One of our members sent HANC a letter which began, “I received this letter accusing me of a crime; levying a fine of $145 and telling me what a selfish, thoughtless person I am.” The enclosed 3-page, single-spaced letter was on letterhead from “Community Action, 1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Place, Room 348, San Francisco, CA 94102,” which is the address of City Hall. But the letterhead included the line, “Community Action is not affiliated with a Government Agency.”

The letter complained about signs our member had posted for a garage sale as “a malicious trespass and harmful misuse. Such postings are incompatible with community goals and aesthetic standards, recognized as a public nuisance and criminal misdemeanor in particular instances.” The letter continued for two pages with similar language, in the midst of which was a request to “submit a check to cover an $145.00 abatement charge. Make check payable to “BSUM” addressed to Department of Public Works, 875 Stevenson Street, Room 460, San Francisco, CA 94103.” The letter ended with a page of excerpts from various laws, and then with a proof of service.

Although the letter may look somewhat official, the Department of Public Works has posted a warning about letters like this one on its website: “Please Note: If you receive any correspondence from The SF Cleanup Project (endorsed by Quinn Cooper), Neighbors for Livable Neighborhoods (endorsed by Tom Miller or Jessica Miller) or Community Action (endorsed by Denise Johnson), please note that none of these entities are affiliated with the Department of Public Works or any City Agency in the City and County of San Francisco. If you receive a letter from one of these entities, about signs you have posted, please submit it to DPW, Director’s Office, City Hall, Room 348, San Francisco, CA 94102, and DPW will deliver it to the City Attorney’s Office for investigation. For more information contact DPW’s Bureau of Street Use and Mapping at 554-5810.”

Read more ...

As members might remember, this last summer we devoted two of our monthly meetings (see May and July, 2013 Voice) to a set of presentations and discussions of four development sites occurring on Page Street, between Stanyan and Broderick: the reuse of 1500 Page Street (at Masonic) for a permanently affordable,16-studio independent living residence for developmentally disabled people; the expansion into the St. Agnes Oak Street parking lot of the Urban School; the expansion of the French American International School at 11 55 Page (between Baker and Broderick), site of 9 pre school and kindergarten classrooms for 180 children; and the pending sale and reuse of the Boys and Girls Club at 1950 Page (between Stanyan and Shrader).

One of the projects (1500 Page Street) was recently approved by the panning commission and two others- the Urban School and the French American International School made major headway in the last four weeks.

At the December 19th Planning Commission hearing the adaptive re-use of 1500 Page Street was unanimously approved. HANC endorsed the project and testified in support at the hearing. The 16 studio rehab of the old Page Street Guest House at Masonic will result in minimum changes to the attractive building with the greatest exterior change being the addition of a wheelchair-accessible entrance on the east (Masonic Street side) of the building (see developers rendering at right).

Read more ...

At the December board meeting, HANC directors supported Supervisor London Breed's amendment to the Planning Code to require international chain stores to be treated the same way local and national chains are treated on Haight Street.

Currently the “formula retail” ordinance requires a public hearing on the “necessity” for any national chain of 11 or more stores to open a local “branch” on Haight Street. However, international chains are exempt from such a requirement. Two such international chains, CeX (between Masonic and Ashbury street) and Happy Herbs ( at Masonic and Haight), each of which have more than 50 locations internationally, were allowed to open without a public hearing.

HANC argued in its letter to the Supervisor:

“Section 719 of the Planning Code recognizes  the Haight Street Neighborhood Commercial District as a shopping area that 'provides convenience goods and services to local Haight-Ashbury residents'  and establishes controls which seek to 'maintain a balanced mix and variety of neighborhood serving commercial uses and regulate …more intensive commercial uses….'”

Read more ...

The HANC Board proposes changing its Bylaws to reflect the closure of our Recycling Center and the addition of a Finance Committee.  These changes will be voted on at the December General Membership meeting.

Proposed Bylaws Changes:

Delete:  "Recycling Committee" from mention in Article 7 Section 1, and Section 8 in its entirety.

Add:  Finance Committee to Section 8:  "The Finance Committee.  This Committee will be comprised of a minimum of three board members and is chaired by the Treasurer.  The Finance Committee will make decisions on the management of organization funds, under direction from the HANC Board.  The Treasurer will report to the HANC Board at its monthly meeting."

By Calvin Welch, HANC Housing and Land Use Board Member

The price of housing and the dramatic increase in evictions have once again propelled housing affordability into the forefront of debate in San Francisco. The “usual suspects” make the usual arguments: if we only unleash the power of the market by removing “regulations” (rent control, height limits, density requirements, traffic analysis, take your pick) from our over-regulated housing market we could have affordable housing thanks to the immutateble “law” of supply and demand.

The graph above (available on the SF Controllers site http://sfbarometer.weebly.com/new-building-permits.html) shows that in 41 of the last 65 quarters housing production increased in San Francisco and that with that increase in supply THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN PRICE, standing the normal “supply and demand” assumption on its head in San Francisco.

Read more ...

The December 12th HANC meeting , 7 pm at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street, San Francisco, will feature a panel of players engaged in the various legal and legislative efforts to prevent the de-accreditation and closing of San Francisco Community Colleges by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College (ACCJC). All accreditation agencies are certified/licensed by the US Department of Education.

This issue raises so many important questions about who controls the future of public education in San Francisco and all of California. However, it is easy to get confused by the multiple efforts in play to stop the destruction of our accessible and affordable City College system. To help you figure it out and update you, we have invited the following folks to participate in our panel:

Read more ...

A new proposal by UCSF regarding the management of the Mt. Sutro Open Space eliminates all of the community-negotiated habitat restoration and reforestation elements of the plan.  Instead the University proposed to "mow" over 25 acres of understory and trees, including native species to reduce the fire hazard, throwing 15 years of planning out the window along with more than 40,000 hours contributed toward habitat and trails restoration by Sutro volunteers and the countless hours spent at Mt. Sutro meetings by members of our community.  More to come!

Art Agnos, San Francisco’s 39^th Mayor, and Tim Redmond, former editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, came to HANC’s October general meeting to explain why they oppose Propositions B and C.

Proposition B would create a special use district comprised of solely the proposed 8 Washington project, based on the developer’s plans for the project. Proposition C is a referendum, asking the voters whether they approve an ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors which raised the height limits in the project area from 84 feet to 92 feet for part of the project, and to 136 feet for another part of the project.

Former Mayor Agnos was a proponent of demolishing the 50-foot Embarcadero Freeway, to open up the Waterfront to public access and views. He believes that he lost his re-election bid because the freeway was torn down with his advocacy while he was Mayor. The 8 Washington project would add more than 50 feet (the height of the Embarcadero Freeway) to the current height limit, and would be just the first step in building a “Wall on the Waterfront.” If Proposition B or C passes, it would be a signal to our developer-friendly Planning Commission that it is acceptable to grant exemptions to voter-approved height limits for more projects along the Embarcadero and elsewhere in the City. There are additional reasons for opposing the project. Two-thirds of the open space promised by the developers would be private and not open to the general public. The promised payment to the affordable housing fund (paid after the units are sold) is a pittance compared to the more than half a billion dollars in revenue the project will generate. Former Mayor Agnos invited the audience discuss the proposed Warriors development with him after the election.

Read more ...