The latest housing development to incur the wrath of neighbors is proposed for Cesar Chavez near Guerrero Street. Mission Local reports that the six-story building would replace what is now a one-story office building, and that neighbors of the future project voiced their varying displeasure at a Tuesday night meeting.
The main complaints? That the building would negatively impact their parking, and that it would cast a shadow. Oh, also, for good measure one neighbor worried that construction would disrupt his sleep.
At the Tuesday-night meeting, which had both neighbors and project architects in attendance, one neighbor argued that the number of planned parking spaces just wasn't enough. “I’d rather have more parking,” he explained. “We’ve lost so many parking spots in the neighborhood.”
The 24-unit development is designed to have 12 off-street parking spaces, which Mission Local reports is the maximum amount allowed for such a development under the city's transit-first policy.
Things soon went downhill. A different neighbor, who the paper identifies only as Ari, expressed concern that the 65-foot-tall building would block sunlight in his yard located 61 feet away. “Can we see a shadow study?" he asked.
“Are you going to pay for it?” David Sternberg, the lead architect, responded after noting that the city didn't require it for this project.
Sternberg then told those in attendance that the developer would likely pay into the city's affordable housing fund instead of building below-market-rate units on site — this didn't win him any fans.
“Yes I am adversarial,” activist Jackie Barshak told the architect in response. “I am against this project.”
Construction is expected to break ground in early 2018 — unless those opposed ask for a discretionary review, that is. In that case, the development would need to go before the Planning Commission and the timeline might get pushed back as a result.
