You haven't forgotten about the Mission Moratorium, have you? Officially known as Proposition I, the failed measure sought to block construction of all housing in the Mission District for two years that wasn't 100 percent affordable. Well, according to Mission Local, it's back — albeit in a scaled-back form.
Backer of the Mission Moratorium Supervisor David Campos this past Wednesday sent a letter to the Planning Commission requesting that all market-rate housing in the area of the 24th Street corridor be blocked until the commission can study it further — the findings of which would allow him to write legislation that will more tightly regulate the types of development allowed. The area in question is sizable, and runs along 24th Street from Potrero Avenue to Mission Street, between Cesar Chavez and 22nd.
That's roughly sixty blocks.
“These and several market-rate projects in and next to the cultural district could transform the district and threaten to displace long-time residents, businesses, and non-profits,” Campos wrote of three developments totaling 293 units. “The Planning Department should consider the impacts of these projects on the Latino Cultural District and develop measures that will mitigate those impacts.”
The latest proposal is similar to the Mission Moratorium in that the freeze on development itself is not meant to be the solution. Rather, the goal is to pause things so that a solution — in this case legislation crafted by Campos — can be figured out.
A city report, commissioned last May by Supervisors Wiener and Farrell, suggested that Proposition I would likely fail in reducing evictions and slowing gentrification. Whether those findings will come into play this time around is anyone's guess, but the latest move from Campos makes good on a promise he made at last year's Mission District progressive-HQ election party.
"The development community spent a lot of money against Prop I, and I think the fact that they spent as much as they did tells you that they're really scared," he told SFist. "We're not gonna give up on this city without a fight, and the next fight will be next year. I don't know exactly what will be on the ballot, but it'll be something."
