Committee approves rezoning to allow 100% affordable housing and park at 2070 Folsom Street

The Land Use and Transportation Committee voted unanimously Oct. 4 to approve an ordinance rezoning 2070 Folsom Street to allow an 85‑foot, mixed‑use building that city and developer representatives said will deliver 100% affordable rental housing and a new park in the Mission District.

Supervisor Campos, the item’s sponsor, described the project as a response to the city’s affordability crisis, saying recent data showed the average two‑bedroom rent in the city was $4,126. "Approving this rezoning and height increase will pave the way for the construction of a 139 new affordable housing units in the Mission," Campos said during the committee hearing.

The Planning Department’s presentation said the ordinance would change the site’s designation from public and a 50X height/bulk designation to urban mixed use and 85X, enabling a roughly nine‑story, approximately 165,000‑square‑foot building on a city‑owned surface parking lot that currently holds about 95 spaces. Planning staff member Eugenio Salcedo told the committee the Planning Commission reviewed the proposal July 28, that public comment at that hearing was "overwhelmingly supportive," and that the commission voted 5‑0 to recommend adoption.

Representatives of the proposed development team and city housing officials described the project details and funding. Shannon Dodge of Chinatown Community Development Center said the entitlements application seeks about 139 rental units, all affordable to households at or below 60% of area median income, with most units configured as two‑ and three‑bedroom family apartments and roughly 20% reserved for transitional‑age youth. "We have submitted an entitlements application for a 139 unit project," Dodge said, adding that community outreach produced no significant organized opposition.

Anne Romero, a project manager at the Mayor's Office of Housing, said the city has owned the parcel since February 2011, that the city selected Meta and Chinatown CDC through a 2015 RFP, and that the city provided a $2,000,000 predevelopment loan; she said total city financing for the project is anticipated to be in the neighborhood of $21,000,000.

Public commenters who identified themselves as Mission residents and community nonprofit staff urged approval and emphasized local housing needs. Maria Aviles, speaking for Dolores Street Community Services and families in single‑room occupancy hotels, said it "really hurts to see that there is a lot of housing being built for people with money, while there's not enough for families living with low income." Feliciano Verra, senior project manager at Mission Economic Development Agency, said the project would be filled immediately if constructed.

After closing public comment, Supervisor Aaron Peskin moved approval of the ordinance. The motion passed "without objection" and was recorded as unanimous. The committee did not identify any amendments during the hearing; the action advances the ordinance to the Board of Supervisors (items acted on that day were noted as appearing on the 10/04/2016 Board agenda).

The committee adjourned after completing the agenda.