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Neighborhoods press PUC to acquire 770 Woolsey for Upper Yosemite Creek daylighting
Summary
Dozens of residents and neighborhood groups urged the SFPUC to acquire the 770 Woolsey greenhouse site to support the Upper Yosemite Creek daylighting project, citing historic agricultural zoning, community petitions and urgent escrow activity; staff said CEQA must be completed and the property was in escrow, limiting immediate action.
Dozens of residents, community groups and neighborhood associations urged the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on Dec. 10 to acquire the two-acre parcel at 770 Woolsey and preserve its historic greenhouses as part of the Upper Yosemite Creek daylighting project.
Speakers including Caitlyn Galloway of Little City Gardens, Isabel Wade of Urban Resource Systems and members of a local greenhouse project stressed the site’s agricultural zoning, neighborhood value and potential to couple urban agriculture with stormwater management. "I strongly urge you to acquire the property at 770 Woolsey," Caitlyn Galloway said, calling the parcel "a rich piece of our city's history and a valuable unique potential asset for our city's future."
Community pressure and urgency: Petitioners said they had collected nearly 300 signatures supporting acquisition and warned the property was in escrow with a private developer. Juan Carlos Cansino, a member of the greenhouse project, said developers were in due diligence and had not closed; neighbors said an asking price of $12 million and an earlier offer of $8 million had been reported in public discussion.
Staff response and legal limits: Karen Kubik, Director of Wastewater Capital Programs, told the commission Upper Yosemite Creek was in the alternatives-analysis stage of the Sewer System Improvement Program and that the SSIP budget included $13.6 million for the project with $4.3 million held for land acquisition. Kubik said the Woolsey property had been identified as an acquisition alternative but was already in contract/escrow, and staff would have to complete environmental review (CEQA) before making an offer. "At this time, we wouldn't be in the position to be able to make an offer there or do anything," Kubik said; she added the project’s CEQA work was projected to be completed in March 2015.
Alternatives and next steps: Staff described an alternative — building storage below McLaren Park soccer fields — if PUC acquisition proved infeasible. Commissioners urged careful handling of land-acquisition messaging so it not be construed as the PUC buying land simply to stop development. The Commission asked staff to include the Woolsey option in CEQA and to report back as the SSIP planning proceeds.
Why it matters: The site is one of the city's few agriculturally zoned parcels and proponents said it could serve multiple public goals — stormwater management, urban agriculture, heritage preservation and education. Staff emphasized existing constraints — escrow status and the requirement of CEQA — that limit the Commission’s ability to act immediately.
