By Tim Redmond : 48hills – excerpt
Social and racial equity is now part of land-use decisions — which could have a major impact.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee hearing this week was remarkable: For the first time ever, as far as I can remember, the Planning Department admitted that it has failed to consider racial and social equity in development decisions, and kind of, sort of began to move toward changing that approach…
But the rezoning and special benefits the mayor wants (including a “streamlined” housing approval process that would eliminate most public hearings and oversight) requires board approval…
Since the board tends to defer to district supes on these sorts of issues, the Hub plan was in serious jeopardy…
At the hearing this week, Lily Langlois, a senior planner, in essence backed off from what the department has been saying since this unsustainable plan first emerged. She told the supervisors that the department has been engaged in a racial and social equity analysis of the proposal, and that some serious issues have emerged.
Sup. Aaron Peskin, who chairs the committee, said that Langlois testimony was “an admission that Planning has never seen urban development through an equity lens until now. I am delighted that the department is finally speaking the people’s language.”…
The overall message here is potentially critical. If the Planning Department can be forced to consider social and racial equity issues before approving projects – and if those studies are real and credible – then much of the direction of development in this city could profoundly change….(more)
The radical shift in priorities brought about by the extraordinary times we find ourselves in, has shifted the priorities of public officials who are grappling with the new reality that forces new thinking about the social safety net that has been dismantled over the last few years in a grim rush to grow the wealth.
The growing numbers of unemployed workers, long lines of people waiting for testing and food and the hospital beds filling up al lover the state are harder to ignore than the tents on the sidewalks. One can no longer claim the needy are lazy drug addicts who don’t deserve help. Politicians have rediscovered their hearts and are trying to cure racial and social equity issues in response to the outrageous actions of the president.
We learned this week that there is a state bill in the works that contains some of the language our Board of Supevisors are trying to introduce in a city ordinance. More details to come…