Supervisor Katy Tang
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NOVEMBER 2015 SUNSET · PARKSIDE SUPERVISOR KATY TANG MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERVISOR Larsen Playground We are excited to share with you that Larsen Playground will be re-opening this month, and we welcome you all to celebrate the return of its jet-inspired play structure with us! Many of those who grew up in San Francisco remember Larsen Park as the “airplane park,” in reference to the decommissioned jet that served as a play structure from 1959 through 1993. Thanks to the Friends of Larsen Playground (including Cammy Blackstone and Nano Visser), former District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu, neighbors, and generous donors, we are proud to bring back one of San Francisco’s most missed landmarks in our district. We will be unveiling a sculpted replica of the F-8 Crusader jet to pay tribute to the great Larsen jet of the past – along with new playground features and new restrooms. Please bring your family to join us for the Larsen Playground Re-opening on Saturday, November 21, 2015 from 11:00AM-1:00PM at Larsen Playground (Vicente Street between 19th & 20th Avenue). For more information on the project, visit: www.sfrecpark.org/project/larsen-park-jet-playground Affordable Housing Bonus Program (AHBP) As San Francisco faces growing housing demands, it becomes increasingly important to preserve and protect our middle class working families. I recently co-sponsored legislation with Mayor Ed Lee to create a local Affordable Housing Bonus Program (AHBP). This program seeks to incentivize the development of affordable housing units throughout the City, including those that serve middle-income households and families needing 2-bedroom units. Requirements under the program In order to qualify for the optional local AHBP, a project must have 30% of its units as affordable. 18% must be dedicated to serving middle income households and 12% for low and very low-income households. Middle Income: • Up to 120% Area Median Income for rental units ($97,800 for 2-person household) • Up to 150% Area Median Income for ownership units ($122,250 for 2-person household) Low & very-low income: • Up to 55% Area Median Income for rental units ($44,850 for 2-person household) • Up to 90% Area Median Income for ownership units ($73,350 for 2-person household) Additionally, 40% of the units must be two-bedrooms. If these requirements are met, a project can receive density bonuses based on height and bulk controls and in accordance with the Planning Department’s design principles. They can also receive up to two additional stories. If projects include 100% affordable housing units, the building can receive up to three additional stories. This program does not apply to parcels in RH-1 or RH-2 zoning. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >> CITY HALL • 1 DR. CARLTON B. GOODLETT PLACE , ROOM 244 • SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102-4689 (415) 554-7460 • WEB: WWW.SFBOS.ORG/TANG • EMAIL: [email protected] TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE, @SupervisorTang CONTACT: [email protected] @KatyTangSF 1 MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERVISOR (CONTINUED) n some cases, the additional height increases can still potentially fall within existing height limits. For example, if a building is currently one-story, in a zone in which the height limit allows for four stories, and is developed Imeeting all requirements under this proposed program, the building could receive two additional stories. Once complete, with three total stories, the building is still within the existing four-story height limit. Why this legislation was introduced In addition to being one of several tools used by the City to incentivize the development of affordable and middle-income housing, San Francisco must comply with state law. Since 1979, California has had a State Density Bonus program that project sponsors can opt into. Under the state program, projects can receive density bonuses and height increases if they achieve 13% affordable units for rentals (at 55% Area Median Income) and 20% affordable units for ownership (at 90% Area Median Income). The state program does not have a requirement to provide for middle-income units. Density bonuses under state law range from 7 to 35%. The state law also required that each locality in California have their own law to either enable the State Density Bonus program, and/or to create their own program that meets or beats the state requirements. San Francisco has not done so yet. Additionally, a 2013 California Court of Appeal case (Latinos Unidos del Valle de Napa y Solano v. County of Napa) clarified that any residential development that provides affordable housing units on-site, including those provided to comply with local inclusionary programs, enable project sponsors to request a density bonus under the State Density Bonus Law. Thus, the legislation not only brings San Francisco into compliance with the state law, but provides developers with more parameters around height, which the state program does not do. Process On October 29, our office attended a community meeting hosted by the Outer Sunset Parkside Residents Association (OSPRA), attended by about 200 residents. Residents asked great questions and we plan to continue our work with the Planning Department and Mayor’s Office to address concerns. This is the first of many conversations about the AHBP, and there will be continued education and outreach efforts throughout the City. The Planning Commission will take formal action on the proposal tentatively planned for December. After the legislation is voted on by the Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee will deliberate on the item and then the full Board of Supervisors. There is currently no planned date set for the Land Use Committee hearing. Please stay tuned for updates on our social media accounts or you can email our office ([email protected]) to be informed about upcoming hearings. If you would like to request a meeting about this with your neighbors, please also contact our office. For more information, you can visit: http://bit.ly/1PC7Ius Please also read our fact sheet on the AHBP here: http://bit.ly/1MmGUca Outer Sunset Parkside Residents Association (OSPRA) Meeting on October 29, 2015 CITY HALL • 1 DR. CARLTON B. GOODLETT PLACE , ROOM 244 • SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102-4689 (415) 554-7460 • WEB: WWW.SFBOS.ORG/TANG • EMAIL: [email protected] TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE, @SupervisorTang CONTACT: [email protected] @KatyTangSF 2 CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE The Jets of Larsen Park By Woody LaBounty From 1959 to 1993, Larsen Park hosted three different retired Navy jets, each donated to serve as imaginative play structures for the children of the Parkside District. The first was a Grumman F-9 Cougar reconnaissance plane from Squadron VC-61, driven up from Moffett Field in Mountain View with the cooperation of the California Highway Patrol and all the police department jurisdictions in between. The second jet, a Navy F-J Fury, replaced the Grumman in 1967. Both jets had ladders added to help kids climb into the cockpits. The third, and perhaps best-remembered jet, as it occupied the park for eighteen years from 1975 to 1993, was an F-8 Crusader. A Marine helicopter dropped the plane in the San Francisco Zoo parking lot at Ocean Beach, and from there it was hauled up Sloat Boulevard to Larsen Park. Rather than being propped up like the previous jets, the F-8 sat flush on the grass, with a slide added to its side, and its jet intake tube making for a great crawling tunnel. [...] For many years after the jet’s removal, local children had to make do with an unimaginative basic playground across the street from the jet site. The slides, swings, and wood climbing structure deteriorated, and each was removed from use until we practically had nothing but sand. My daughter and I, walking home from West Portal Elementary School, would often stop for a quick spin on one of the last pieces, a small wobbly metal merry-go- round. [...] I very much sympathize with old-timers who wish a real Navy plane could have been obtained. The supervisor’s office tried. Modern safety regulations and the prohibitive expense in taking on and remediating a real jet just made it impossible, even if the government had aircraft to give. Also, San Francisco isn’t the Navy town it once was—many people object strongly to having an instrument of war in a public playground. More important than my nostalgia, or differences of opinion on the Armed Forces, is that children from the Parkside, Sunset, and those passing by who convince their parents to “please, please, please stop for a minute” have a place to play safely and let their imaginations soar. To read the full article, please visit www.outsidelands.org/larsen_park_jets.php. Woody LaBounty is a local historian and Executive Director of The Western Neighborhoods Project (www.outsidelands.org). The Western Neighborhoods Project is a nonprofit organization formed in 1999 to preserve and share the history and culture of the neighborhoods in western San Francisco. Please join us this month for the grand re-opening of the newly developed Larsen Playground and be one of the first people to enjoy the park’s new developments! The re-opening will take place at Larsen Park (Vicente Street, between 19th and 20th Avenue) on Saturday, November 21st, from 11:00am-1:00pm. For more information on the Larsen Playground Improvement Project, please visit http://bit.ly/1RkoZXJ. (Photo Credit: The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley) 3 UPCOMING NEIGHBORHOOD EVENTS Front Yard Ambassadors Program (FYAP) Planting We have our upcoming Fall 2015 Front Yard Ambassadors Program (FYAP) planting date set for November! Please join Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) in planting new front yard landscapes on two separate blocks in the Outer Sunset.