Vol. XLVIII, No. 10
October 2024
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THE NOE VALLEY VOICE Candidates Have A Go at Mayor in District 8 Debate
City Engineers Okay 4-Way Stop At 28th Street
Contenders Talk Housing, Homelessness, and Safety
Relocation of J Stops on Church Also Set to Move Forward By Matthew S. Bajko
By John Ferrannini
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he top four challengers to San Francisco Mayor London Breed in the November election answered questions for a District 8 audience, on housing, homelessness, and public safety, at a forum Sept. 5. The event, held at the Randall Museum in Corona Heights Park, was co-sponsored by 11 community groups, including Friends of Noe Valley, Upper Noe Neighbors, and the Dolores Heights Improvement Club. “We invited all the top five candidates based on polling to be a part of this forum,” said Matt Hicks, who was on the volunteer steering committee. “Mayor London Breed declined. I personally got involved in this because, like so many of you, I love San Francisco and I believe the city is at a
It’s the Incredibles! We spotted these superheroes—Tyler, Sophie, and baby Jack—at Halloween festivities last year. Who knows? They might fly in again this year to lift the firetruck on Sanchez Oct. 20 or compete in the costume contest at the Noe Night Market Oct. 29 at the Town Square. For all the party info, see page 15. Photo by Art Bodner
crossroads. I don’t remember a more consequential race for mayor.” The candidates who participated were former interim mayor Mark Farrell, nonprofit executive and Levi
Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, and District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí. CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Upzoning Plan Splinters Support for New Construction But Message at Town Hall: Taller Buildings Are Coming By Matthew S. Bajko
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nder a state mandate, San Francisco is required to plan for 82,000 new housing units by 2031, and 46,000 of them need to be “affordable,” for low- or moderate-income residents. Where they will be built in a 47-squaremile city fenced in on three sides by water is an open question. To city planners, a logical place would be along transit corridors throughout the city. Putting housing on those streets would not only address the new quotas but provide additional rid-
ers for the buses and trains run by Muni and BART. It would also result in an increased customer base for nearby businesses. To pave the way for such construction, the city plans to relax permitting laws to allow for taller and denser buildings. In Noe Valley, 24th Street and Church Street could be prime targets for these changes, called “upzoning.” Under a draft proposal released in April 2023 by the Planning Department at the direction of Mayor London Breed, the city would raise the height limits for new buildings to between 65 and 85 feet, or six to eight stories, along several neighborhood transit cor-
ridors, including Church Street south to 30th Street. In other parts of the city, the upzoning map would allow residential towers as high as 30 stories on commercial streets. State lawmakers in Sacramento have passed numerous laws allowing developers to build even taller structures if they agree to set aside a portion of the housing units as affordable. Additional housing legislation is set to become law next year. Altogether, the changes are aimed at ensuring local jurisdictions do not obstruct residential development projects and that California moves forward CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
rivers on Church Street should be prepared to see the installation of a four-way stop at the 28th Street intersection. Vehicles on 28th already have to stop at Church before crossing or turning onto the busy thoroughfare. Residents in Upper Noe have long called for upgrading the intersection from a two-way to a four-way stop. And after hearing public feedback on the matter during a Sept. 6 meeting, engineering staff for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency lent their support for the change, which the neighborhood hopes will increase safety for both vehicles and pedestrians. The transit agency’s citizen oversight board is expected to finalize the decision this month, when it meets Oct. 15. Otherwise, it could take up the change at its Nov. 5 meeting. “Over the past several years, we have received numerous requests for a fourway stop at 28th and Church,” said SFMTA traffic operations manager Eddie Tsui. Because adding the four-way at 28th will impact the travel times for JChurch trains along Church Street, the SFMTA also wants to move two of the J-line’s existing stops. The J-Church stop for passengers at Clipper Street would move south to 26th Street, and the 27th Street stop would relocate to 28th Street. “In order to minimize the impact on Muni service on the J-Church, we are also proposing to adjust some of the stop locations to make the stop spacing a little bit more even,” explained Tsui. The engineering staff will bring the proposed changes on Church Street as a combined project to the SFMTA Board for approval. In doing so, they are bucking calls from neighborhood residents to install the stop signs but postpone tinkering with the light-rail stops. Crossing Church Can Be ‘Scary’ The creation of the four-way stop at Church and 28th streets received near unanimous support during the engineering hearing in September. Many speakers said they lived nearby and had seen vehicles speeding through the intersection, presenting a dangerous situation for pedestrians who crossed there to access local businesses, a dance studio, and St. Paul’s Catholic Church. “Many, many cars on Church Street are driving way too fast and over the speed limit. It is quite scary crossing Church Street at 28th Street,” said Kay, who described herself as a senior who lives on 28th. Relocating the two Muni train stops, however, has elicited a mix of
Too Graphic? This rendering, showing what Church Street might look like if developers took advantage of taller height limits proposed by city planners to meet state housing goals, was seen by some as illuminating, by others as “fearmongering.” Image courtesy Neighborhoods United SF
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