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Planning staff outlines 'Invest in Neighborhoods' plan to support 25 commercial corridors
Summary
Planning Department and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development presented 'Invest in Neighborhoods,' a program coordinating city services (Storefront SF, Job Squad, customized plans) across 25 commercial corridors and releasing 11 neighborhood profiles. Commissioners asked for more data access, Japantown profile distribution and evaluation metrics.
Planning Department staff and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) presented the city’s new Invest in Neighborhoods program to the Planning Commission on July 25, 2013, describing a coordinated approach to support 25 neighborhood commercial corridors across San Francisco.
Amy Cohen of OEWD said the program bundles existing city services and new initiatives under a single strategy. “We created this program, Invest in Neighborhoods, which was meant to take some of the work that had been done … and expand it,” Cohen said. Baseline services include Storefront SF, an online searchable inventory for retail space, and the Mayor’s Job Squad, a roving business-counselor program.
Teresa Ojeda of the Planning Department described neighborhood assessments prepared in partnership with OEWD and LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation). She said 11 neighborhood profiles had been released, with the remainder in near-final draft. “These community snapshots are most useful for laying the baseline or basis for the Invest in Neighborhoods program’s customized services,” she said.
Commissioners praised the outreach and the cross-department collaboration but pressed staff for additional materials and access. Commissioner Gordon asked that the program data be made publicly available so community members and researchers can overlay trends across neighborhoods. Commissioner Moore asked for profiles to be made available in downloadable PDF form and suggested tracking the local impact of parklets on corridor attractiveness.
Staff said point people from Planning and OEWD will vet draft customized plans with community stakeholders, supervisors and relevant city departments. The department also said it will work with the controller’s office and outside partners to develop evaluation metrics tailored to each neighborhood’s goals. Materials including the Japantown assessment will be redistributed to the commission and made available on the department website.
The presentation closed with staff offering to follow up in writing on specific data requests and with commissioners urging an ongoing dialogue as customized plans are developed.
The Invest in Neighborhoods presentation was informational; no formal action or vote was taken on the program at this hearing.
