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Approval process for Balboa Reservoir project gets underway

By Ida Mojadad, San Francisco Examiner, April 9, 2020

“The Balboa Reservoir project received the first approval needed to rezone 17 acres of public land into housing.

“At its first-ever virtual public meeting on April 9, the San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the initiation of a General Plan Amendment for the 1,100-unit Balboa Reservoir project in Ingleside.

“The project, which the City began looking at in 2014, would turn a parking lot owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission … into an estimated 1,100 units. Half of those units would be permanently affordable to those with up to 120 percent of the area median income … about $143,000 for a household of four, as set by the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

Base Plan. Image source: Balboa Reservoir, CAC presentation, April 9, 2018

“About 150 below-market rate units will be reserved for City College faculty. But City College advocates, like instructor Wynd Kaufmyn and faculty union AFT 2121 President Jenny Worley, maintain the project needs to be 100 percent affordable housing and accessible to the community.

“Planning Commissioner Theresa Imperial also raised concerns over securing the public funding promised to keep 17 percent (sic) of all units affordable. But several speakers were in favor of the project moving forward after six years of community outreach.

“Planning commissioners sought more details from Planning Department staff on mitigating traffic and environmental sustainability, like boosting electric vehicle charging stations, but largely praised the 50 percent of units dedicated to affordable housing.

“ ‘I think it’s a very mature, forward-looking project,’ said Commissioner Katherine Moore.”

Read the full article here. (1 minute)

Go here to read about a SPUR panel discussion on this project from the July-August 2018 Planning news roundup. (less than a minute)

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