San Francisco Examiner: "Redevelopment plan for San Francisco's Treasure Island approved by Board of Supervisors"

By Joshua Sabatini

Changes coming: The often-empty Treasure Island waterfront will likely be bustling after 8,000 units of housing are developed along with parks and open space. Nearly two decades in the making, a massive plan to redevelop Treasure Island was unanimously approved Tuesday amid concerns over traffic impacts and the loss of hundreds of below-market rate units.

With the vote by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, more than 8,000 residential units will be constructed on the man-made 550-acre island within 20 years, including a building as high as 450 feet. The project will also include 100,000 square feet of commercial space and 300 acres of park and open space.

The board also approved amendments increasing the amount of affordable housing in the project, requiring that maintenance and landscaping workers be paid prevailing wages, and requiring the developer to consult with experts in any historic preservation projects. It also required that the development be evaluated after a few years to see if it is meeting goals for transit usage. In addition, the board approved a requirement that the developer pay a fine of up to $10 million for development delays.

Tuesday’s vote was a decisive moment for the project, as it rejected an appeal of the project’s environmental review that was filed jointly by Golden Gate Audubon, the Sierra Club and former Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, among others. Concerns were raised about the number of parking spaces in the development, as well as a reduction of affordable housing units, from 2,400 to 2,000, due to a lack of funding.

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