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Board approves 55 Laguna project and Market & Octavia code changes on first reading
Summary
Supervisors approved multiple ordinances on first reading related to the 55 Laguna mixed-use project (former UC Berkeley Extension site) and the Market & Octavia area plan, including increases in required affordable housing and new revenue mechanisms projected to generate roughly $50 million for housing.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved on first reading a package of land-use measures that includes amendments for a mixed-use project at the former UC Berkeley Extension site at 55 Laguna and broader code and general plan changes for the Market & Octavia area.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who led negotiations on 55 Laguna, said the final plan for the project — roughly 430 rental units — increases affordable housing from approximately 16% to nearly 37% of units and shifts deeper affordability toward incomes at about 50% of area median income. The project also retains a planned contiguous park of just over one acre, negotiates parking ratios sensitive to transit, and includes other neighborhood benefits, Mirkarimi said.
Planning staff and members of the land-use committee described the Market & Octavia area plan as the largest neighborhood-scale planning effort the city has considered in nearly 20 years. The Market & Octavia amendments approved on first reading would allow about 6,000 housing units citywide across the plan area, including roughly 1,500 affordable units and a package of benefits and new revenue mechanisms projected to generate at least $50 million for very-low-income housing.
John Ram, identified in the meeting as the city’s new planning director, told the board the plan pairs growth, capital improvements and affordable housing in a way he characterized as “unprecedented nationally,” adding the plan is intended to create a framework for transit-oriented, neighborhood-scaled growth.
Several board members thanked planning staff, neighborhood groups and state legislators who assisted in negotiations. Supervisor Mirkarimi singled out extensive community engagement and negotiations with developers and the mayor’s office of housing as contributors to what he described as a more equitable outcome.
The record shows the board passed the 55 Laguna ordinances (items 8, 9 and 14 as read into the record) on first reading by a roll call that produced 10 ayes; the clerk announced “There are 10 ayes.” The Market & Octavia planning code and zoning amendments (items 10 and 11) passed on first reading at a later roll call; with some supervisors excused, the clerk recorded nine ayes and the ordinances were passed on first reading.
Deputy city attorneys noted technical amendments and edits to CEQA findings that were made in committee and incorporated before the board’s action; staff identified specific table corrections and file references to align code sections and CEQA findings with committee amendments.
The board’s actions on first reading require subsequent return for second reading or final passage as required by municipal code. Supporters said the package substantially boosted affordable housing requirements and new funding mechanisms; opponents and some speakers urged continued attention to implementation detail in permit, parking and preservation controls.
Actions recorded: ordinances amending the general plan, zoning map and planning code related to Assessor’s Block 857/870 and the 55 Laguna site (items 8, 9, 14) — passed on first reading; ordinances to implement the Market & Octavia area plan and revise zoning map sheets (items 10, 11) — passed on first reading.
