OFFICIAL BCNA NEWS
The Port Commission approved one of the milestones leading to the affordable housing development planned by the Port and the City for Seawall Lot 322.1, near Broadway and The Embarcadero, at its March 11 meeting.
A key item on the agenda, it is a Memorandum of Understanding between the Port and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. The MOU has a three-year term, with a one-year extension, and moves the proposal forward.
The MOU will allow the Mayor’s Housing Office to solicit a non-profit development partner to enter into a lease with the Port.
Besides having Mayor Edwin Lee’s endorsement, the major project has the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
The Board earlier authorized the Port to lease the rectangular site and to receive Jobs-Housing Linkage Program credits for its market value.
The proposal is to build 170-200 senior housing units or 80-115 family housing units located above a mix of ground level uses–“possibly” a 2,000-5,000 square foot retail space and at least a 100-stall public parking garage.
During public comment prior to the vote, Robert Harrer, president of the Barbary Coast Neighborhood Assn., reminded the Commissioners that the BCNA is one of four neighborhood organizations with continuing concerns about the planned development that are not addressed in the MOU.
The others are the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, SoTel Neighbors (Stephanie Greenburg, president), and Friends of Golden Gateway (Lee Radner, president).
Harrer said that the BCNA is disappointed that the MOU does not reflect or consider “the needs and concerns of the neighborhood.”
One of the concerns expressed repeatedly has been that the Port should be considering a “broader agenda involving development of seawall lots on the waterfront.”
Radner, in speaking on behalf of FOGG, made the same statement.
Both community leaders asked that the MOU not be approved in its present form.
The most recently appointed Commissioner, Mel Murphy, asked when the MOU was being discussed by the Commission, “if we have done the outreach that should have been done.”
Kimberly Brandon, longest-serving Commissioner, briefly suggested that “the proponents of the MOU come back with more details.”
However, when the vote was taken the MOU received unanimous approval.
Not much was said in the meeting about the link to the Port’s important Pier 70 project, so that the Public Trust designation could be lifted from the seawall site. Under the Public Trust, housing was not allowed.
Robert Harrer had some interesting observations of the results of the hearing which deserve to end this report:
1. A good result is the Port says underground parking will be “explored.”
2. NEWAG (Northeast Waterfront Advisory Group) and other community groups will be consulted in the planning of the project. A “working group” will be formed that can “review and comment on the Request for Proposals’ goals and objectives,” which the Mayor’s Housing Office says is atypical for such projects.
3. The MOU was silent on the type of housing to be developed. Agency representatives said “all possibilities” will be explored in evaluating the possible types of housing. This includes moderate-income families and, in response to a question from a Commissioner, specifically includes low-income households.
4. One clear red flag (in the MOU) is the expected amount of retail on the site. The space allocated for retail will be “small” and could be as little as 2,000 sq. ft. on a lot of 37,000 sq. ft. So how will the other 95 percent of the space be used?
Given the extensive discussion about a parking garage at the hearing and zero discussion of neighborhood amenities, active ground floor details, etc., one can only surmise the likely outcome.