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Planning staff pitches denser Central SoMa with trade-offs over jobs and benefits
Summary
Planning Department staff told the Planning Commission that the Central SoMa plan would deliver roughly 7,100 housing units (with options to raise capacity to about 8,300) while retaining major office capacity and funding a $2.2 billion public‑benefits package; public commenters urged stronger affordable‑housing, anti‑displacement measures and local hiring guarantees.
Planning Department staff presented the Central SoMa area plan to the Planning Commission on March 22, outlining how the 17‑block plan would accommodate both substantial office development and new housing while providing a package of public benefits.
At the hearing, Anne Marie Rogers, planning staff, said the plan “would likely produce about 7,100 new housing units” under the environmental review and noted staff estimates that the EIR studied a maximum of about 8,320 units, giving a cushion that the commission could use to increase housing within the EIR’s scope. Steve Wertheim, the project manager, outlined two principal strategies to add housing without redoing the EIR: raising the commercial‑orientation threshold from 30,000 to 40,000 square feet so some large lots could choose housing, and rezonings that would convert limited office zoning (WMUO) to a mixed‑use (CMUO)…
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