Supervisors review Lennar–49ers concept for Candlestick Point; 49ers say plan “does not work”

SAN FRANCISCO — The Board of Supervisors on Nov. 21 heard a public rollout of a conceptual mixed‑use plan for Candlestick Point that would center a new San Francisco 49ers stadium inside a large development of housing, parks, retail and infrastructure paid for by a private developer.

City negotiator Michael Cohen and Kofi Bonner, president of Lennar’s area division, led a multi‑firm team that described a plan including new parkland to replace existing stadium lots, roughly 6,500 housing units in mixed forms, a transit hub and a large multi‑level parking structure that would connect to the stadium. The city and Lennar presented the concept as a way to finance the parks, roads, utilities and affordable housing without using city general‑fund debt; the team said environmental review under California law would be needed before entitlements.

The concept matters because it ties a long‑standing promise of redevelopment and new parks in the Bayview to the 49ers’ future in the city. The plan’s scope would affect affordable housing, park access and traffic in southeastern San Francisco and could shape a multi‑decade development program in the Southern Waterfront.

City staff framed the plan and next steps

Michael Cohen, who led city negotiations, told the supervisors the Office of Economic and Workforce Development had worked with the 49ers for more than a year to frame a project that would keep the team in San Francisco while paying for necessary infrastructure through private development. “Our role was simple and direct,” Cohen said: “to help them formulate a feasible development project that would keep the 40 niners in San Francisco in a world class new stadium, but in a manner that was fiscally prudent to the city and that delivers on decades of promises of economic development and community benefits to the Bayview.”

Cohen and Planning Director Dean Macris emphasized the concept was an early, flexible planning document, not a finalized entitlement. Macris urged supervisors to view the plan “as an extension of the city” that should carry San Francisco’s urban values to Candlestick Point.

What the plan includes and how it would be financed

Kofi Bonner of Lennar described the concept as a “vibrant, sustainable, urban waterfront neighborhood” anchored by a new stadium. Designers and consultants detailed key elements: a stadium oriented to the water and adjacent mixed‑use streets; an expanded state park with restored shorelines and learning spaces; a retail “main street” leading to a plaza at the stadium; office and hotel uses; and a large parking complex with multiple entry levels. Mary Smith of Walker Parking Consultants said the largest parking option presented contained about 9,300 spaces and detailed methods to speed vehicle egress.

Bonner said Lennar would use private financing, the value created by new entitlements and project‑tied tools to fund the infrastructure; under the approach Lennar would guarantee construction of the public improvements and the 49ers would build the stadium and share in some development profits. Bonner and Cohen said the team and developer had agreed in principle that the development itself — not the city’s general fund — would pay for roads, utilities, parks and affordable housing.

49ers: concept “does not work” for team

Larry McNeil, chief financial officer for the 49ers, told the supervisors the team considered the site planning work to be “spectacular,” but that the plan as presented “does not work for the San Francisco 49ers.” He outlined four central concerns the team said remained unresolved: the large infrastructure bill — which McNeil estimated in the hundreds of millions — that would tie stadium delivery to home‑building market risk; the practical and fan‑experience problems posed by a very large parking garage; the long construction and phasing period that would subject fans to prolonged disruption; and entitlement and state‑level approvals the team sees as creating timeline risk.

McNeil said the uncertainty of relying on development revenues to fund core stadium needs inserted market and construction risk the team was unwilling to accept on the schedule it wanted.

Parking and transportation: consultants’ proposals and questions

Transportation consultant Hans Corvi described a multi‑modal approach tying the site to Caltrain and to the Third Street light rail line, with a dedicated fixed guideway people‑mover linking regional rail to the stadium area; Lennar and the consultants estimated a guideway would require subsidy and private contributions. On parking, Walker Parking’s Mary Smith defended a multi‑level structure that uses separate entry levels to reduce ramp congestion and said a large volume garage can be designed to “dump” traffic quickly if properly engineered.

Supervisors pressed both sides on realism and readiness. Supervisor Tom Ammiano asked whether the parking garage could be smaller; officials said the concept plan is flexible and the garage size can be adjusted as planners and the team work through detailed phasing and mitigation strategies. Several supervisors, including Erin McGoldrick, asked for concrete financial assumptions and asked Lennar and the city for more transparency on pro formas and risk allocation.

Community, housing and jobs

Lennar and city staff highlighted the plan’s housing and park commitments, including a stated pledge to replace public housing on the Alice Griffith/Double Rock site on a one‑for‑one basis and to build replacement units before any demolition. Kofi Bonner said that commitment would be implemented so “no one will be displaced before they have a new home to move into.” The team estimated thousands of construction jobs and a smaller number of permanent jobs generated by the broader development though those figures were described as preliminary.

Public comment: Bayview residents and community leaders urged supervisors to press for binding guarantees. Speakers from Bayview Hunters Point emphasized long‑deferred neighborhood investments and urged that commitments on affordable housing, local hiring and park access be enforced if any stadium plan proceeds.

Next steps and timeline

City staff said an application to begin California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review on a concept plan could be filed early next year and that an environmental review process could take 18 to 24 months. Cohen said the city team intended to ask the Board to consider a preliminary endorsement of the concept plan by March 2007 to reduce entitlement‑risk perceptions and to support further negotiations with the 49ers. McNeil said the 49ers remained open to alternatives but would not accept an outcome that left the team exposed to the market and phasing risks he described.

Why supervisors are watching

Supervisors framed the issue as both a matter of civic pride — keeping a major professional sports franchise in the city — and of local policy: whether a redevelopment at Candlestick can deliver parks, replacement housing for public housing residents, local jobs and transit improvements without exposing the city to excessive financial risk. The debate centers on how to allocate project risk between a private developer, a major sports franchise and the city while protecting Bayview residents from displacement and securing enforceable public benefits.

The Board took a preliminary procedural vote earlier in the meeting requesting a Committee of the Whole hearing on the topic on Nov. 21; the formal concept presentation and public comment occurred in the hearing documented above. A formal entitlement package would trigger the CEQA process and require later votes and approvals by the Board and other city and state agencies.

Ending

City staff and Lennar framed the presentation as the start of an extended public review and negotiations. The 49ers’ finance team signaled important remaining objections; supervisors said the meeting advanced public understanding but pressed for more specific financial and traffic analyses, enforceable housing guarantees and a clear plan to protect neighbors during long construction periods.