By James Sword, HANC Board

Our November general meeting was well attended by those logging on, calling in, and following a live twitter account of the meeting – which has become the norm.  We’re repeating a couple of announcements from the meeting: 1) if you are calling in to attend our meetings, please recheck your call-in number, so you can avoid possible high charges; 2) The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council is very sad to learn about the passing of former board member, and long-time Haight Ashbury merchant, Dave Groeschel of Mom's Body Shop. Dave embodied the Haight-Ashbury in many ways and was a good soul.

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By Calvin Welch, HANC Board

At HANC’s December General Membership meeting we will look at how our neighbors cast their vote for national, state and local races.  We will look at the three sub areas of our neighborhood - five precincts that make up the North Panhandle, seven precincts that make up the "Flatlands" and five precincts that make up the Hill precincts.  We will compare votes in selected races - President and Supervisor - to earlier elections in the same sub-areas and see what we may learn : hint—Trump’s vote INCREASED in the Haight Ashbury, more in some areas than others but an increase occurred in all three sub area

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By Christin Evans, HANC Board

At our December meeting, we will discuss the state of storefront vacancies on Haight Street.  In 2016, when the Haight Ashbury Merchants Association (HAMA) started counting vacancies, Haight Street had 9 vacant storefronts, about 6% of the 150 storefronts in the neighborhood.  In February 2020, the number of vacancies had risen to 21 or about 15%.  And, no surprise, since March 2020, another 10 vacancies have been announced bringing the current vacancy total to 31 or 21%.  With the economic recovery far from certain in 2021, we might expect that number to rise further -- could we see as many as 1 in 4 or 1 in 3 storefronts vacant before we reach bottom? 

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By Tes Welborn, Out-going HANC President

It's been a real privilege to serve as HANC president these last two years – thank you!  I have a hard time thinking back to summer, two years ago, when we were figuring out who would be willing to perform which officer or board position.  Many of us were supporting Prop C, a truly historic measure to tax the rich and significantly reduce homelessness, and were thrilled that it passed, despite the Mayor's opposition. That fall, the first Haight Street cannabis dispensary application was made. The Chinese School of the Arts proposed expansion – recently approved in fall 2020.  HANC discussed housing demolitions, often a way to eliminate rental units while building monster-sized homes. And in December 2018, the board discussed the proposed rental registry – likely to be approved December 2020!

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By Tes Welborn, HANC President

The developers of the 730 Stanyan site (Chinatown Community Development Center and Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation) held their third public meeting on October 29^th, and provided much new information. They have completed a massing study, which shows the approximate shape of the planned development, and how many housing units they plan.

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By Christin Evans, HANC Board

The 2018 Yes on Proposition C, Our City Our Home (OCOH) campaign, just reached another milestone.  Following the court victory which unlocked approximately $300 million annually in funds for homeless solutions, the Controller allowed the OCOH Oversight Committee to commence its meetings.  

On the September agenda were introductions of the committee appointees. The Oversight committee is composed of 4 appointees by the Board of Supervisors and 4 appointees by the Mayor and 1 additional appointee from the Controller’s office.  The committee elected two members -- both women of color -- to serve as the Chair (Shannell Wililams) and Vice Chair (Julia D’Antonio).

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By Lisa Awbrey, HANC Board

On May 29, 2020, the temporary safe sleeping village (also known as CAMP) at 730 Stanyan Street opened. The village contains 39 spatially distanced sites. The City chose the site mainly because it could be quickly activated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, there were 55 residents living at CAMP with 8 vacancies. Since the village opened, 22 people have transitioned forward, and 33 formerly unhoused campers remain stable for the time being during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Of the 22 campers who have exited the site, five people moved to Shelter-In-Place (SIP) hotel rooms; five people have been moved to permanent housing; eight people have left town to return to live with family members or to work; and one person transitioned to a treatment program.  Three people were asked to leave because they did not cooperate with the village’s rules.

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