Planning department outlines $2 billion in proposed Central SoMa public benefits; community raises concerns about displacement, jobs and governance

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 environmental sustainability, $60 million for schools and child care, and $40 million toward cultural preservation. He described potential funding sources including a transportation sustainability fee, a new Mello‑Roos community facilities district (CFD), the Eastern Neighborhoods impact fee, and a proposed Central SoMa fee; on transit, he said the plan would direct approximately $340 million to local transit and $160 million to regional transit.

Planning argued the plan can deliver ground‑floor, publicly accessible POPOS, new parks (including a proposed 1‑acre park on the PUC block), rebuilt recreation centers, and a suite of sustainability measures (stormwater, rooftop greening and air‑quality improvements). Wertheim also said the plan would keep roughly 900,000 square feet of PDR through replacement requirements and offered three approaches for developers to provide PDR (on‑site, off‑site, or protecting existing uses).

Public testimony was extensive and mixed. Sustainability experts urged ambitious green infrastructure and quantified co‑benefits for living roofs; labor and union representatives pressed for prevailing wages and 'good jobs' commitments for construction and hospitality work; community groups — particularly from the Filipino and LGBT/leather cultural districts — sought dedicated, ongoing funding and stronger anti‑displacement measures. Several speakers expressed concern that as much as $20 million of proposed CFD funding and another $20 million via TDR could be earmarked for the Old Mint, and questioned whether that allocation best serves neighborhood residents.

Speakers also urged stronger governance and community oversight of the funds created by the plan. Multiple commenters recommended a community advisory committee with a clear charter and representation for cultural districts, SRO tenants and legacy small businesses, so that programming, maintenance and operations funding are directed to neighborhood priorities rather than only capital construction.

Planning staff answered questions about housing and jobs assumptions (the plan assumes about 7,000 housing units and up to 40,000 jobs; the EIR studied roughly 8,000 housing units as an upper bound) and noted that allowing the state density bonus would add roughly 600 units and $100 million in benefits. Staff said the EIR studied shadow impacts and that proposed heights are sculpted to avoid additional shadow to South Park. The committee filed the item for the record and requested further follow‑up from Planning on technical issues including the prioritization of street projects, legal limits for funding uses, and the feasibility of metering office vs. housing growth.