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Planning commission hears Central SoMa EcoDistrict task-force recommendations
Summary
Task-force presenters urged city support for a multi-block EcoDistrict in Central SoMa that would coordinate district-scale water and energy systems, more public open space and governance for shared infrastructure; commissioners asked for clearer governance, displacement safeguards and funding pathways.
The San Francisco Planning Commission heard an informational presentation March 6 on recommendations from the Central SoMa EcoDistrict task force, which studied ways to coordinate energy, water and open-space strategies across roughly 24 city blocks.
Kate McGee of the Planning Department introduced task-force consultants and materials and said the group brought together neighborhood residents, utilities, developers and city agencies to identify practical steps for a phased, district-scale approach. "In April of 2013, the Planning Department convened a task force as a means to engage public and private stakeholders to collaborate and advise on the first phase of eco-district development in the Central SoMa plan area," McGee said.
Presenters highlighted two near-term technical concepts: district thermal systems — centralized heating and cooling networks supplied via public–private partnerships — and district water systems to capture and reuse building wastewater. "District thermal systems are used around the world in a lot of places," Bob Gamble, a task-force presenter, told the commission, describing public–private models for large infrastructure. Bill Worthen, the task-force's design lead, framed the effort as a neighborhood-scale extension of existing green-building work: "That is our vision for the EcoDistrict," Worthen said.
Speakers emphasized that the proposals range from high-investment infrastructure to lower-cost greening projects. Task-force members recommended creating a steering committee to evaluate governance, incentives and permitting, and to work with agencies such as the Public Utilities Commission on pilot projects.
Public commenters and commissioners welcomed the concept but pressed for details. Commissioners asked how the district approach would interact with existing zoning and with planned projects such as Moscone Center expansion; others warned about potential displacement and urged that equitable-development principles — jobs for local residents and housing safeguards — be embedded in any governance structure. The Planning Department recommended forming a steering committee to work out governance, funding and implementation steps and to translate task-force recommendations into a sustainability chapter for the draft Central SoMa plan.
The presentation was framed as a policy and scoping exercise; no formal action or vote was required. Staff said the next steps would include closer coordination with utilities, further public engagement, and technical studies for pilot projects and governance models.
