San Francisco Trades Jobs for Homes

The Planning Commission is considering rezoning areas in four neighborhoods. These areas contain about 5 million sq ft of light and small industrial use properties and may be converted into housing development.

All the areas involved are part of an earlier San Francisco, one that employed and prospered as the industrial part of the city: SOMA, Potrero, the Mission and the waterfront. The recent developments of the last 10-15 years show residential and office development has begun to compete with industrial uses.

I certainly appreciate the value that the influx of internet workers to our city has done. They bring wealth and creativity to San Francisco and have put us on the map in very different ways than ever before. I dont even mind being, in part, a bedroom community for Silicon Valley. But I dont think its in our best interest to shut out people who actually make things.

Im sure this has to do with the disappearance of blue collar working families everywhere, as countries like China and Mexico become the new American work bench.

What do we do with the labor force that are not programmers or scientists? Couldnt we support the re emergence of light industry to support working families, provide jobs and take back (at least in some small ways) some of the jobs we have lost to other countries. That would be a truly balanced program, not just some affordable housing, but to actually address the issues of non technical working people by supporting the development of new light industry.

Heres the Benefit

1. 10,000 new homes.

2. 15% must be low income

3. Higher tax revenues for the city

Heres the Cost:

1. A loss of economic diversity

2. A loss of blue collar jobs

3. A more homogenized San Francisco - LA north?

Attend the next meeting and tell them what you think....The next Board of Supervisors meeting is on Monday, September 15 starting around 1:30-2:00pm, room 263.


Thanks for Reading
Howard Bell
www.yourpropertypath.com
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