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Residents and CAC tell supervisors Eastern Neighborhoods growth outpaced infrastructure and PDR protections
Summary
Planning staff presented a five‑year monitoring report for the Eastern Neighborhoods showing substantial housing and job growth and $50M in impact fees collected; the Eastern Neighborhoods Citizens Advisory Committee and residents warned losses of PDR jobs, lagging parks and streets, and called for fuller Board review.
The committee on March 13 heard a five‑year monitoring report on the Eastern Neighborhoods area plans (Mission, Central/Western SoMa, Potrero Hill, Showplace Square, Central Waterfront) covering development activity from 2011 through 2015 and the development pipeline as of Dec. 31, 2015.
Planning Department staff (Pedro Peterson and Matt Snyder) summarized the report: commercial changes included roughly 400,000 square feet of cultural/institutional space (primarily the SF General expansion), nearly 1 million square feet of office or converted PDR space and total net commercial development of about 460,000 square feet. The Eastern Neighborhoods added an estimated 32,000 jobs between 2010 and 2015, led by office and retail growth. Residentially, staff reported about 1,400 units added during the monitoring period (21% affordable) and a development pipeline of about 11,650 units (roughly 7,400 under review and about 4,000 entitled or under construction).
Planning staff said the city had collected about $50 million in impact fees through 2015, directed across five buckets with the largest shares for transportation/transit and recreation/open space; examples of funded projects included Daggett Park, South Park rehabilitation, and prioritized streetscape/transit projects such as Folsom/Howard and Sixteenth Street.
Speakers from the Eastern Neighborhoods Citizens Advisory Committee (Keith Goldstein and chair Bruce Huey) and neighborhood groups told a different, more urgent story: they described the qualitative loss and transformation of PDR (production, distribution, repair) businesses, displacement of small neighborhood‑serving retail and nonprofits, and infrastructure shortfalls — missing sidewalks, crosswalks, parks and streetlights — while large prioritized projects receive the bulk of impact fee spending. The CAC argued impact fees meet only roughly 30% of infrastructure needs and urged the Board to review cumulative impacts and funding strategies, consider PDR preservation strategies, and accelerate neighborhood improvements.
Supervisor Cohen, who sponsored the hearing, thanked attendees and staff; Supervisor Tang moved to file the report and Supervisor Peskin seconded. The committee filed the report as requested and the item was closed.
Next steps: the report will be on record and speakers urged the Board to take additional legislative oversight and citywide coordination to ensure infrastructure and PDR protections keep pace with development.
