Planning Commission delays Park Merced initiation, schedules hybrid informational hearings

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Planning Commission on Oct. 21 voted to continue planned initiation of zoning-code, map and general-plan amendments for the Park Merced redevelopment until Dec. 9 after a lengthy public-comment period in which tenants, neighborhood groups and housing advocates urged the commission to delay action until a draft environmental impact report and a development agreement were more fully vetted.

Joshua Flitzke, planning department staff, told the commission the step before it was “a draft resolution to initiate amendments to the planning code, the zoning maps, and the general plan” so the department could begin public noticing; he emphasized initiation is procedural and “does not predetermine or pass judgment on the substance of the amendments themselves or bind the commission in any way to approve the amendments at a future public hearing.”

Why it matters: Park Merced is a long‑term, multi‑decade master plan for roughly a 152‑acre site that staff said could include about 5,700 net new housing units, replacement of roughly 1,538 existing units, about 200,000 square…