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Planning staff opens public comment on draft Hub Plan EIR, transportation and transit concerns top testimony
Summary
Planning staff opened the public comment period on the draft EIR for the Market/Van Ness Hub Plan (upzoning of 18 opportunity sites plus 30 Van Ness and 98 Franklin projects). Public speakers applauded housing and bike improvements but repeatedly pressed for deeper analysis of transit capacity, loading, and ride‑hail impacts.
The Planning Department opened public hearings on the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Hub Plan and two associated projects — 30 Van Ness and 98 Franklin — on Aug. 29 and invited public comment through the formal comment deadline. Staff said the plan could yield roughly 7,050 net new units on identified opportunity sites (8,100 units with an analytic buffer), added to 3,500 existing units in the study area, and described project‑level amenities including streetscape and bicycle improvements.
Speakers from civic groups and neighborhood organizations heatedly focused on transportation. Carolyn Kennedy of the Dolores Heights Improvement Club and others urged deeper, specific analysis of Muni Metro capacity in the Market Street tunnel and the cumulative impacts of adding thousands of residents, while bicycle advocates praised proposed bikeway expansion and enhanced bicycle parking for new development.
Planning staff requested comments directed to the adequacy and completeness of the draft EIR; written comments were due by Sept. 9. Staff indicated that the EIR would be revised and a response‑to‑comments document prepared.
The draft EIR includes several alternatives (no‑project, reduced intensity and project‑level alternatives for 30 Van Ness and 98 Franklin), and staff flagged unavoidable, significant impacts in some areas while proposing mitigation elsewhere. Commissioners heard a wide range of support and concern: housing advocates welcomed the increased capacity and mixed‑use elements; transit‑concerned speakers sought more detailed analysis of the Market Street tunnel, ride‑hail impacts and parcel‑level loading, while community groups asked for stronger value recapture and displacement analysis.
The department will gather testimony through the public comment period and produce written responses and revisions as required under CEQA.
