An ideal neighborhood for San Francisco

Market-Octavia plan a model of healthy urban design

Could San Francisco prepare a development plan that fulfills virtually every Sierra Club guideline for an urban community? Not only could it - it has.

The plan for redevelopment of the Market-Octavia neighborhood, developed by the San Francisco Planning Department, is it!

The impetus for the plan came in 1998 when the voters decided to tear down over a half mile of the Central Freeway north of Market Street, thus freeing space for a new community. The plan also covers nearby areas south of and along Market Street.

The Planning Department worked closely with neighborhood residents and the general public for over two years, through countless meetings and field trips. Through this process they developed "Eight Elements of a Good Neighborhood", a formulation that will be valuable for developing "safe and healthy communities" throughout the Bay Area. Many policies developed through the years by the Sierra Club's San Francisco Group fit into the implementation of the Elements. The plan includes zoning controls based on the best examples from other San Francisco neighborhoods, and takes ideas for pedestrian safety and ambience from around the world.

The plan area includes about 90 square blocks and runs about 1.25 miles along Market Street and about a mile on a north-south axis. The northern part of the area is only a block from the Opera House.

The Eight Elements

Walk to shops. The plan emphasizes mixed-used buildings with commercial uses under housing, and most of the housing is dense. This juxtaposition creates a critical mass of residents for services and shopping: businesses prosper because there are plenty of potential customers nearby, and residents patronize these neighborhood businesses because they are within an easy five- to 10-minute walk. Ultimately even the local Safeway and its parking are to be relocated with housing above the store.

Getting around easily and Safe streets. Octavia Boulevard, replacing the freeway, will have the heaviest traffic. It is not an ideal element for a livable community, but it was a necessary element to enable planning to proceed, and at least it will have planted strips on the sides separating residences and sidewalks from heavy traffic.

With lots of people on the sidewalks on all the streets, walking to transit and shopping, along with the windows of all the residences, the neighborhood has what Jane Jacobs called "eyes on the streets": pedestrians never need to feel isolated.

Detailed street design encourages safe walking. Intersections have appropriate corner bulbs (to shorten the length of the crosswalk), safety medians, and countdown timers. Some alleys are recommended for conversion to "living streets", an idea adapted from Europe, where cars and pedestrians share narrow former roadways converted to walkways. Cars are allowed here in a subordinate role, kept in check by careful location of trees, plantings, and street furniture.

The plan will prohibit curb cuts and garage openings from major commercial streets. Garage doors are unattractive, and the curb cuts prevent placing trees and street furniture. Curb cuts are bad for pedestrians since cars often use them to block the sidewalk, and curb cuts eliminate curbside parking. (Some curb-side parking is necessary for deliveries, services, contractors, and visitors.)

Upper levels of housing will be set back from the building fronts to allow sun to reach the sidewalks, and some sidewalks will be widened to make walking more pleasant.

Housing choices. The housing will be a mix of condos and rental units, including affordable ones. The upper stories of the tallest apartment houses will be the most expensive.

All parking will be purchased or rented separately from housing; each household will make its own decision whether it needs parking. The densest housing, and other uses which draw in lots of people, will be located closest to the best transit.

Gathering places. The area has no large parks. The plan therefore includes new small parks and mini-plazas, utilizing corner or mid-block bulbs and wider sidewalks with new tree plantings. Roof-top gardens will also be encouraged.

Special character. Historic buildings and sound housing will be preserved. Lot sizes are limited to maintain architectural variety.

Part of the whole and City services. These two elements are less related to Sierra Club's concerns.

Transportation

Good mobility is closely tied in to the Elements. A dozen Muni and BART transit lines cross the area, and residents can walk to cultural venues and employment sites. The area is historically transit-oriented.

Because of the good transit, developers will not be required to build parking. Instead of parking minimums there will be maximums, generally three-quarters of a space per housing unit andone space per 2,500 square feet of commercial development (instead of the current minimum of 10 spaces per 5,000 square feet).

The plan, based on proposals by the San Francisco Group, limits the number of residential parking permits to being lower than the number of spaces available, but detailed legislation is yet to be written. Existing residents will continue to get their existing permits, even if these permits exceed the limit, but then no new permits will be issued until the number drops below the limit, as permit holders die or move away. A resident with a permit will then be able to count on actually finding a space. This helped reassure current residents about the reduced parking provided with new development.

The future

The plan projects that about 5,000 new units, along with necessary commercial and some office development, will be built in the Market-Octavia area over the next 20 years. Ultimate development will be more than twice as much.

Land has been sold to developers for some of the housing portions of the plan, and the plan's Environmental Impact Report is scheduled for certification this spring. The plan and accompanying changes in the Planning Code will then come to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors for approval.

You can read the full plan at www.sfgov.org/site/planning_index.asp?id=25188

Howard Strassner