Board upholds tentative map for 3333 Mission Street after lengthy Bernal Heights park dispute
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Summary
After hours of testimony from neighbors, the project sponsor and city departments, the Board of Supervisors approved the tentative parcel map for 3333 Mission Street and 190 Coleridge Street, rejecting an appeal that sought to preserve a larger footprint of Coleridge Park. Planning and the deputy city attorney said park-design concerns fall outside the subdivision appeal under SB 35.
The Board of Supervisors on Feb. 3 denied an appeal challenging a tentative parcel map for an affordable housing project at 3333 Mission Street and associated changes to the privately operated Coleridge Park, approving the map and tabling related motions.
Don Lucchese, speaking for neighbors, said the appeal was filed not to stop affordable housing but to ensure the parks size and open space are preserved for a community that will get denser with new nearby development. "This appeal is specifically about rezoning the park parcel to make it larger," Lucchese said, and he described a petition with roughly 360 nearby signatures asking for a larger park.
Representatives from Public Works and the Planning Department explained that the tentative map is a technical subdivision action and that prior SB 35 ministerial approvals established the projects entitlement and reconfigured park boundaries. "The subdivision does not reduce the size of Coal Ridge Park; rather it reflects the reconfiguration and reduction in size that was already approved under the SB35 development application," Plannings Audrey Marloney said.
Gina Dacus, CEO of Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center (BHNC) and the project sponsor, described the proposal as 100% affordable senior housing designed to reopen a park that has been closed since 2020 for safety and maintenance reasons. Dacus said the revised design would maintain 3,885 square feet of park space and add a 1,000-square-foot community room while delivering 70 affordable senior units. She warned that restoring the park to its previous footprint would eliminate affordable units and essential resident amenities.
The board accepted the legal framing from the deputy city attorney, who said the map appeals scope is limited by state law and the Subdivision Map Act. Given that plannings ministerial approvals and SB 35 timelines constrain what the board may consider, the supervisors voted to approve item 34 (tentative map) and table items 35 and 36. The motion passed unanimously when taken on the board floor during this meeting.
What this means: The applicant can proceed with the approved tentative map and continue entitlement steps already authorized under SB 35. Neighbors and the sponsor said they remain open to further community collaboration during later design and park implementation phases.
