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Committee continues Hunters View Phase 3 street‑vacation ordinance for one week amid financing and maintenance questions
Summary
The committee heard a presentation on HOPE SF’s Hunters View Phase 3 street vacation and infrastructure plan, asked detailed questions about maintenance, ground leases and financing, and voted to continue the item for one week while staff follows up on legal and funding details.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee on Nov. 30 heard a detailed presentation on the Hunters View Phase 3 street‑vacation ordinance, but deferred a final recommendation while officials clarified financing, leasing and maintenance arrangements.
Cindy Heavens, a senior project manager at the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, told the committee the HOPE SF redevelopment seeks to replace existing public housing without net loss, add new affordable units and create new streets and parks. For Phase 3 she described a proposed vacation of "a little over 61,000 square feet" of existing rights‑of‑way; once the project builds new streets the city would receive approximately 63,000 square feet back, a net gain of about 2,000 square feet.
Heavens and other staff said the John Stewart Company is the master developer; the company will hold short‑term ground leases with the Housing Authority during infrastructure construction and accept maintenance and liability during that period, after which the city would accept and resume maintenance following an acceptance process. Deputy City Attorney Anne Pearson said she would confirm precise legal obligations related to acceptance and public‑works maintenance.
Supervisors pressed staff to explain who is contractually responsible for infrastructure costs and the status of market‑rate partners. Lydia Eley, deputy for housing at MOCD, said the housing authority and City Ventures (the market‑rate partner) have separate agreements; the city’s infrastructure funding will come from MOCD sources, certificates of participation / commercial paper, prior OCII allocations and state infrastructure grants. Eley said City Ventures’ deal is with the Housing Authority, not the city, and that market‑rate development is "on hold" during the pandemic rather than terminated.
With questions about liabilities and acceptance procedures still open, Chair Aaron Peskin moved to continue the matter for one week to allow staff and the city attorney to provide more precise legal and financing answers. The motion passed by a unanimous roll call (Preston, Safaei, Peskin).
Why it matters: The street vacation clears the way for infrastructure work that must be completed before Phase 3 housing is built. Supervisors sought legally binding clarity about who maintains and is liable for vacated streets while construction and acceptance are pending.
What’s next: The committee continued the item for one week to permit follow‑up; staff indicated the item is expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on Dec. 8 unless otherwise stated.
Sources: Presentation by Cindy Heavens (MOHCD), Q&A with Deputy City Attorney Anne Pearson and MOCD deputy Lydia Eley, committee roll‑call on Nov. 30.
