Planning staff and community partners present MAP 2020 to address Mission displacement

Planning Department staff and community partners presented an informational update on the Mission Action Plan (MAP 2020) at the San Francisco Planning Commission on May 5, 2016. The multi‑stakeholder effort aims to stabilize low‑ and moderate‑income residents, protect SRO tenants, and support small businesses and cultural institutions in the Mission District.

Claudia Flores of the Planning Department, joined by representatives from the Mission SRO Collaborative and other agencies, described MAP 2020 as “a vision as an action oriented plan, not a visiony document that will sit on a shelf,” emphasizing a menu of short‑ and long‑term tactics city staff and community groups have been developing. Presenters showed trend data on displacement and housing loss in the Mission, including sharp declines in low‑ and moderate‑income households and rising eviction notices that community advocates said have accelerated the crisis.

Speakers described the plan’s emphasis on tenant protections and site acquisition as priorities that can be implemented more quickly than capital‑intensive replacement housing. Chidag (Mission SRO Collaborative) said the plan was born of community organizing and hearings about interim controls that revealed rising evictions, SRO conversions, and a growing pipeline of market‑rate development in the neighborhood. Claudia Flores said the MAP working groups have produced a draft matrix of solutions that staff will refine and return to the commission before a June informational hearing.

Commissioners praised the cross‑agency approach but pressed for more specificity on enforcement and rapid‑rehousing responses. Commissioner Johnson asked staff to provide a more detailed spreadsheet of tactics and the legal changes or funding required to implement particular tenant protections, saying some items listed in the draft resemble “platitudes” without concrete mechanisms. Director John Rah (Planning Director Ram) said a longer spreadsheet with tactics exists and recommended that the June hearing pick a handful of important measures for deeper discussion.

Public commenters and community advocates endorsed the collaborative approach but urged urgency and measurement. A public speaker said small, cumulative initiatives together could stabilize the neighborhood but cautioned that the forces driving displacement remain strong.

Next steps: staff said they will send a revised draft to the commission in advance of the June 2 informational hearing and expect to return the plan for further review and potential action in June, followed by implementation work this summer and fall.