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City planning seeks expanded PDA designations to unlock regional funds; committee accepts non‑substantive amendments
Summary
The Planning Department asked the GAO committee to confirm and expand Priority Development Areas as part of Plan Bay Area 2050; planning staff described PDA grants and incentives and the committee accepted non‑substantive amendments and continued the item to allow more public review.
Joshua Switzky of the Planning Department presented a proposal on Dec. 5 to apply for expanded Priority Development Areas (PDAs), Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs) and Priority Production Areas (PPAs) with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for the Plan Bay Area 2050 update.
Switzky described PDAs as a voluntary, incentive‑based regional framework intended to support local community planning, unlock grant funding and direct investments to transit‑accessible neighborhoods. He said PDAs are not a regional override of local land‑use control: "They are not an override of local land use control. They do not bind the city in the designation of these PDAs to achieve any specific growth targets or undertake any particular zoning actions," Switzky said.
Planning told the committee San Francisco has received PDA‑related planning and capital support over the last decade (including cited figures such as roughly $88 million in Bay Area grants with $4.3 million for PDA planning) and that expanding PDAs could broaden access to those resources. The department proposed citywide PDA nominations covering major transit corridors and recommended designating the city's largest contiguous industrial area as a Priority Production Area to protect and support industrial and PDR uses.
Public commenters expressed mixed views: some asked for more time and neighborhood outreach before expanding PDAs, citing concerns about RHNA implications and perceived signals that PDA designation could lead to zoning changes. Others — including planning and housing advocates — urged the city to nominate PDAs to access regional funds for infrastructure and affordable housing planning. Switzky said planning staff had briefed supervisors and held outreach in districts where requested but acknowledged the region's mid‑January deadline for submissions created a tight schedule.
Deputy City Attorney John Givner advised that the amendments Supervisor Marr proposed at committee were non‑substantive for the purposes of the action. The committee accepted the amendments and continued the item to a special GAO meeting on Dec. 11 to give the public and supervisors additional time to review the revised PDA language and map.
Next steps: Planning will continue outreach and provide revised maps and text for the Dec. 11 GAO meeting; if the Board endorses nominations, Planning will submit them to ABAG/MTC in mid‑January.
