Battle Over Controversial S.F. Condos Goes to the Voters

Competing ballot measures in San Francisco's upcoming election will help decide whether a developer will be allowed to build a mid-rise luxury condo project along the city's waterfront. The Board of Supervisors approved the project last year.

1 minute read

September 24, 2013, 11:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Non-profits, neighborhood groups and Bay Area leaders are lining up to support competing ballot measures concerning the controversial 8 Washington mixed-use redevelopment project that will come before voters on Nov. 5. 

"Opponents of 8 Washington and its 134 very expensive condos are calling their effort No Wall on the Waterfront," explains John Wildermuth. "They argue that the plan for five- and six-story buildings along the Embarcadero and others behind them rising to 136 feet along Drumm Street shatter the long-standing 84-foot waterfront height limit and close off public sight lines."

"Supporters of the project, though, list their campaign group as Open Up the Waterfront, saying the condo development will eliminate a surface parking lot controlled by the port and a private tennis club now surrounded by more than 1,700 feet of 12-foot-high green fencing. It would add public open space, complete with wider walkways, new bike paths, sidewalk shops and open-air cafes."

"If both measures pass, the proposition that has the most votes is supposed to prevail, but in all likelihood would lead to more legal challenges."

Sunday, September 22, 2013 in San Francisco Chronicle

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