CALL TO ACTION!

Do you want a ruined neighborhood that will be changed beyond repair? Do you want the Upper Market neighborhoods to become the new Gold Rush for developers at the expense of your quality of life?

The Planning Department has developed the proposed Market and Octavia Neighborhood plan that enables the development of 5,960 new residential units along Market Street with an additional 9,875 new residents. This equates to a 26.4% increase in population and a 29.4% increase in households in an area of the city that is already congested. Contrary to their stated objectives, the Planning Department did not perform minimal outreach seeking input from Duboce Triangle residents. The DTNA Board of Directors has serious concerns about the plan's long-term, harmful impacts to the Duboce Triangle neighborhood.

The Planning Department recently issued the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) that outlines zoning changes primarily in the Duboce Triangle and Hayes Valley neighborhoods. Overall, the DEIR has stated this new development will have little to no impact on the Upper Market neighborhoods.

Now is the time for the Duboce Triangle residents to unite and notify the Planning Department, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors of your thoughts and concerns over the proposed Market and Octavia Neighborhood Plan.

This plan s lofty goals will wreck the quality of Duboce Triangle through increased congestion, increased demand for on-street parking and a lack of control over real estate developers. Imagine new zoning that will allow an 85-foot tall building on the site ofCaf Flore, not to mention a wall of tall buildings along the length of Market Street from Van Ness Avenue to Noe Street. Imagine the two-flat building next door to your home being demolished and replaced with six condos, without the requirement for one-to-one off-street parking. The Planning Department has determined this intensive and insensitive development will have minimal impact to the residents of Duboce Triangle.

The portion of this plan for Duboce Triangle needs to be better analyzed and developed to make sure all of the impacts to the neighborhood are identified and addressed, as well as developed based upon input from Duboce Triangle residents. For example, the plan states:

• HISTORIC RESOURCES: No historic survey was done of the neighborhood, yet the Planning Department has determined that the rezoning will not have an impact on the historical character of the neighborhood.
• HOUSING: The plan encourages the conversion of garages into residential units. Current zoning allows up from two to three units on a lot; new zoning would allow up to six residential units on that same piece of property (with relaxed parking requirements).
• DENSITY: The Planning Department has determined this increase in population will not have an impact on neighborhood resources nor will the density degrade the quality of life of current residents. Indeed, they argue the quality of life will improve.
• PARKING: The plan will rezone Duboce Triangle to allow less than one off-street parking spot for each new residential unit. They theorize, based on flawed analysis, that if you don t provide parking, residents will be inclined to not have vehicles. But what if they DO have vehicles? And why do we have a parking problem now?
• BUILDING HEIGHTS: The plan will rezone Market Street from Van Ness Avenue to Noe Street to allow a new building height of 85 feet. As much as the old Embarcadero Freeway separated the city from its waterfront, these new high-rises will build a wall separating the neighborhoods from Market Street. Most of San Francisco cheered with the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway we will not have the luxury to demolish new, inappropriate high-rise development.

This plan is a social engineering experiment. The mass demolition of the Victorian neighborhoods in the Western Addition and subsequent construction of high- rise building is regarded as a redevelopment failure. As envisioned, this proposed plan will also result in adverse impacts to the changed neighborhoods with no chance to correct the planning mistakes. We don't want Duboce Triangle to become the city's next social engineering failure.

DTNA is requesting a new plan for Duboce Triangle that is developed with community input and which addresses the concerns of the impacted residents of Duboce Triangle. The current plan is not reflective of DTNA's concerns for development and rezoning of this neighborhood. This is not an issue of NIMBY-ism. Residential growth in this neighborhood is inevitable. However, the growth envisioned by the plan is based on incorrect planning assumptions and is intolerable.

DTNA has printed copies of the Draft Environmental Impact Report and has made them available for residents to review at the Eureka Valley Branch Library. Any important updates and oppor- tunities for public comment will be posted on the bulletin board in Duboce Park. The next DTNA neighborhoodmeeting will be at 7:00 PM, Monday, September 12th, Davies Hospital in the Auditorium on Lower Level B.

The Planning Department will discuss the Market and Octavia Neighborhood Plan, followed by a question and answer period. Let your voice be heard by joining Duboce Triangle residents to address your concerns regarding the plan s impacts to Duboce Triangle.

Gregg Wilcox, President, DTNA