Sustainability and Balboa Reservoir Project

On Dec 5, the developer team for the Balboa Reservoir housing development, AvalonBay/BRIDGE, held a holiday meeting event with Sustainability as the focus subject. Informational posters were presented. The PDF is available here, or see images below. Public comment was taken during the event, and will be presented later. Public commnet about the Balboa Reservoir project can be submitted at any time, see contact details at the end of this post. [More about the Balboa Reservoir Community Advisory Committee.]

http://default.sfplanning.org/plans-and-programs/planning-for-the-city/public-sites/balboareservoir/181205_BalboaReservoir_SustainabilityOpenHouse-FINAL.pdf

Balboa Reservoir community event on Dec 5

From the Balboa Reservoir Project developer team, AvalonBay/BRIDGE:

COME TO AN OPEN HOUSE!

Enjoy food and drinks with neighbors and Discuss Balboa Reservoir’s Sustainability Plan and Overall Project Updates.

Please join the Balboa Reservoir’s Architecture and Sustainability Team for food and drinks as we share initial plans to implement sustainable development practices for the Balboa Reservoir’s site infrastructure and buildings.

Date/time: Wednesday, Dec 5th between 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Location:  Ingleside Presbyterian Church, 1345 Ocean Avenue 

For more information about the Balboa Reservoir, please visit our website: www.balboareservoir.com or contact us at: balboareservoir@gmail.com

For more information about the Balboa Reservoir Project, click top tab.

Balboa Reservoir community event on December 5th

The next Balboa Reservoir project event is the Community Holiday Party held on Wed Dec 5, at the Ingleside Presbyterian Church (1345 Ocean Ave) from 6 to 8 pm.

During the event, there will also be a Sustainability Workshop, describing how that principle will be implemented in the planned housing project. Opportunities for public feedback.

More information and links about the Balboa Reservoir Project at the tab at top of this page.

Local YIMBY in the Chronicle

SNA member and Sunnyside resident David Tejeda was one of several people interviewed for a recent SF Chronicle article “Bay Area Housing Crisis: Six YIMBYs on a mission”.  [paywall]

An excerpt:

David Tejeda

Occupation: Contractor

Neighborhood: Sunnyside

Story: Tejada stands out in a room full of YIMBYs. At 70, he’s twice as old as most of the people active in the movement. He’s also the owner of a home he bought two decades ago near the Balboa Reservoir. It’s a neighborhood where many residents are opposed to a redevelopment plan calling for about 1,100 new housing units.

In his words: “A lot people in my age group have the attitude, ‘I’ve got mine. If you don’t have yours, it’s your own fault.’ At the same time, they complain that their grown kids are living in their basement. Well, if there were more places for them to live they wouldn’t have to stay in the basement. I’m a firm believer that you don’t pull the drawbridge up.”

As a note: the current board of Sunnyside Neighborhood Association supports the Balboa Reservoir Project, as did the previous board. SNA has been involved from the beginning of the community engagement process. Many residents here look forward to new neighbors and a new park, and more housing for the city. 

Tues Oct 30: Environmental Review scoping meeting for Balboa Reservoir project

There will be a public meeting to discuss the scope of the Balboa Reservoir project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR)–which will consider what possibilities and configurations of the project, and its streets, buildings, and infrastructure, will be studied for their environmental impacts. This will be an opportunity to learn more about and comment on the proposed EIR scope of work. More about opportunities to comment below.

Here is the Notice of Preparation from the Planning Dept, which describes the scope of the project to be studied for environmental impacts.

When: October 30th (Tuesday), 6-8pm.

Where: Lick Wilmerding High School cafeteria (755 Ocean Avenue). [Transit: Balboa Park BART; 8-Bayshore, 29-Sunset, 43-Masonic, 49-VanNess, K-Ingleside, 54-Felton.]

From SF Planning:  

Have your say: Environmental study for Balboa Reservoir housing project

Next Tuesday Oct 30, there is a public meeting to discuss what options are to be studied in the environmental impact review (EIR) process for the Balboa Reservoir housing project. Nothing can be built in future that wasn’t studied now, so the scope of the review is critical. Below is a brief summary of the options and variants that are currently planned for study. (Details on how to comment at the end of this post.)

Slide from Oct 15 BR Community Advisory Committee (BRCAC) public meeting. View entire presentation here. 

Here is the 26-page document that describes the scope. 

Balboa Reservoir update: slides from Oct 15 BRCAC meeting

At the Oct 15th Balboa Reservoir Community Advisory Committee meeting, the presentation given included two elements: an update about the coming Environmental Review scoping meeting on Oct 30th, and an update about the proposed plan for the site.

Read more about the Environmental Review meeting here, including how to give feedback about what options are to be studied.

The entire Oct 15th BRCAC presentation can be seen here (PDF).

Below are selected slides from the developer (AvalonBay/BRIDGE) presentation about the current state of the plan for housing and park space. In particular, in response to neighborhood feed back about the first design for the park, they have changed the orientation to reduce the wind that the open space would be subject to.

Images include simulations blocking out the approximate size and location of the buildings, and what they would look like from various viewpoints nearby–including the planned City College Performing Arts Education Center on the Upper Reservoir.

Slide from Oct 15 BRCAC meeting. View presentation here.