The Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association (DTNA) represents residents, businesses and property owners in San Francisco's Duboce Triangle neighborhood, bordered by Market St., Castro St., Divisidero St., Waller St., Webster St. and Duboce Avenue.  Our goal is to protect, maintain and improve our neighborhood quality of life, and ensure that the Duboce Triangle continues to be San Francisco's very best neighborhood in which to live, work and play.

We hold monthly community meetings on the second Monday in February, April, June, August, October and December, at which we cover topics important to our neighborhood.  Click on "Meetings" more more information.  Our next general meeting will be held on Monday, June 11, from 7-9 pm at the CPMC/Davies Hospital, Gazebo Room (Plaza level between North and South Towers), Castro St. & Duboce Ave.  We hope to see you there!

We publish a bimonthly newsletter which is distributed, free of charge, to over 3,000 households in our neighborhood, and sent to city leaders.  Please support the local businesses which advertise in our newsletter and allow us to provide you with this valuable service.

DTNA also has active committees working on Land Use and Transportation issues.  We're always looking for volunteers interested in participating.  Click on the links above for more information.

If you live in the neighborhood and are not yet a DTNA member, please Join us and support our efforts!

For 2012, we have decided to move our general meetings out of the basement and up into the Gazebo room at CPMC/Davies Hospital.  The gazebo is located at the plaza level between the North and South Towers.  The room has an external entrance, and it's more or less right above the emergency room.  From Castro St, walk into the campus and then walk to the right of the North Tower, the gazebo will be right in front of you.

In August, DTNA's Board of Directors voted to join a coalition of local organizations, led by San Francisco Beautiful, to file suit against the City to demand compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regulations.  The lawsuit seeks compliance with CEQA by requiring the creation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the AT&T "Lightspeed" network upgrade project.  AT&T's project involves the installation of 726 refrigerator-sized utility cabinets on our city sidewalks, and was recently granted exemption from environmental review by the Planning Department, a decision that was affirmed by the Board of Supervisors.

DTNA strongly supports bringing new technologies and increased competition for television and internet services to our neighborhoods.  But to date, there has been no analysis of AT&T's proposal and its impacts on our public realm, and no serious evaluation of alternative ways of implementing the project and reducing its impact.  CEQA law requires that an environmental review occur when a project is likely or even has the possibility to cause an impact to its environment, and thus by approving the project without review, the city is not in compliance with CEQA's requirements.  The lawsuit asks the city to require an EIR and to ensure that AT&T's project is evaluated objectively, including alternatives and mitigations to the proposed sidewalk cabinets.

We live in a dense urban environment in which our sidewalks are our front yards.  Nobody knows how many utility cabinets already exist on our sidewalks – certainly hundreds and probably thousands – but DTNA believes that a private company like AT&T should not have the automatic right to maximize their profits at our expense.  In addition to being eyesores and graffiti magnets, the boxes impede access to parked cars (especially for those with mobility issues), create safety issues for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and are an impediment to pedestrians.  At a minimum, alternatives to the usurping of our public space must be fairly examined.  An EIR will ensure that the decisions that are made today will be viewed as wise decisions in the future.

DTNA has been involved in this issue since 2008, when AT&T first proposed the project.  They withdrew the project when it became clear that the Board of Supervisors would require an EIR, and reintroduced the project in 2010.  DTNA has presented information on the proposed project at several of our General Meetings, most recently in December, 2010.  At that meeting, DTNA members who were present expressed clear opposition to AT&T's project until there has been a thorough environmental review, including the exploration of alternatives to sidewalk placement.  (The costs of taking this legal action have been generously borne by SF Beautiful and individual donors.  None of your DTNA membership donations have been, or are contemplated to be, spent on this legal action.)


Update:  On November 14, Judge Harold Kahn of the San Francisco Superior Court issued an injunction which will halt any further permitting or construction of the AT&T utility boxes citywide until a final ruling on the environmental lawsuit.  This is great news for our neighborhood and our city.