Market & Octavia Plan is Official

After eight years of workshops, meetings and public hearings, the Market & Octavia Better Neighborhoods Plan was finally adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in April. Join the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association and other community groups in a celebration on Friday May 30th (6-9 pm) at the Rickshaw Stop at 155 Fell Street. The venue is family friendly, so bring the kids, too! HVNA and DTNA are underwriting limited drinks and refreshments, so there is no reason not to come.

HVNA thanks the Board of Supervisors, and especially Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, for ensuring that the plan reflects our neighborhood’s spirit of diversity, affordability, and smart growth. We also extend thanks to the San Francisco Planning Department staff, especially John Billovits, Kearstin Dischinger, and AnMarie Rodgers, for all the long hours over many years they put in on behalf of this plan.
A critical objective of the plan is to allow new and much needed housing while not being further overwhelmed by traffic or housing that is available only to the wealthy. With the adoption of the Market and Octavia Plan, we have the tools to achieve those goals.

Allowing housing with reduced parking is critical to meeting the objectives of the plan. The Market and Octavia Plan, keeping with the spirit of diversity and affordability, recognizes that parking increases housing costs. Parking can add anywhere from $50,000 to upwards of $150,000 to a single housing unit. These costs are passed on to buyers and tenants. Our neighborhood supported reduced parking allowances because we recognized that it brought more affordability and less traffic. It also helped maintain the character of the neighborhood, where currently up to 50 percent of households are car-free.

But reducing parking is not enough. Through a protracted negotiation process, HVNA worked with Supervisor Mirkarimi to ensure that the plan had implementation tools and finances to provide additional affordable housing and community benefits. Through the plan’s development impact fees, we’ll see stable financing for affordable housing in and around the plan area. We’ll also see funds for landscaping, traffic calming, and community centers. In a nutshell, not only is this a plan, but it is also a conduit for real physical improvements to the neighborhood.
Residents of Hayes Valley should be proud that we are on the cutting edge of sustainable and equitable urbanism. With the escalation of gasoline prices, increasing concern over sprawl and global warming, and the desire for walkable neighborhoods, Hayes Valley is poised to be the target of substantial development pressure. Without this plan, the development would come but with few benefits. With this plan, our neighborhood will remain a diverse and attractive community while enabling diverse incomes.

Want to get involved with the transportation & planning committee? Email Jason Henderson at planning@hayesvalleysf.org