San Francisco Nixes Housing Complex Over a Shadow

Apr 10, 2019

The sun will not shine on a 63-unit apartment complex in housing-hungry San Francisco because the proposed project would have cast an evening shadow over an adjacent park.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, the city’s Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected the development, which was to include 15 below-market-rate units, because it would cast an evening shadow on a portion of Victoria Manalo Draves Park. The shadow of the development would have covered the northeastern portion of the park, which features a basketball court, a children’s play area and grassy section favored by dog walkers.

Supervisor Matt Haney insisted that while San Francisco is in acute need for more housing, “this isn’t a meaningless shadow on someone’s backyard. This is a shadow that falls on the only multiuse public park in SoMa.”

However, Tim Colen of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition questioned the city’s priorities. “This is yet more evidence of why local jurisdictions are failing so badly to deliver the housing that the city needs to help the housing crisis,” he said. “The city’s housing crisis will not abate unless and until we dramatically increase production of housing projects exactly like this one.”

The project will now return to the city's Planning Commission for further review.

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Phil Hall

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Apr 10, 2019

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