The largest housing development planned for the Mission District was resurrected earlier this month after a lengthy delay. A City Hall hearing saw opponents call for 100 percent affordable housing on-site and complain that the tall towers planned for the corner 16th and Mission streets — two buildings are 10 stories, the other five — would cast a shadow on a nearby school.
We asked candidates for District Nine for their position on the project.
What is your position on the housing development planned for 16th and Mission? What would you like to see on the site?
Respuestas en español aquí.
Iswari España, Training Officer with the San Francisco Human Services Agency
I am concerned that the proposed project neglects to address the environmental impact on the neighborhood. Anyone who does not see a problem with affecting a school with our children does not care about our community. Ideally, I would like to see 100% affordable housing built on the site in order to help in fulfilling the needs of the community. I want to see 2 or 3 bedroom structures to meet the needs of families.
Hillary Ronen, Chief of Staff for Supervisor David Campos
Given the proximity to various lines and forms of public transportation, the saturation of social services in the area, and the fact that rampant displacement of working and middle income people in the Mission is an acute crisis, I believe the site at 16th & Mission is ideal for a 100% affordable development. It would be wonderful if the owner sold the land to the City to develop housing for working and middle income San Franciscans. If the owner is unwilling to do so, I would like to see the developers of this site radically change their attitude and approach to working with community stakeholders, Marshall Elementary School, and City Hall officials to propose a project that is both economically feasible but also adds significant affordable housing stock to the Mission.
Melissa San Miguel, education advocate
The Mission has borne the brunt of the affordable housing crisis in San Francisco, and I am appalled at the continued lack of leadership on this issue by the city’s leadership. There are thousands of working and middle-income families being pushed out of the very neighborhoods they built. Yet, still there is no plan for addressing this crisis, let alone solving it. We need leadership that is ready to focus on the housing crisis, and able to establish a coherent approach that puts us on a path to a resolution. That’s why I’m running for office — to get results for the community I grew up in.
Joshua Arce, civil rights attorney and Community Liaison for Laborers Local 261
The $7,500 per month Vida condos on Mission and 22nd are the legacy of a decade of disappointment in which our district has seen no affordable housing built for low- and middle-income families. City Hall has been slow to respond to the affordability crisis, slow to build housing, and slow to push for maximum affordability for all of us.
I worked with community members, labor leaders, and local artists to secure more affordable housing and PDR replacement at 2000 Bryant Street and it takes this type of collaborative approach to address the housing crisis with more than talk.
The corner of 16th and Mission is a transit-rich location which provides an important opportunity to reverse the district’s failed housing policy and deliver an important win for the community. But it will take an approach like the one we utilized at 2000 Bryant.
43 Questions is a weekly series — started 43 weeks before Election Day — to question the candidates running for District 9 supervisor. Send us questions to info@missionlocal.com and let us know in comments or in an email if you think candidates have answered as asked.