Author: admin

From Scott Wiener via email

SACRAMENTO – The Senate Environmental Quality Committee passed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) Senate Bill 1227, new legislation that spurs the revitalization of downtown San Francisco by providing regulatory and tax relief to a targeted area for a period of 7 years. The bill passed 4-2 and heads next to the Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee…

The bill provides an expedited pathway to convert parts of downtown San Francisco’s office-heavy downtown to a vibrant mixed-use hub of activity…

SB 1227 does not relax any local permitting or zoning requirements. The City of San Francisco will continue to implement its local permitting requirements. The City will also be able to invoke this CEQA exemption.

Second, SB 1227 expands the ‘welfare exemption’ from property tax for specified projects that provide rental housing up to 120% of the area median income, so long as projects are rented 10% below the market value, as determined by the Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents. This provision expands a property tax exemption used by affordable housing projects to encourage the production of moderate-income workforce housing projects in downtown San Francisco. This expansion will help the City meet its housing goals while giving more moderate-income workers a chance to locate close to jobs and supporting local businesses with an increase in area residents.

The downtown zone covered by the bill includes the Financial District, Union Square, Civic Center, Yerba Buena, East Cut, Eastern and Central SOMA, South Beach, and Rincon Hill.

SB 1227 is sponsored by San Francisco Mayor London Breed. The bill is supported by the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, YIMBY Action, SPUR, Bay Area Council, and many others… (more)

By Randy Shaw : beyondchron – excerpt

“Anybody telling you to vote for a single mayoral candidate just wants Aaron Peskin to win.”— @sbuss, April 1

Aaron Peskin’s entry into the San Francisco mayor’s race has led to a lot of talk about moderates uniting to stop him. This won’t be easy.

Here’s why.

Breed and Farrell Fundamentally Disagree

Mark Farrell’s mayoral campaign is premised on his view that incumbent Mayor Breed has failed. From his website:

“Over the past five years, I have watched our City crumble. People don’t feel safe, the conditions of our streets have never been worse, downtown has collapsed, and we’re the butt of jokes across America. We have a crisis of confidence in City government that needs to be fixed, and it starts and stops with the Mayor.”

Can Farrell retain credibility if he starts telling voters, “Make the candidate who has caused our city to crumble your second choice.”?

I don’t see it…(more)

Why would Mark want to support Breed? In my opinion he is not that desperate to win. He wants to return San Francisco to a city he wants to live in. He thinks he can do it or he would not run. Peskin gave him the job the last time. They are probably not that far apart. We think the goals are similar. Methodology may be what is different. Financing schemes may differ as well.

Opinion By Joe Jamil : sfstandard – excerpt

We need a return to pragmatic, bottom-up neighborhood and community planning that respects existing height limits and fosters community consensus for new development, says Mo Jamil

YIMBYs are demonizing San Francisco residents and small businesses with labels like NIMBY. But such smears can’t obscure the truth about the extreme housing policies of Mayor London Breed, state Sen. Scott Wiener and their allies.

Simply put, an “upzoning” plan to double height limits and disregard public input is radical and will not benefit the city’s residents or small businesses. Rather, such moves would destroy our neighborhoods and displace the people and local businesses that make San Francisco special.

Last week, the mayor appeared to shelve the most radical elements of the upzoning plan in favor of a more targeted and nuanced approach that I and other neighbors and merchants have advocated. Despite the mayor’s clear about-face, the radical fringe YIMBY elements rushed to social media to call for an even bigger plan that demolishes existing buildings and expands the scope of the rezoning plan. Did they get the memo from Room 200 or do a temperature check of residents and merchants? Clearly not…

I identify with the many residents and merchants who are best described as SHIMBYs: Sensible Housing in My Backyard advocates. We reject polarization and name-calling. We demand pragmatism and dialogue so we can be both pro-neighborhood and pro-housing.…(more)

Moe Jamil is a deputy city attorney, Russian Hill Neighbors board member and a candidate for District 3 supervisor in November’s election. His comments are his own and do not represent the views of his employer.

CSFN April Newsletter: April 2024 News
Linked on the front page: csfn.net

April-2024-NL
PDF Document · 3.8 MB

Download flyers re: Coastal Commission and Traffic Bills.

Lots of actions coming up this month.
Send any photos you have with the candidates for the May Newsletter (zrants)

This meeting is about SFMTA and our transportation problems.
Thanks for those of you who sent in questions and suggestions.
There is still time to add your issues to the list.
Or suggestions if you have any.

Register for the meetings. Invite anyone who is concerned about transportation.

Tuesday, April 16, 6:30 PM – Zoom
CSFN General Assembly Meeting Program: Transportion
Bob Feinbaum on Muni Trains (with Reso)
Up-zoning brings parking nightmares for residents.
Ask the candidates what they will do to protect us.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvf-6grT0tGtWqftDIQgyIUjo6rMfrelZf

Thursday, April 11, 2024, 6:30-8:30 PM – a live event Zoom
Christ Church Lutheran, 1090 Quintara Street
Sunset/Parkside District 4 Town Hall – Up-zoning Plans
Protect Neighborhoods, Support Merchants, Meet Housing Needs
Register – in person* Limited space of 125
Register – via Zoom

Download flyers re: Coastal Commission and Traffic Bills.

By Patrick Hope : sfexaminer – excerpt (includes audio track)

Some people say the post of mayor of San Francisco is one of the strongest of its kind in the nation; others insist it has been so hobbled by voter-approved restrictions that nobody could do the job effectively.

The question, central to the current mayor’s race, reflects the historic tug-of-war in San Francisco over how much authority should rest with The City’s elected chief executive versus other arms of city government — notably the Board of Supervisors — especially since 1996, when voters most recently approved a City Charter.

That was the year that the legendary Willie Brown began the first of his two controversial terms as mayor, a tenure that many cite today as an example of what a powerful and effective executive can be — but which rankled others who perceived a culture of corruption…(more)

By Han Li and Joel Umanzor : sfstandard – excerpt

San Francisco’s mayoral race officially entered a new era Saturday as longtime progressive leader Aaron Peskin joined the contest for the city’s top job.

Peskin, 59, president of the Board of Supervisors, formally kicked off his campaign at a rally in Chinatown’s Portsmouth Square, where throngs of his supporters—and a few dozen detractors—gathered.

“I am so deeply and sincerely grateful to have received the support I needed to recover and become sober,” Peskin, who previously sought treatment for alcoholism, said to a crowd of hundreds of supporters, “and it has inspired me to dedicate the next chapter of my life to the recovery of this city.”

“I believe San Francisco deserves a mature discussion, not a shouting match,” he added.

Prominent progressive leaders, including former mayor Art Agnos and former state legislators Mark Leno and Tom Ammiano, were among those who showed up to support Peskin, who is currently in his fourth—and final—term as supervisor. Also in attendance were local Chinatown leaders and hundreds of Chinese seniors led by Community Tenant Association.…(more)

RELATED:

Peskin Campaign Begins With Protest, Promises And a little love for police