SOMCAN - Programs

The South of Market faces a growing number of government-private sector partnerships whose purpose/agenda is pro- development, though not necessarily pro- community development. In a district of less than two square miles, four redevelopment project areas have been initiated:

Each of these project areas plan to target San Francisco to a statewide, national and international user base, with little thought given to working families, low-income individuals and immigrants who work and live in the neighborhood. In the same fashion that politicians have historically used “redistricting” to splinter community voices in poor, ethnic neighborhoods throughout the country, developers, through the tools of redevelopment, are successfully carving apart the South of Market, ensuring control of political power, redevelopment financing mechanisms and resources.

Successful proactive action with healthy long-term results requires a collective community vision of neighborhood improvement. SOMCAN has developed our Community Planning Program to ensure that community planning and land-use regulations maintain diversity and affordability in the neighborhood. We are committed to making sure that the community feedback collected by the SF Planning Department through the City's community planning process is implemented and adequately addressed to serve our residents. SOMCAN's Community Planning Program consists of two components:

Community Based Planning - SOMCAN has collected all community assessments conducted in the South of Market and developed a comprehensive list of community needs. We are currently working with a core group of residents and collaborative organizations to present our findings to various sectors in the community and identify additional community goals and assets. Our objective is to create a State of SoMa Report, which will identify cultural anchors that must be preserved and provide an inventory of community needs. The Report will include an assessment of and recommendations for: Housing, Community Safety, Schools and Education, Environmental Justice, Economic Development, Transportation, and Youth.

Policy, Research & Analysis - SOMCAN works with residents to conduct community-based research and translate community goals into concrete land use and zoning policy recommendations. In addition, SOMCAN helps community members build capacity to understand current and future development forces in the neighborhood, including major economic patterns, redevelopment project areas and policy trends.

SOMCAN was invited in the Fall 2004 to participate in the San Francisco Department of Public Health's Health Impact Assessment Community Council . The Community Council, comprised of representatives from various city agencies, community organizations and neighborhood residents, will comprehensively analyze important health costs and benefits of urban planning policies. The Community Council convenes on a monthly basis to create and define a vision for a healthy community. The process builds on models for multi-stakeholder and consensus-based decision-making, which differs from traditional EIR processes. The process will ultimately produce recommendations for land uses, zoning controls, and other city policies that advance health and sustainability of diverse communities.

Additionally, SOMCAN is currently embarking on a campaign to ensure that new development proposed in Rincon Hill is fair and equitable to the existing low-income, immigrant and communities of color in the South of the Market.

Within the past few months, the San Francisco Planning Department has begun fast tracking their newest “Rincon Hill Plan”, proposing the tallest and densest residential tower development in San Francisco, all at the base of SoMa. Currently, residential towers in the same area are 85-200 feet in height, with condominium prices exceeding $1.5 million each. The Rincon Hill Plan paves the way for a forest of 400-500 foot skyscrapers, with the aim of bringing 20,000 “new residents” into the South of Market within the next few years. Authors of the plan insist that this ambitious change in land use will solve the housing crises. However, with the exception of only one market rate “rental” project, every skyscraper will contain solely luxury condominiums. The price range for these condominiums is estimated at the $1-1.5 million range, a cost not even most upwardly mobile San Franciscans can afford. Institutionalized gentrification is difficult to fight, and will need to be addressed on both a regional and neighborhood level.



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	Planning The South of Market faces a growing number of government-private sector partnerships whose purpose/agenda is pro- development, though not necessarily pro- community development. In a district of less than two square miles, four redevelopment project areas have been initiated: The *Downtown Neighborhood & Transbay Project Area* will develop an elaborate Transit Hub within a multilevel shopping promenade, to support the financial district. The *Yerba Buena Center Project Area* has completed two side-by-side national Convention Centers and will next focus on the development of a high-end museum district. TheMid-Market Project Areawill create a Hotel and Theater District. The *6th Street Corridor ProjectArea* is proposing a palm tree-lined commercially revitalized business corridor. Each of these project areas plan to target San Francisco to a statewide, national and international user base, with little thought given to working families, low-income individuals and immigrants who work and live in the neighborhood. In the same fashion that politicians have historically used “redistricting” to splinter community voices in poor, ethnic neighborhoods throughout the country, developers, through the tools of redevelopment, are successfully carving apart the South of Market, ensuring control of political power, redevelopment financing mechanisms and resources. Successful proactive action with healthy long-term results requires a collective community vision of neighborhood improvement. SOMCAN has developed our Community Planning Program to ensure that community planning and land-use regulations maintain diversity and affordability in the neighborhood. We are committed to making sure that the community feedback collected by the SF Planning Department through the City's community planning process is implemented and adequately addressed to serve our residents. SOMCAN's Community Planning Program consists of two components: Community Based Planning - SOMCAN has collected all community assessments conducted in the South of Market and developed a comprehensive list of community needs. We are currently working with a core group of residents and collaborative organizations to present our findings to various sectors in the community and identify additional community goals and assets. Our objective is to create a State of SoMa Report, which will identify cultural anchors that must be preserved and provide an inventory of community needs. The Report will include an assessment of and recommendations for: Housing, Community Safety, Schools and Education, Environmental Justice, Economic Development, Transportation, and Youth. Policy, Research & Analysis - SOMCAN works with residents to conduct community-based research and translate community goals into concrete land use and zoning policy recommendations. In addition, SOMCAN helps community members build capacity to understand current and future development forces in the neighborhood, including major economic patterns, redevelopment project areas and policy trends. SOMCAN was invited in the Fall 2004 to participate in the *San Francisco Department of Public Health's Health Impact Assessment* Community Council** . The Community Council, comprised of representatives from various city agencies, community organizations and neighborhood residents, will comprehensively analyze important health costs and benefits of urban planning policies. The Community Council convenes on a monthly basis to create and define a vision for a healthy community. The process builds on models for multi-stakeholder and consensus-based decision-making, which differs from traditional EIR processes. The process will ultimately produce recommendations for land uses, zoning controls, and other city policies that advance health and sustainability of diverse communities. Additionally, SOMCAN is currently embarking on a campaign to ensure that new development proposed in Rincon Hill is fair and equitable to the existing low-income, immigrant and communities of color in the South of the Market. Within the past few months, the San Francisco Planning Department has begun fast tracking their newest “Rincon Hill Plan”, proposing the tallest and densest residential tower development in San Francisco, all at the base of SoMa. Currently, residential towers in the same area are 85-200 feet in height, with condominium prices exceeding $1.5 million each. The Rincon Hill Plan paves the way for a forest of 400-500 foot skyscrapers, with the aim of bringing 20,000 “new residents” into the South of Market within the next few years. Authors of the plan insist that this ambitious change in land use will solve the housing crises. However, with the exception of only one market rate “rental” project, every skyscraper will contain solely luxury condominiums. The price range for these condominiums is estimated at the $1-1.5 million range, a cost not even most upwardly mobile San Franciscans can afford. Institutionalized gentrification is difficult to fight, and will need to be addressed on both a regional and neighborhood level.