p. 5
INSIDE
SEPTEMBER 2014
Proposed Kansas Street Development Opposed by Neighbors BY KEITH BURBANK
A developer and a group of Kansas Street residents are clashing over the design of a proposed residential project. A s cu r rently plan ned, a n ine-u n it condom in iu m complex would be built on five contiguous lots stretching from 951 Kansas Street. The residents support development of the site, but are opposed to the proposed design because they say it doesn’t fit within the character of their micro-neighborhood, blocks 800 and 900. “It’s not right for here,” said Kristen Makita, who lives on the 800 block of Kansas Street. Makita ca l led the 800 a nd 900 blocks a neighborhood within Potrero Hill, a special place where kids can play in the street. Maintaining the street’s community aura is a goal of those opposed to the design, which will perch new neighbors six stories up, where they may stay rather than engaging with others, Makita said. The developers, Dawson & Clinton General Contractors, want to build six stories because they hope to retain half of the roughly 22-foot high outcropping of serpentine rock rather than demolish it. According to the San Francisco Planning Code, a developer is allowed to build 40 feet above the outcropping, as long as the 40-foot high section is set back 10 feet from the front property line. “I l i ke it; i n SoM a or Sout h Beach,” said Gustavo Leao, who o w n s 9 2 6 Nu m b e r O n e K a n s a s Street. According to Gustavo, the proposed building would dwarf the homes around it, and the design appears to be a single building, while many of the structures on blocks 800 and 900 have facades of singlefamily homes. The developers want to maintain the proposed height, but said they’ll change the facade to appear more like single-family homes. “We’re trying to keep the dialogue open,” said Tim Clinton, partner, Dawson & Clinton. According to Clinton, blocks 800 and 900 of Kansas Street reflect a smorgasbord of architecture, so their design won’t
District 10 Candidates Interviews p. 8
p. 9
p. 20
Bad Cook p. 19
Community Calendar p. 25
Serving the Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Mission Bay and SOMA Neighborhoods Since 1970
p. 28
FREE
Concern Mounts Over Violent Crime in Southside Neighborhoods BY JIM E. WINBURN
A citywide decrease in murder rates over the last five years has done little to assure Southside residents—and public officials—that the streets are any safer in San Francisco. Following Fourth of July weekend shootings that left five people dead in Visitacion Valley and Bayview, District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen called for a task force to deal with violent crimes. Even San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr acknowledged that homicide and shooting rates are not falling fast enough. The City still has “way too many shootings,” said Suhr. According to Suhr, San Francisco’s homicide rate has dropped dramatically over the last five years: an average of 52 homicides annually between 2009 and 2013, compared to roughly 94 murders a year from 2004 to 2008. Bavyiew’s homicide rate experienced a similar decline, with an average of 14 homicides a year between 2009 and 2013, compared to about 26 annually from 2004 to 2008, according to San Francisco Police Department data. “Many folks point to the fact that there are nearly 50 percent less shootings now than there were back in 2007…and celebrate the reduction,” Chief Suhr said. “Not to take anything away from such a dramatic decrease and/or all those with the City and/or from the neighborhoods that worked to make it happen, but we still have nearly 200 shootings a year, and we
Memorial created in the Potrero Annex to
There are nearly 50 percent less shootings now… But we still have nearly 200 shootings a year, and we must continue to work towards making every neighborhood as safe as any other. POLICE CHIEF GREG SUHR
must continue to work towards making every neighborhood as safe as any other neighborhood in San Francisco; and we are not anywhere near there yet.” The Chief said that officers work-
remember the three men recently slain there. PHOTOGRAPH BY VIVIAN SACHS
ing the streets have played a key role in reducing violence, with many cops voluntarily working nights and weekends when violence most often occurs. He said that command-level personnel respond as soon as a violent incident takes place, so the department can immediately redeploy resources “to get out in front of any possible ‘next act’ before it can occur.” The department’s principal strategy to reduce violent crime is to get guns off the street. Nearly 500 weapons have
CRIME page 6
District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen Introduces Legislation to Preserve PDR Space BY KEITH BURBANK
PHOTOGRAPH BY KEITH BURBANK
disrupt the neighborhood’s character. Clinton said that initial feedback from the neighborhood was positive, but later turned negative. Neighbors surprised the developers by turning down such ideas as a green and living building and an offer to plant mature trees and build micro-gardens at approved locations.
Kansas Street residents including (left to right) Gustavo Leao, Cathy Ritter, Scott Simons, Kristen Makita, Joanna Curlee, and Douglas Singer oppose the design of a proposed residential development on five contiguous lots of Kansas Street beginning at 951 Kansas Street. Also pictured is Attorney Ryan Patterson (far right), Zacks & Freedman, representing the group.
KANSAS STREET page 27
Earlier this summer, District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen introduced an ordinance to close a loophole that would otherwise allow production, distribution and repair (PDR) space to be converted to office use. Current zoning law allows property owners to shift a building designated for PDR use to office space if it receives historic status. The ordinance would protect PDR-1-D and PDR-1-G districts, many of which are located in the Mission, Dogpatch and Bayview-Hunters Point. A PDR-1-D district promotes designPDR page 19