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Commission authorizes SFPUC consent to Visitation/Schlage Lock development; DTSC remediation and land‑use controls remain central
Summary
Commission authorized the general manager to consent to the Visitation Valley/Schlage Lock development agreement; the project includes up to 1,679 mostly-affordable housing units, parks and retail, but public commenters pressed for strict remediation controls after DTSC-directed cleanup steps and an identified prohibition on growing vegetables in the capped areas unless raised beds are used.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on June 25 authorized the general manager to consent to the development agreement between the City and County of San Francisco and Visitation Development LLC for the 20-acre Schlage Lock/Visitation site on PUC land, adopting associated CEQA findings and a mitigation-and-monitoring reporting program.
The presentation (Ken Rich, Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development; Michael Carlin, Deputy GM) summarized a multi-decade planning process and described the project’s core commitments: developer-built horizontal infrastructure (potable water distribution, combined wastewater, stormwater improvements and an auxiliary water-supply system for fire suppression), a conceptual infrastructure plan requiring PUC approval of a water master plan and other 60%/90% design submittals, and a public‑use orientation that anticipates two publicly owned parks and significant affordable housing (staff cited up to 1,679 units targeted to middle- and lower-income households in the project). The development agreement freezes entitlements in exchange for those developer commitments.
A remediation consultant, Nancy Bice (Geosyntech), briefed the commission on environmental cleanup status. She said the site comprises two operable units: the Schlage factory area (chlorinated solvents and metals) and the former Southern Pacific rail yard (metals and migrating groundwater solvents). The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has approved remedial action plans and a Remedy Completion Report for the Schlage unit; active soil and groundwater cleanup for that OU was completed in 2011 and long‑term groundwater monitoring continues. For areas with remaining metals, DTSC requires a minimum three-foot clean-soil cap; Bice said the state is prohibiting growing vegetables in capped soils unless vegetables are grown in raised beds with clean imported soil. Nancy Bice and Stephanie Cushing (Department of Public Health) emphasized layered protections: DTSC oversight, Maher‑ordinance review (San Francisco Health Code Article 22A) for any soil-disturbing work, land‑use controls, clean utility corridors and long-term monitoring.
Public comment was extensive and divided. Local resident and community groups (Visitation Valley Planning Alliance and Visitation Valley Greenway) said they support redevelopment for affordable housing, transit-oriented development and parks, and stressed that community-led planning drove prior land-use decisions. Other residents and community representatives raised persistent safety concerns: they urged additional transparency about borings and remedial sampling (Bice said thousands of borings and many reports exist and are available on the DTSC EnviroStor website), asked for explicit signage and long-term enforcement of land-use restrictions, and pressed for guarantees about utility corridor cleanup so future trenching does not expose contaminants.
DTSC oversight and the city’s Maher ordinance were pivotal to the debate. Stephanie Cushing (DPH) explained that under Article 22A the health department reviews any activity that moves 50 cubic yards of soil; projects must submit site-characterization and site-mitigation plans and obtain third‑party verification that mitigation meets the Maher standard and protects human health.
Labor and workforce questions were also raised: commissioners and the public asked about project labor agreements, prevailing wage application and inclusion of the building trades; the commission recorded interest in continuing labor‑community dialogue as contract terms are finalized.
The commission voted to authorize the general manager to consent to the development agreement and adopt CEQA findings and the mitigation-and-monitoring reporting program. Commissioners who spoke noted the importance of robust land‑use controls, monitoring, clear signage and ongoing involvement by public health and DTSC to ensure long-term protection of workers, residents and park users.
Next steps: the developer must finalize remedial-design approvals with DTSC for remaining work, implement the utility-corridor cleanup, and comply with Maher and San Francisco permitting processes; the Recreation and Park Commission will later lead a public process to plan the two proposed parks.
