SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved more than 1,000 new houses at the Balboa Reservoir site during a meeting on Tuesday, August 11.
The Balboa Reservoir site has been planned to be developed as 1,100 units of mixed-income housing, open space, and community amenities for more than a decade, according to the San Francisco Department of Planning website.
On August 11, that the board voted and reached an agreement that allows the developers to build 1,100 units of housing. The site is owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), located west of City College’s Ocean Campus, east of the Westwood Park neighborhood, and south of Archbishop Riordan High School, San Francisco Planning says.
San Francisco Planning describes the project’s history as below with the image of timeline.
In 2009: The Balboa Park Station Area Plan adopted. The plan supports developing the Balboa Reservoir site for housing which are designed to increase affordable housing for a variety of incomes, for example.
In 2014: Balboa Reservoir site identified for the Public Land for Housing Program. The Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Planning Department and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission initiated a study of the SFPUC-owned Balboa Reservoir site.
In 2015: Balboa Reservoir Community Advisory Committee (CAC) established
In 2017: Development team selected: AvalonBay Communities and BRIDGE Housing with Mission Housing, Pacific Union Development Company, and Habitat for Humanity of Greater San Francisco.
In 2018-2020: Refinement of draft master plan, environmental review, and project approvals
City College faculty leaders and students were opposed to the project at a news conference on August 10 and at a board meeting on August 11, before the Board of Supervisors approved the project, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
They argued 100 percent of the houses should be affordable. The property is used as a parking lot for City College of San Francisco students currently. A concern is that as people utilize private cars over trains and buses due to the coronavirus impact on the city’s public transportation system, students might not be able to park at the school.
