Tag: CEQA

Posted on

Sewage Flooding: Neighbors Fear Wastewater From Ingleside’s New Housing Will Overwhelm Strained Sewer

by CASEY MICHIE : inglesidelight – excerpt

In the span of minutes the sewage and stormwater flooded Ashton Avenue. (from Inglesidelight)

“We experienced firsthand the adage shit goes downhill, and I have the toilet paper in my backyard to prove it.”

L. Richard Billups woke up Christmas morning to find his 2000 Chevrolet Corvette ruined.

An overnight storm caused a flood of brown stormwater and sewage out front Billups’ home on Ashton Avenue, where he has lived for about 50 years in San Francisco’s Ingleside Terraces. The flood destroyed his car’s electrical systems, monitors, carpet and seats.

“The insurance company said the cost would be more than the car is worth as far as market value is concerned,” he said. “That’s the price to them. It meant a lot more to me.”

Video footage provided to The Ingleside Light by a neighbor shows the brown water rushing from Ocean Avenue onto Ashton Avenue around 2:43 a.m. on Dec. 25, overrunning gutters and pooling on sidewalks and yards…

The incident was the latest in a series of combined stormwater-sewage floods that residents say the city has repeatedly failed to address. With the 1,100-unit Balboa Reservoir project underway and a seven-story mixed-use developmentproposed nearby, neighbors are demanding upgrades to an undersized sewer under Ocean Avenue before increased wastewater from additional residents adds further strain to a sewage system they say has been inadequate for years… (more)

Where are the YIMBY comments on damage when infrastructure is not taken care of prior to constructing new developments? Must neighbors wait till the damage is done to sue for relief? How are the insurance companies going to handle these cases?

Posted on

Update of 10-Story Cell Phone Tower Proposed by AT&T in Diamond Heights

by Betsy Eddy, former President of the Diamond Heights Community Association (DHCA)

The Opposition Group to the 10-Story macro tower is working intensely to prepare for hearings regarding our appeals. These hearings will take place on February, 10th at 3pm with the Board of Supervisors in the Supervisors Chambers, Room 250 at the City Hall. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend!

Here is a recap about latest news about the 10-story cell phone tower proposed by AT&T in a small parking lot behind the Police Academy, 350 Amber Drive:

  • The Planning Commission voted 4:3 to approve the project in September 2025.
  • We were able to contest this decision and filed 2 appeals – CUA (contests aesthetics and safety) and CEQA (contests environmental impact) – both were accepted after a back-and-forth with signature counting.
  • We met with AT&T. They refused to consider alternative, less harmful, less obtrusive solutions to improving cell service for AT&T customers in the neighborhood.

Our Opposition Group has these urgent needs:

  • We launched a GoFundMe campaign. Our success requires that we raise at least $15,000 – $20,000 for legal expenses and to fund experts to refute AT&T’s assertions. Please donate HERE (or click / scan the QR code below).
  • Our opposition group needs letters from every Supervisor District in San Francisco opposing the macro tower since all 11 supervisors will vote. Here are links that take you to an easy way to contact Board President Mandelman and send your message to all Supervisors as well. CEQA message CUA message Many of our reasons for opposing the 10-story macro tower are listed. Your messages may not mention radiation harm to people (except the CEQA message may include harm to birds/animals and flora) because of Federal Communication laws. You may personalize your messages and not use the suggested script but your message may not exceed 4,000 characters with spaces.
  • Let us know if you have connections to any Supervisors in order to get a meeting with them. We have contacted all the Supervisors but only have one possible meeting scheduled.
  • Please share this message with friends and your email lists in all Supervisor Districts. Up against AT&T is a difficult fight. We need support from all over the City.
  • Volunteers are needed to help with outreach, press releases, letters to the editor, advocacy, and groundwork.

For more information, please contact neighbors4safecelltowers@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your concern for keeping the whole City safe from cell towers too large to be in residential areas. If this 10-story macro tower receives approval, it is likely that AT&T will push for more macro towers in other neighborhoods.

The opposition group needs letters from every Supervisorial District in San Francisco opposing the macro tower since all 11 supervisors will vote.  They are also in need of funds to pay for expert statements as they advocate against AT&T’s huge resources.

Posted on

Homeless crisis: Newsom proposes ditching environmental review when converting hotels into housing

By Kevin Fagan : sfchronicle – excerpt

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing that state environmental regulations be waived for cities and counties that want to convert hotels into homeless housing using federal coronavirus relief funding.

His plan was sent to the California Legislature on Friday to be added to the state budget negotiations, and if it remains intact it would eliminate a key tool opponents use to fight projects they don’t want in their neighborhoods. By law, the budget is supposed to be passed by June 15.

Before the pandemic hit this winter, the governor had said he wanted regulations under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) eased for many types of homeless housing, and this current plan — sent in the form of a “trailer bill” addition to budget talks — narrows that ambition… (more)

A few people may explode over this, but, it sounds like the perfect karmic solution. Sort of a boomerang effect, correcting a major flaw in that turned housing into hotels and through many people out onto the street who were previously housed in those hotels. It could be like a happy homecoming to some, moving back into recently repaired rooms they were kicked out of. There are all kinds of possibilities here. Who might object?