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Planning department outlines $2 billion in proposed Central SoMa public benefits; community raises concerns about displacement, jobs and governance
Summary
Planning presented the Central SoMa Plan as a long-range area plan expected to generate over $2 billion in public benefits tied to new development; community speakers supported sustainability and parks but raised repeated concerns about displacement, job quality, cultural-district funding (including a proposed $20M for the Old Mint), governance, and implementation details.
The Land Use & Transportation Committee held an informational hearing on the Central SoMa Plan, a large area plan that Planning estimates could generate more than $2,000,000,000 in public benefits over roughly a 25‑year horizon if adopted as proposed. Steve Wertheim, project manager for the plan at the Planning Department, told the committee the plan's strategy is to "keep what's great and to fix what's not," and presented a financial model that, he said, yields approximately four times the public benefits compared with not moving forward with the plan.
Wertheim detailed proposed allocations across multiple 'buckets': roughly $1 billion toward affordable housing, about $500 million for transit and transportation improvements, $180 million for production/distribution/repair (PDR) support, $170 million for parks and recreation, $130 million for complete streets, $70 million for…
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