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Housing, procedural hoops, harangues from the engaged, ever-enthusiastic public: We bring all the action from City Hall to you, and to do that, we rely on reader support. Make a tax-deductible contribution TODAY to keep this going. Thanks!

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Having heard public comment and held some discussion about the Stonestown draft EIR, the hearing is adjourned. That's it from us!

Commissioner Koppel says a site of this size is a huge opportunity in a 7- by 7-mile city. Tanner also wants to have flexibility, maybe a higher level of dwelling units, and unscores that it's a "transformative proposal."

Moore does want to see the graphics "punch out" the so-called historic theater more strongly. The other thing she wants is to see more on New Formalism, an architectural style she says "has never crossed my desk." Again, it's all in this story:

thefrisc.com

Stonestown Plan Could Lose Homes to ‘Historic’ Theater. We’ve Seen This Movie Before

There are early signs some housing could be sliced from a slam-dunk project, all to save a 1970s cinema no one goes to anymore.

What if the developer takes out the planned hotel, or changes the retail footprint, or adds extra floors? So how far can this document go to have shifts in the kinds of uses, Diamond asks. Commissioner Moore says the EIR looks adequate and complete.

Commissioner Diamond says we're dealing with a new Housing Element that says #SF must add ~82,000 units, particularly on the west side. Still, what's added has to be livable and adding to quality of life in the city. We need "necessary flexibility" to make changes, though.

Water! The same caller says this project will have significant water impacts. It's safe to say they were nice and dry during the recent storms, but again this another typical left-NIMBY attack against housing.

Caller says she's noted a shadow study was placed on hold last year. Shadows are another weapon in thwarting development, even when they don't touch parks:

thefrisc.com

Please Don’t Take My Sunshine Away

How did SF’s private punk-rock beer garden tap into public-park rules to challenge local housing?

Stonestown was built at a time when everything was designed car-centric, and adding walkable spaces, green spaces right on a Muni line makes this development right those wrongs, caller says.

Caller who says they live a mile away is excited to have more housing on the site, and how

@SFSU

students and others might live in a mixed-use development. Next speaker attended high school in the area wants to see the maximum amount of units approved.

A resident of Balboa Terrace says her main concern is traffic heading out of the city There's a lack of transportation from this area to Silicon Valley, except for mainly cars. "I just can't see how the number of people added to this particular location" can make traffic better.

Next caller says this is the kind of site that's ideal for new housing in #SF. A speaker for the West of Twin Peaks Central Council says the draft EIR is complete and should be approved, but there are a few questions on infrastructure.

Three callers support the EIR and the redevelopment of Stonestown, particularly for bikes and pedestrians. "Let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good," one says.

The first speaker says he was speaking for adjacent neighborhoods to Stonestown, including Lakeside and Merced Manor. Noting that this is exactly the message from incumbents that nip and tuck and downsize every housing proposal in #SF, resulting in a years-long shortage.

There was a timeline slide since the EIR is still being reviewed but this presentation moved too quickly. On to public comment. First speaker cites CEQA and says the draft EIR fails to meet the act's guidelines. No consideration is given to just several hundred units, he says.

Here's a "reduced density" alternative with 36% less housing, not like there's a crisis or anything.

Two alternatives would retain the so-called historic theater, a third would demolish it.

says there would be significant impacts, particularly on a historic structure, even with mitigation measures. But ask

@AdamLBrinklow

, who worked at Stonestown, what he thinks. thefrisc.com/stonestown-pla

The proposal calls for some 2900 new units of housing, open space, and more. From the agenda:

It's a 27-acre redevelopment, retaining the retail.

Stonestown time! The public can weigh in on the proposed redevelopment until 5 pm Monday, Feb. 13.

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As the commission goes over a budget item, a public commenter on 100 Broadway says the agenda is all over the place. The clerk apologizes.

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The commission and the clerk say they've already received "internal feedback" on having interpreters convey specific procedural declarations.

Next caller, who calls into every meeting we've joined, says City Hall and its decision-makers are disregarding quality of life issues. Another caller admonishes the proceedings again on the grounds of racism, particularly the commenter who wanted to know what was being said.

Time for public comment. A frequent commenter goes HAM into the weeds of the planning code for flats. A caller accuses the commission of racism and that the crowd gathered earlier is owed an apology.

Commissioner Moore wants to call attention to the deadly earthquake damage in Turkey and Syria. Commissioner Ruiz says she's 37 weeks pregnant and is therefore participating virtually for the time being.

Commission president Tanner acknowledges Mayor

@LondonBreed

's directives earlier in the week based on the Housing Element. "We have our work cut out for us," she says. Here's our story on the Housing Element's takeaways:

thefrisc.com

The 4 Biggest Takeaways From SF’s Ambitious Plan to Build 82,000 New Homes

A vast rezoning. Stay-the-course financing. Historic fairness. And an emergency brake to pull if the plan’s going off the rails.

The room clears out, loudly.

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The continuance is approved unanimously. The interpreters are asked to notify the crowd that this will be heard, again, on March 9. A reminder that entrepreneurs face financial ruin trying to open not because of rowdy crowds, but because of #SF's rules:

thefrisc.com

Garden Creamery Debacle Is Just the Tip of the Ice Cream Cone in SF’s Unfair Rules

Selfish people can game the system and block competition. Here’s how the city could ward them off.

Tl;dr bureaucracy can be maddening. This story came across the wire earlier, alarming:

mercurynews.com

Silicon Valley developer goes on hunger strike to protest construction delays

After facing a permitting snafu, a local developer says he won’t eat until Sunnyvale says he can resume building.

Commissioner Diamond says the body sees few proposals for smoking lounges, and that she's uncomfortable with

@SF_DPH

having concerns over the lounge, so she supports the continuance.

Commission president Tanner acknowledges that this situation is confusing and wants to know how the continuance came up. A

@SF_DPH

staffer says the agency reviewed the plans for the second-floor lounge and has issues with the layout. 🫤

Aaaand back to in-person comment. An associate of the property owner says the sponsor has done everything that's been asked, and feels that it's not fair that we don't hear what the non-English comments are.

Translators in Mandarin and Cantonese are trying to quell the disruption. Back to the phones.

Another caller says she has a son with unstable mental health, and that a cannabis store would be detrimental to that. There's still some confusion in the room over what's taking place, and the crowd is getting rowdy.

Commenter says this project has been up for debate in the neighborhood since last April; 3 sets of posters have been put up. "Pushing it is kind of a stall tactic," she says, opposing the continuance.

Next caller says there's obviously confusion for non-English speakers about the item being continued to March 9. Another caller says there's a day care in the building. Maybe we could all prepare for the next meeting?

The commission president rephrases the issue as expressing support or opposition to hearing the item later. We're watching a game of Telephone in real time. The caller says public comment is for expressing opinions, and the clerk says he doesn't know how else to explain this.

The clerk reminds the language interpreter taking a comment that we can only hear comments on the continuance, not the project. The caller insists that there are already too many cannabis stores in #SF. The clerk specifies that the item will likely be heard again on March 9.

A member of the tenants group at the nearby Gateway building says he hasn't heard any reason to have a continuance. Now we're going to remote callers, which is interesting since the room is full.

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