July 2010
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Serving the Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Mission Bay and SOMA Neighborhoods Since 1970
Public Benefits Delayed in Eastern Neighborhoods By Sarah Mcdonald Roughly a year and a half ago, the City re-zoned parts of the Central Waterfront, Mission District, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill, East SoMa and Showplace Square – the eastern neighborhoods – to allow for more housing and mixed-uses in the historically industrial area. In addition, the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan describes the public infrastructure – including parks and streetscapes – needed to sustain projected population increases. The plan took a decade to develop, and was adopted almost simultaneously with the collapse of the Bay Area’s housing market. During what may be the tail end of the Great Recession, stakeholders are evaluating how well the rezoning is performing. “The pipeline is kind of stalled because of the economy,” said Bruce Kin Huie, a Central Waterfront resident who is a member of the Eastern Neighborhood Community Advisory Council (ENCAC), which advises the City on plan implementation. ENCAC’s 13 members are ap-
pointed by the Mayor and Board of Supervisors, and live, work, or own property in the neighborhoods affected by the plan. Chris Block – who serves as the Commission’s vice-chair, appointed by District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty – believes that rezoning brought a more balanced approach to development. Letting developers do whatever they want might be cheaper and bring in more tax revenue, he said, but “you might not have created the City you want to live in.” A 2006 Nexus study found that the population of the eastern neighborhoods could grow by 11,386 people by 2025. According to Tony Kelly, a candidate for District 10 Board of Supervisors, this growth will principally occur in neighborhoods that don’t even have sidewalks or public transit lines. “So what do people do?” he said. “The difficulty has been this part of town is already deficient.” A portion of the public infrastructure called for in the plan is
see
benefits page 10
Foodies flocked to Dogpatch last month for the Outside in 5 street food event. More than one-dozen specialty foods were offered by vendors and local businesses, drawing hundreds of locals and others to the normally quiet neighborhood. Photograph by Lisa Tehrani.
New Economy Emerges in Dogpatch Historic District By Bill Slatkin In the midst of the Great Recession, a new economy – built around concepts like energy independence, green practices, and innovative approaches to health care – is emerging in Southeast San Francisco. Enterprises located throughout the area are transforming vehicles from
Channel Street Used as Private Parking Lot
gasoline dependence to electricity, creating back-to-the-future manufacturing processes, and integrating eastern and western healing modes, among other ventures. Anchored by the University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay medical center to the north, and someday potentially extending to a new green technology center at the former Hunters Point Shipyard, a neglected former industrial zone is steadily reemerging as a node of employment and innovation.
By Sarah Mcdonald
DogPatch Biofuels
The City and County of San Francisco is losing a potential revenue source from a public street located near the Central Waterfront that’s being used for private parking. Channel Street, which is 628 feet long and runs from Carolina to 7th streets, is fenced off on both entrances, and flanked on either side by private businesses. Rows of Ride the Ducks and Classic Cable Car tour buses, and Budget rental trucks, are parked inside the fenced area. According to Barbara Moy, acting manager for the Bureau of Street Use and Mapping, San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW), the businesses don’t have a permit to park on the street. Mario Balestrieri, manager at San Francisco Mini Storage, which parks Budget trucks on Channel Street, said he doesn’t believe his company has a parking permit. “We’ve maintained
DogPatch Biofuels, located on Pennsylvania and 23rd streets, is in its third year as the City’s only retail biofuel station. The facility is a model of modern sustainability, offering a depository for used cooking oil, and pumping vegetable oil-based fuel into diesel powered vehicles. Those vehicles include the 15 passenger vans operated by Incredible Adventures, an ecologically aware tour company that recently purchased DogPatch Biofuels from founders Michele Swiggers and Robin Gold. The acquisition enables Incredible Adventures to continue its green and clean practices and “continue to foster this business model as Robin and Michele always intended, “ chief executive officer Jolie Ginsburg said. “This is a great neighborhood.
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Classic Cable Car tour buses are just some of the private vehicles parked on Channel Street. Photograph by Carla Leshne.
the property and kept it closed,” he said,“because if we didn’t the homeless would move in.” The fence was installed with the City’s permission in 1992 by Moody Property Management to keep out vagrants.
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Channel Street “has a history of being leased out for eons,” said Moy. The site has been occupied by private businesses – typically those occupysee
channel street page 11
Newcomers p. 11
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dogpatch page 16
Calendar p. 15
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