Planning Commission hears AIA design case studies; staff announces draft Eastern Neighborhoods EIR

San Francisco Planning Commission members heard a daylong conversation about how housing and production-distribution-repair (PDR) uses can coexist in the Eastern Neighborhoods and were told the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the rezoning will be released Saturday, June 30.

Architects from AIA San Francisco made a multi-part presentation showing case studies and design approaches for affordable housing over PDR and for mixed-use sites. John Schlesinger of AIA San Francisco said the group was asked “to provide some practical applications as to how the mixed use of affordable housing and PDR can work together” and presented strategies ranging from ground-floor PDR with housing above to separated, multistory PDR buildings on the same lot.

The architects and case-study presenters — including Rod Henmey, David Baker, Kristen Veil and Bob Herman — emphasized trade-offs citywide planners must weigh: double-height ground-floor PDR reduces housing yield; below-grade parking is costly because of a high water table and contaminated soils; and some PDR activities (open flames, heavy manufacturing) are not compatible with residential uses. David Baker highlighted a larger-lot example that met PDR targets but noted small lots often cannot meet both PDR square-footage requirements and affordable housing goals without financial or regulatory relief.

Commissioners asked questions about flexibility in PDR definitions and alternatives the presenters recommended, including allowing some support services to count as PDR, permitting multistory PDR in select locations, or offering an in-lieu fee to preserve existing PDR elsewhere. Toby Levy, vice-chair of the Western SoMa Citizens Task Force, urged the commission to broaden the PDR definition to include “20‑first‑century” industries and small incubator spaces.

In the afternoon staff from the Planning Department and the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) outlined the next steps for the Eastern Neighborhoods work program. Ken Rich of planning told the commission the draft EIR will be posted on the department website on June 30 and that the department has tentatively scheduled a public hearing on the draft EIR for Aug. 9. He urged wide public notice and explained that the EIR will identify transportation and intersection impacts, and will provide the baseline data to scope a detailed Eastern Neighborhoods Transportation Implementation Study.

Peter Albert, MTA deputy director for planning, described transportation priorities the agency will pursue alongside the land‑use work: targeted transit upgrades, improved pedestrian and bicycle corridors, and congestion-management measures. Albert said MTA and planning staff are pursuing funding strategies — revised impact-fee structures, assessment or parking-benefit districts, regional grants and possible congestion-pricing mechanisms — to pay for both capital improvements and ongoing operating costs. "We need to make sure the service and capacity is in place before the housing comes online," he told the commission.

Recreation and Park staff proposed a combined approach to add traditional parkland and a network of greening projects — “living streets,” connector boulevards and a San Francisco Green Factor for private open space — and set a working goal of roughly one acre of neighborhood-serving open space per 1,000 new residents in the Eastern Neighborhoods.

Commissioners and the public offered detailed comments on corridors (Sixteenth Street and Folsom were discussed repeatedly), parking and the need to refine PDR definitions for different subareas. Staff said written comments on the draft area plans will be accepted through late July to support the summer schedule, and that more refinements will be presented this summer and fall as the EIR comment period and agency coordination proceed.