Upper Noe Neighbors
March 19, 2025
Upper Noe Recreation Center

Agenda
* Land Use Report
* Upzoning with SF Planning Dept. Rachael Tanner and Lisa Chen
* Neighborhood discussion group Let’s Pay Attention
* D8 updates with Supervisor Mandelman and new Legislative Aide Anh Ha
* UNN Officers and Board annual election
* Next steps for the Church Street Lighting project

Land Use Five Year Report (Andy)
1) Reviewed permits in our area that require notification through SF Planning. UNN only gets involved when members ask.
2) Helped members to navigate the permit process for approvals or to modify adjacent development and went with them to Planning, if necessary.
3) Met with the developer of 1900 Diamond project to suggest modifications.
4) Helped influence Sanchez Slow Street design and balance neighborhood and residents’ concerns.
5) Explored options for improving the Church Street commercial corridor.

Upzoning –
Rachael Tanner and Lisa Chen from SF Planning Dept shared about the process. While a draft rezoning proposal was introduced last year, the Planning Department is reworking the proposal and will debuted the new draft on April 10. UNN will solicit feedback at a later date including at a Land Use public discussion on April 2 at the rec center. UNN has no position on this topic and is currently seeking input from our membership.

San Francisco is implementing a rezoning plan to allow for more density as required by state housing laws, with a deadline of January 31, 2026 to complete the rezoning.
The stated goals of the project include:
• Working to reverse housing segregation in compliance with state Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing requirements
• Strengthening our communities by adding new neighbors and resources
• Coordinating new development with investments in infrastructure and services
• Adding a variety of housing types, including more affordable housing

The rezoning originates in the city’s 2022 Housing Element Update (adopted in January 2023) and requires the city to accommodate approximately 82,000 new housing units by 2030 to meet its regional housing need allocation (RHNA).

SF is rezoning to make housing available to people who want to be here. It is essential and born out of data. City is starting to grow again. Prices are still high. One third of renters are burdened by the cost. People are waiting for affordable housing. (she goes through the presentation).

View the presentation at https://tinyurl.com/2x4k37r4. (Additionally, this PDF version of the slide show includes the notes, which are accessible with Adobe Reader or with Chrome using a PDF plug-in.)

Q&A –
Q: What type of feedback is useful to Planning? A: Any type, specific parcels, the more specific the better.
Q: How is infrastructure coordinated? A: Planning is probably going to be incremental; rezoning looks at financial feasibility. The economy is the limiting factor; cost may cause delays. Mid-range is more feasible.

Jimmy Chin – was introduced as the new recreation director at Upper Noe.

Let’s Pay Attention Group –
Wendy Bertrand, retired architect, announces a neighborhood discussion group focusing on racial and social equity, environmental justice, and accessibility. Email hello@uppernoeneighbors.com to learn how to join in.

Supervisor Mandelman –
President of the Board of Supervisors (BOS), he has two years remaining in his term. Ahn Ha is now the legislative aide for our area, replacing Henry DeRuff who left the District 8 office.

Mayor Lurie has been able to get stuff done. BOS assisted the remaking of the Police Commission. Homelessness and mental illness are getting lots of resources; street teams are being reorganized. Some displacement is taking place; the Mission is taking the brunt of this. The budget challenge is $300M now. Getting worse and worse. SF is going to lose some Federal reimbursement money. We don’t know what Trump administration is going to do. Urban Alchemy and transportation funding may go away. Legislating accessibility and AD compliance. Questions about how City should punish non-compliant but not going after them now. Open For Business program makes City contracting easier, simplifies process.33 speed cameras have been installed; small fine and no insurance points. Parklets have received deferred payments but owners are getting rid of them and some are being used for storage, misusing public street space. Best way to reach him is through mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org .

UNN Officers and Board annual election – The election returned the current office holders to serve another year. Thank you UNN Board for your service.
Chris Faust – president
Ryan Patterson – vice-president
Tony Harris – treasurer
Bryan Klofas – secretary
Andy  Levine – director-at-large
Judy Marrocco – director-at-large
Rebecca Golden – director-at-large

Church Street Lighting – (Rebecca) response has been positive so far, so expansion is in the works for the east side of Church St from Day St to Duncan. Expect the lights to be up in the next few weeks.

Treasurer Report – Tony delivered a very detailed summary of accomplishments, assets and expenses. UNN is solvent. However, we expect increased expenses in the coming year and a greater emphasis will be placed on collecting membership dues ($20/yr)
https://uppernoeneighbors.com/membership/

NEXT UNN MEETING – May 21 at 7 pm

Upper Noe Neighbors Board
Chris Faust, president
hello@uppernoeneighbors.com

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