Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ocean Avenue Nctd topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission makes ground‑floor health services conditional on Ocean Avenue to protect retail activity
Summary
The commission approved a planning code amendment requiring conditional-use authorization for ground-floor health-service uses in the Ocean Avenue NCTD, while principally permitting health services above the ground floor; staff said ground-floor concentrations of medical offices can reduce pedestrian activation.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved an amendment to the planning code for the Ocean Avenue Neighborhood Commercial Transit District (NCTD) to require conditional-use authorization for ground‑floor health-service uses and to principally allow such uses on upper floors.
Jen Lo from Supervisor Yi’s office and neighborhood representatives from the Ocean Avenue Association (Dan Weaver and Neil Ballard) spoke in favor, saying the change will help preserve an active storefront mix and give neighborhood stakeholders notice of incoming uses. Planning Department staffer Audrey Backhus said the Ocean Avenue corridor had a 2017 commercial vacancy rate of about 9.5%, and observed that ground‑floor health services (seven of about 157 storefronts in Dec. 2017) often provide lower levels of pedestrian activation than cafes and retail.
Commissioner Moore moved to approve the amendment; the motion passed on a unanimous roll-call vote. Commissioners and the sponsor discussed pilot programs to streamline permitting for neighborhood-priority businesses such as restaurants and noted the amendment applies only to the ground floor, leaving second-floor locations principally permissible.
