Balboa Reservoir housing project featured in SF Chronicle

Published today in San Francisco Chronicle: ‘SF residents killed housing at Balboa Reservoir repeatedly. Will they embrace it this time?’

The article by JK Dineen dredges up 1980s history, when ballot initiatives led by City College faculty members defeated previous plans for housing on a portion of the Balboa Reservoir. Without one piece of evidence to support the notion, Dineen speculates about whether there will be a ballot initiative against the present housing plans now, three decades on.

The article fails to acknowledge the role that the late Mayor Ed Lee played in the present plans for housing, park space, retail, and child care on the reservoir site. In 2015, Mayor Lee initiated the chain of events that lead to the current plans. Shortly after that President Norman Yee helped form the Balboa Reservoir Community Advisory Committee that has been a part of the public input on the Project for over four years now.

Read the SF Chronicle piece here: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-residents-killed-housing-at-Balboa-Reservoir-14481281.php

Balboa Reservoir Community Meeting on Monday Sept 30

The Balboa reservoir Community Advisory Committee meets on Monday Sept 30th, 6-8 PM, at City College Multi-Use Building, Room 140, 50 Frida Kahlo Way, San Francisco. Public comment is welcome at these meetings.

The meeting focus is on Transportation. The annual report of the committee will be discussed. View the agenda here: https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/agendas/2019-09/balboareservoir_CAC_Agenda_09-30-19.pdf

Read more about the project at the SF Planning Dept: https://sfplanning.org/project/balboa-reservoir

Read more about the project on the SNA website: https://sunnysideassociation.wordpress.com/balboa-reservoir-project/ 

View the whole document from the June meeting here: http://default.sfplanning.org/plans-and-programs/planning-for-the-city/public-sites/balboareservoir/balboareservoir_CAC_CPC_Informational-061319.pdf

Golden Gate Xpress on Balboa Reservoir: ‘Impact of planned housing apprised’

San Francisco State University’s newspaper the Golden Gate Xpress published a piece on the proposed Balboa Reservoir housing project, ‘Impact of planned housing apprised’.

Read it here: https://goldengatexpress.org/2019/09/11/impact-of-planned-housing-apprised/

“Upon project completion, nearby public transit would face significant delays. Travel times could more than double for nearby Muni buses like the K/T, 29, 43 and 49 during peak hours, according to the DSEIR. Congestion along Lee Avenue could also create potentially hazardous conditions for bikers.

“Yet, despite its warnings, the DSEIR dismisses the most contested factor of the project: parking.”

Balboa Reservoir Environmental Impact Report now available for public comment

Just published, the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for the Balboa Reservoir housing project. Public comment may be submitted until September 23. The SF Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the review on September 12 at 1:00 PM (Room 400, City Hall).

Draft SEIR is available here: https://sfplanning.org/environmental-review-documents There are 13 PDFs with all the appendices, but the second item on the list is the main report, 486 pages (46MB).

Hard copies and CDs may be obtained from the San Francisco Planning Dept Information Counter, 1660 Mission Street, First Floor, San Francisco.

Hard copies and CDs may also be obtained by contacting:
Jeanie Poling, Senior Environmental Planner, SF Planning Dept
Jeanie.Poling@sfgov.org

Public comment may submitted:

• By mail (address below)
• By email to CPC.BalboaReservoir@sfgov.org
• In person (on paper) at the public hearing before the Planning Commission on Sept 12.
• In person (by oral comments) at the Planning Commission hearing Sept 12. Check agenda of Commission meeting to see when item is being heard here (after Sept 6).

Address for mailed comments:
Jeanie Poling
Senior Planner, San Francisco Planning Department
1650 Mission Street, Suite 400
San Francisco CA 94103
(415) 575-9072

Following the public comment period, Planning Department staff will review the comments and prepare a responses to comments document. The draft SEIR and the responses to comments document will be the final SEIR. [Anticipated in Spring 2020.] 

To read more about the framework of what the EIR addresses regarding environmental effects, see this document http://sfmea.sfplanning.org/2018-10-10_NOP_Final_clean_signed.pdf

Or this slide presentation: http://default.sfplanning.org/plans-and-programs/planning-for-the-city/public-sites/balboareservoir/balboares_061019_presentation01_EIR.pdf

Monday Aug 5: SNA Quarterly Meeting

You are invited: the quarterly meeting of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association is  Monday August 5th, 7-8:30 pm. Open to all residents. Agenda below.  at St Finn Barr Hall, 415 Edna Street at Hearst Ave.

The speakers and subjects will include:

• President’s Welcome and Treasurer’s report;
• Detroit Steps update, with Rosaura Valle;
• Stop Crime SF, with guest Joel Engardio;
• Balboa Reservoir project update and community discussion, with BRCAC representative Amy O’Hair and and SNA BR Committee Chair Jennifer Heggie, including information on City College’s new campus plan;
• Also including a Q&A with an SFMTA representative about the prospect of parking permits re BR impacts;
• Undergrounding utility wires, with guest Kate Beckwith;
• The usual raffle, including fresh eggs from President Steve Martinpinto’s chickens for some lucky winner.

Time to join or renew your membership? You can pay dues at the meeting, or click ‘Donate’ button below.

Balboa Reservoir housing project news

From SF Planning Department. NOTE: Next Monday’s SNA Quarterly Meeting will focus on the Balboa Reservoir project. 7-8:30pm (415 Edna Street) including discussion of possible parking permit program.

1. Balboa Reservoir Project Draft Environmental Impact Report

The Balboa Reservoir Project draft subsequent environmental impact report (SEIR) is anticipated to be released on Wednesday, August 7th. Upon publication it will be available for public review and comment on the San Francisco Planning Department’s website at https://sfplanning.org/environmental-review-documents .

A public hearing to receive oral comments will be held at the Planning Commission on Thursday, September 12th. Written public comments on the draft SEIR will be accepted from August 8th to September 23rd at 5 p.m. Written comments may be submitted at any time during this comment period.

Written comments should be addressed to Jeanie Poling, Senior Planner, San Francisco Planning Department, 1650 Mission Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94103, or emailed to CPC.BalboaReservoir@sfgov.org. Comments received at the public hearing and in writing will be responded to in a Responses to Comment (RTC) document, which will become part of the final SEIR.

2. Balboa Reservoir CAC Meeting

The next Balboa Reservoir Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting will be held on Monday, September 30th at 6:00 pm at the City College Multi-Use Building, Room 140.

The meeting agenda will be posted online to the CAC website in advance of the meeting: https://sfplanning.org/project/balboa-reservoir#cac-and-community-meetings. Please note that public comments received at the CAC meeting will not be included or responded to in the RTC document as part of the final SEIR.

More information about the Balboa Reservoir project at the tab at the top of this page. 

June 10: Balboa Reservoir community meeting — EIR and City College plans

The next meeting of the Balboa Reservoir Community Advisory Committee (BRCAC) is Monday June 10, 6-8pm, Room 140, Multi-Use Building, City College of San Francisco, 50 Frida Kahlo Way. The agenda will include discussion of the draft Environmental Impact Review for the project, and an update from City College about plans for adjacent development. Everyone is welcome and there is always a public comment period.

View full agenda here. More about the housing project and the BRCAC here or click tab at top of this page.

Below are a selection of slides from the March 11 BRCAC meeting, showing the current developer plans. View the entire presentation here.