City presents HOPE SF vision; Hunters View EIR public comment period set through April 14

City agencies told the Planning Commission on April 3 that HOPE SF aims to rebuild the city's most distressed public housing into mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhoods that replace public-housing units one-for-one and add affordable and market-rate units to cross-subsidize redevelopment.

Doug Schumaker of the Mayor's Office of Housing described HOPE SF as "an effort, really a partnership between city agencies and the housing authority to rebuild 2,500 of the most distressed public housing units in the city," emphasizing the scale of the program and the need to couple housing replacement with human services and infrastructure improvements.

Kyla Price, HOPE SF project manager, said the program aims for a mix of public housing, affordable rental and ownership opportunities and market-rate units and to design resident services and human-capital plans so residents can remain in neighborhood schools and access job training and health services.

The commission opened a public hearing on the Hunters View draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Staff extended the written public comment period to April 14 and urged commenters to focus on the adequacy and accuracy of the draft EIR. Several residents offered testimony; some raised procedural and legal objections about the redevelopment process and relocation safeguards, including a claim from Ulysses J. Montgomery that the process should pause until legal concerns are resolved.

What happens next: Planning staff will accept written comments through April 14, incorporate responses as appropriate and return the EIR for certification and subsequent project-level approvals.

Provenance: Presentation and Hunters View draft EIR public hearing at Planning Commission on April 3, 2008.