Market & Octavia
Better Neighborhoods Plan

By Jason Henderson

The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association has worked tirelessly for 6 years to see the Market & Octavia Plan become reality, and it looks like things are coming together. The Planning Department is finalizing the plan and it should be adopted by the end of the summer. When this plan is adopted, there will be much greater clarity regarding how development occurs in our neighborhood, and there will be strong protections for our neighborhood and quality of life. When this plan passes, our vision of an ecologically sustainable and socially just community will be institutionalized and we will be much better equipped to deal with the myriad development and transportation issues facing us. The success of this plan is also a bellwether for the planning process in San Francisco, and its success will affect the entire city.

Upcoming Meeting

On Tuesday May 23rd the San Francisco Planning Department will hold a community meeting on the Market & Octavia Plan. This “pre-adoption workshop” will include a presentation of revisions to the plan in response to public input from the community meeting held last year. The revisions and updates will also include planning department responses to the public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). Keep in mind that the Market & Octavia Plan is a separate document from the DEIR, and that the DEIR essentially informs the overall plan by discussing possible environmental impacts (all plans need an EIR).

The first part of the workshop will be a brief presentation (30 minutes) on the recommended changes and updates to the plan. Anticipated revisions and updates to the plan include a proposed new historic preservation section, modifications to parking proposals tiered on the outcome of the downtown C-3 parking reforms, height, affordable housing, and public benefits like streetscapes. The revisions will be available for public review one week before the meeting, posted to the Market & Octavia Better Neighborhoods Plan website at: http://marketoctavia.betterneighborhoods.org

After the presentation, there will be opportunity for questions, and then community members will break-out into smaller groups to enable one-on-one dialogue with planning staff. This will allow a more thorough vetting of questions and concerns. Finally, the community will reconvene and hold a dialogue as a whole. Planning staff will also discuss the adoption process. Planning staff insist that this is a neighbors’ forum and are seeking your input, so please make an effort to attend, and please review the revisions before the meeting.

What next?

Within a week of the May 23rd meeting, the Planning Department will publish a “Response to Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Market & Octavia Better Neighborhoods Plan.” This is expected to be a thick document reflecting the large amount of public input received last summer when the DEIR was released. There will be a number of procedural steps, including public notification. It is anticipated that the earliest the DEIR and Market & Octavia Plan will go before the Planning Commission is late June - no earlier than June 22nd due to legally required procedural steps. The Planning Commission will then deliberate separately on the two documents - the DEIR and the actual Market & Octavia Plan. The Planning Commission must first certify the DEIR before moving to adopt the final Market & Octavia Plan, incorporating it into the General Plan and Zoning Code. Expect this to occur in late June or July.

Please join us in expediting this plan by getting involved in the upcoming community forum.

When: Tuesday, May 23rd: 6:30-8:30. A 20-minute orientation will also be provided for anyone not familiar with the Market-Octavia Plan (from 6pm-6:20)

Where: Baha’i Center, 170 Valencia Street (near Duboce).

Preview the revisions & updates at:
http://marketoctavia.betterneighborhoods.org
(available one week before the community forum)