Cow Hollow Association Newsletter |
|
In This Issue
STOP State Housing Bills: SB 9 & SB 10
Refuse Refuse SF: Needs Volunteers
Thank Our Police
Presidio Photo Contest
|
|
STOP
State Housing Bills SB 9 & SB 10
|
|
Every year the California State legislature puts forth ill-conceived housing density bills touted as promoting affordable housing. The public has pushed back and stopped many of the bills from becoming law. The reality is that these bills support the building of more market-rate housing with the "hope" that supply-side economics will trigger the lowering of housing prices. The facts tell a different story - see Embarcadero Institute's reporting. There is already an overproduction of market-rate housing, and yet the housing prices are still some of the highest in the country.
This year, Senators Scott Weiner and Toni Atkins have presented two upzoning bills. There has been little information in the press and media on the impact these bills will have on single-family housing in California.
SB9 (Senators Toni Atkins and Scott Wiener)
This divisive bill eliminates single-family zoning in California, a threat to millions of homeowners. Wiener has called yards and single-family homes “immoral.” SB 9 is not a “duplex” bill. It lets developers who purchase single-family lots (RH-1), choose from three (3) up-zoning scenarios, without a public hearing or public review:
- 4 stand-alone houses or 2 duplexes where 1 home stands now;
- 6 units, a mix of houses, duplexes, and granny flats, where 1 home stands now;
- 8 units, a mix of houses, duplexes, and granny flats unless a city rejects that plan
SB 9 works hand-in-hand with existing Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) law to quickly multiply upward from a simple “duplex” to 6, and even 8 units.
- No garage is required, just 1 parking “space” per unit, to squeeze in extreme density;
- No parking required if within ½ mile of major transit, or in a designated historic district, or when the ADU is part of another building
- No yard required, just 4-foot setbacks on side and back, crowding up against neighbors with the removal of open/green space
SB 9 allows speculators to create this density on lots as small as 1,200 sq. feet. It's a slippery slope that is eroding homeownership in California as investors and pension funds jump into bidding wars against families. Facing withering criticism, author Atkins, in a Sacramento Bee op-ed, said her bill gives “homeowners the opportunity to reimagine their property.”
SB 10 (Senator Scott Wiener)
This bill will allow cities to adopt an ordinance to zone any parcel of land for up to 10 units of housing if it is located in a transit-rich or jobs-rich area or is an urban infill site. The ordinance will not require environmental analysis.
- SB 10 overrides the 108-year-old constitutional right of Californians to pass ballot initiatives that politicians cannot undo.
- SB 10 allows 10-unit market-rate apartments to be built almost anywhere via simple approval of a city council, regardless of existing zoning or the city’s General Plan.
- Under SB 10, the 10-unit market-rate buildings could be approved by any of the 400-plus city councils on ANY land deemed “urban infill,” “transit-rich,” or “jobs-rich.
To voice your concerns about these bills:
Click here for details on how to send your comments to legislators in Sacramento.
To learn more:
|
|
Refuse Refuse SF
Removing Trash in our Neighborhoods
|
|
Refuse Refuse SF is a campaign to keep our streets and public spaces clean including supplying and organizing citizens to actively help cleanup. One of their first initiatives is to better understand the trash situation that is unique to each neighborhood by conducting waste audits to quantify the trash and find out where it accumulates.
They need several volunteers to help count and catalog the trash in Cow Hollow and the Marina in the coming weeks.
-
For the Cow Hollow Waste Audits, Fridays, June 11th and June 18th from 10:00am - 11:30am.
-
For the Marina Waste Audits, Tuesdays, June 15th and June 22nd from 10:00am - 11:30am.
|
|
Our local police have the same concerns that you and I do every morning when they get up, but there is one big difference, once they leave their homes they have to worry about their own safety while they are doing their job protecting us. This has become even more of a problem for them today as city police departments review their procedures for dealing with the public. A thank-you to the next police member you see will help them understand that we appreciate their dedicated work in keeping our city safe.
|
|
Presidio Trust Photo Contest |
|
The Presidio Trust is sponsoring a photo contest, "My Park Moment”, in which the public can submit photos taken in the Presidio or any park online to https://www.presidiotunneltops.gov/my-park-moment. Photoville will help the PT select 400 photos that will be exhibited. "The My Park Moment photo contest is an opportunity for anyone to share a photo of their favorite park experience. The deadline is May 31st. To enter, just submit a photo or photos of your favorite park memory – a family picnic, a trip to Yosemite, your last hike in the Presidio, or anything else you love to do in parks. This fall, we’ll select 400 photos to display in a free and family-friendly” outdoor photo show in the Presidio. There is even an opportunity for photographers and artists to receive awards for their visual stories.
|
|
Cow Hollow Association Board
David Bancroft, Anne Bertrand, Lori Brooke, Don Emmons,
Cynthia Gissler, Barbara Heffernan, Karen Laughlin,
Claire Mills, Victoria Osman, Veronica Taisch, Geoff Wood
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
