Planning Commission initiates Balboa Reservoir general‑plan changes for 1,100‑unit project with 50% affordability goal

The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously voted to initiate general plan and housing element amendments that will allow the Balboa Reservoir development to move into environmental review and later approvals.

Staff and the development team told the commission the Balboa site can accommodate about 1,100 homes and that the proposal includes an aggressive 50 percent affordability target, roughly 550 affordable units delivered across four affordable buildings, two acres of new parks, a 100‑space childcare center and educator housing as part of a mixed‑income master plan. "This Balboa site is a critical step towards the city's housing goals," project manager Sun Yin Hong said during the commission presentation.

Developer Bridge Housing (with AvalonBay as master developer) and Office of Economic and Workforce Development staff framed the proposal as the product of five years of community outreach and a Citizen Advisory Committee process. Kiersten Dissinger of Bridge Housing said the project would provide family‑friendly units with at least 35 percent two‑bedroom units and a minimum share of three‑bedroom units, and emphasized sustainability commitments including on‑site renewable energy and LEED targets.

Numerous callers took positions for and against. Supporters urged the commission to move the project forward quickly to increase housing supply and to protect renters and employees during the economic disruption caused by COVID‑19. Opponents raised concerns about parking, traffic, the proposed scale compared with the Balboa Park Station Area Plan, and whether the 50 percent affordability goal depends on future city funding. "The facts are that of the proposed 1,100 units only 33 percent will be affordable without additional public funding," one opponent said, arguing the remaining 17 percent of deeply affordable units required city gap funding that had not been secured.

Commissioners pressed staff and the developer on transportation mitigation, replacement parking for City College overflow, and the funding approach for the deeper affordability target. Director Hillis said the project will return for EIR certification and additional approvals and that subsequent hearings with the SFPUC, SFMTA and the Board of Supervisors are expected. The commission’s initiation vote does not approve the project itself; it authorizes the planning department to begin the formal general‑plan amendment and EIR process that will frame detailed environmental review and conditions for later approvals.

The commission scheduled follow‑up hearings as the environmental review proceeds and asked staff to return with detailed transportation and fiscal analyses during the next phases.