Planning Commission adopts Candlestick Point plan amendments and D4D changes, adds reporting requirement

The Planning Commission on Sept. 12 adopted findings of consistency and approved design for development amendments for the Candlestick Point / Hunters Point Shipyard Phase 2 project, actions commissioners and staff said would accelerate housing production and job creation in the Southeast sector of San Francisco.

Planning staff described two actions before the commission: adoption of general plan consistency findings for two redevelopment plan amendments and approval of amendments to the design for development (D4D). The amendments transfer about 2,000,000 square feet of office and research‑and‑development entitlement from the Hunters Point Shipyard to the Candlestick Center, increase flexibility for land uses (including hotel and film/arts uses in more locations), and add a new Innovation District section with requirements for a Central Promenade and activation uses. Staff noted the D4D would raise some maximum heights in the Innovation District from 128 to up to 180 feet while including solar access and modulation controls.

OCII and the developer emphasized community benefits and outreach. OCII’s Lila Hussain summarized past delays (redevelopment dissolution, Navy parcel transfer issues and the Tetra Tech sampling fraud) and highlighted community benefits already delivered including scholarships, education funds and $2,250,000 in payments supporting a Southeast community health center; she said 337 replacement units at Alice Griffith have been completed and an upcoming phase would include approximately 675 units with about 41% affordable. Katarina Kidd of 5Point said the developer remains committed to the project’s community benefits commitments. LaShawn Walker (5Point) said the core community benefits agreement (CCBA) documents $37,500,000 in commitments, with $8,000,000 advanced to date, and outlined past and planned investments (scholarships, job training, community facilities and set‑aside retail spaces).

Public testimony was extensive and mixed. Several speakers from Bayview and community organizations urged approval to deliver housing, jobs and infrastructure, while others — including longtime observers and Indigenous speakers — raised concerns about contamination at Hunters Point Shipyard (one commenter called the shipyard a Superfund site and raised historical health concerns). Union representatives and local contractors emphasized local hire, apprenticeship and the need to move projects forward to create jobs. OCII and planning staff acknowledged the shipyard cleanup delays and said the shipyard parcels remain subject to Navy remediation and retesting; staff and OCII stressed that Candlestick contains land without the same environmental constraints and that moving entitlement to Candlestick allows near‑term work to start.

Commissioners questioned phasing, timing, certificate‑of‑preference (COP) mechanics and how inclusionary and standalone affordable blocks will be delivered. OCII said the developer must submit infrastructure plans within 12 months of final approvals and aimed to begin infrastructure construction in Q4 2025 or Q1 2026 (subject to permitting and federal grant deadlines), and that the project’s scheduled performance provisions set later deadlines (OCII noted a latest required start in the schedule in the agreement no later than 2032 in the worst case for some phases). Commissioners asked for clearer phasing and monitoring; OCII agreed to provide the commission with OCII’s annual housing production report so the planning commission can track progress.

Commissioner So moved to adopt the findings and approve the D4D amendments and to add a finding that OCII provide its annual housing production report to the Planning Commission; the motion passed unanimously, 7–0.