

The fuel dock is vital to the marina’s operation. There is more than meets the eye:

  • The relocation strategy is deeply flawed, consisting of burying large fuel tanks into unstable ground.

  • The fuel dock provides emergency services that would disappear.

  • The bottom of the Gashouse Cove is muddy and sandy, unfit for recreational activities.

  • To top it off, the Laguna Street Outflow spills sewage into the harbor when the city sewer system is overwhelmed by heavy rains.

  • In addition, the question of decontaminating the area is still unsolved, and toxic residue still shows up on the surface.

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Supes take up community movement against new harbor in Marina

By Natalia Gurevich : sfexaminer – excerpt

City leaders are joining the Marina district’s ongoing fight against a plan to build a new harbor in front of San Francisco’s iconic Marina Green.

“On behalf of The City and County of San Francisco, I’m actually here to apologize,” San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said at a community meeting Wednesday night. Peskin called the Rec and Park department’s proposal “absolutely wrongheaded.”

Peskin also apologized for Rec and Park’s lack of transparency with the community. “It has been fixed from the get-go and it is the worst way of eroding trust in the government.”…

The supervisors shared Wednesday night that they intend to draft a resolution “to articulate clearly what the desire of the community is,” Safai said. Once that is introduced, it will go to the committee, and a public hearing will be held…

But ultimately, if push comes to shove, the supervisors can simply take the settlement money away from the project.

“There’s nothing in that settlement that compels us, binds us to build the West Harbor improvements,” Peskin said. “It’s a Rec and Park thing, it’s a Phil Ginsburg (general manager of Rec and Park) thing, it’s a mayor thing, but there’s nothing that requires us to do it.”… (more)