First Upper Market Community Planning Workshop
Held at Harvey Milk School

Anchi Mei, an urban design consultant with Moore Iacofano Goltsman (MIG) Inc., writes down comments from workshop attendees inside of the Harvey Milk School on Sept. 11. Mei is managing the planning project for the consultant team.

By Kyla Calvert

Filling folding chairs on the floor and stage, perched on tables and standing along the walls, residents, property and business owners and other community members crowded into the Harvey Milk School auditorium on Sept. 11th to participate in the first in a series of community workshops for the development of an Upper Market Community Plan.

The workshop series is part of the second phase of a process begun by the City’s Planning Department over a year ago to create a set of documents that will serve as a guideline for the future development of the Market Street corridor between Octavia Boulevard and Castro Street.

The first phase of the project consisted of Planning Department staff and a team of consultants assessing the area’s existing conditions and conducting interviews with LGBT youth who live in or visit the neighborhoods covered in the community plan.

“We are here tonight to gather ideas from community members about what the community needs,” explained Supervisor Bevan Dufty, sponsor of the project. “Having a broad base of community support for the ideas proposed in the final community plan leads to more funding opportunities for the developments we want to see in our neighborhoods.”

The workshop began with a presentation of the area’s existing conditions and was then opened up for group discussion in which attendees were invited to share their concerns about future development and their vision for the community. Following this discussion, attendees broke up into small brainstorming groups.

“I was really impressed by the consensus that came out of the small group discussions,” said Steve Hall, a member of the Eureka Valley Promotion Association, at the end of the evening.

“During the large group discussion you had people talking about whether their view will be obstructed, or whether they’ll be able to find street parking in the future. In the small group discussions, everyone seemed to be able to put those things aside and focus on their similar concerns,” Hall said.

Common themes arising from the small group discussions included the desire for more green space along Market Street, a need for the development of affordable housing throughout the area and a concern about making the triple intersections along Market Street safer and more pedestrian friendly.

Participants also expressed an interest in protecting the unique social character of the area as an important historical and social destination for the LGBT community while continuing to be a place that welcomes, and is inclusive of, a diverse array of people.

While community members were enthusiastic about laying out their vision for the area’s future, several concerns were raised about existing development proposals for the area.

“I fail to understand how adding 12,000 people that the proposed condo developments will house in the area is going to make living here better,” said Craig O’Connor, president of the Mint Hill Neighborhood Association. “There just aren’t enough facilities to accommodate a huge influx of residents.”

“The completed community plan can serve to inform future zoning decision and help give direction for development by setting out guidelines for design and building standards and requirements,” explained Daniel Iacofano of Moore Iacofano Goltsman (MIG), an urban planning and design firm hired by the City to work on the project. “It can also be the underpinning for historical designations that may protect current structures along the Market Street corridor.”

The second community workshop will be held on Saturday, Oct. 27th at the Harvey Milk School auditorium at 10 a.m. The project team will present the community vision compiled at the first workshop and those in attendance will have the opportunity to comment.

The project team will also present an economic analysis of the area and their further assessment of the existing conditions.

For more information, or to see the presentation and notes from the first community workshop, visit sfgov.org/site/planning_index.asp?id=66778.

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