Public commenters press for more review of Treasure Island draft EIR; commission sets new Sept. 10 deadline

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Planning Commission and a jointly convened board took public testimony on the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Treasure Island–Yerba Buena Island redevelopment project and agreed to extend the written comment deadline after a steady stream of concerns from residents, environmental groups and labor.

Planning Department staff opened the hearing by summarizing the project described in the draft EIR: redevelopment after transfer from the Navy that could yield up to 8,000 housing units, about 140,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, roughly 100,000 square feet of office, adaptive reuse of historic buildings totaling about 311,000 square feet, about 500 hotel rooms and roughly 300 acres of parks and open space, along with a ferry terminal and a new transit hub. Staff emphasized the hearing was for public comment on the draft EIR; responses to testimony will be made in the written comments‑and‑responses document.

Speakers at the hearing urged the commission to require additional analysis or more public review time. Bernard Shoden raised legal‑title questions tied to historic tidelands and warned that unresolved title…