Will SF Voters Get Final Say Over Waterfront Development?

"A ballot measure proposed for the June election would require voter approval if developments exceed existing waterfront height limits, which generally range from 40 to 105 feet," writes Joshua Sabatini. "While critics may lambaste the effort as anti-development, proponents say the measure is necessary to protect the beloved waterfront."

The initiative, which is being led by Rebecca Evans, chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s San Francisco chapter, follows the successful defeat by voters last November of a luxury waterfront condominium development that had been approved by the city's Board of Supervisors.

"Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of the urban policy think tank SPUR, was critical of the measure," notes Sabatini. “The ballot box is the worst place to make complicated planning decisions,” he said.