Bayview Redevelopment Hits Board of Supervisors Today

From today's BeyondChron,

A contentious proposal that would put more than half of the Bayview under the authority of the Redevelopment Agency will receive its first public hearing at the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee today. Previous hearings on the proposal at both the Planning Commission and Redevelopment Agency turned into knock-down, drag-out battles between supporters and opponents, with claims that the proposal would bring jobs and housing to the community clashing with fears it would irreversibly gentrify the neighborhood. Today’s hearing promises to be just as dramatic, and will set the tone for the upcoming debate at the full Board.

The Bayview Redevelopment Area would put 1,300 acres into the hands of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. The Agency would then administer future property tax revenues gained from parcels in that area, which they promise to use for ‘economic development’ and the building of affordable housing in the community.

Some Bayview residents attending previous hearings on the proposal said they believed a Redevelopment Area would spark job creation in their neighborhood, a vital need in their economically depressed community. In addition, they said many of these jobs would come from the building of businesses and housing on blighted land, which would substantially improve the Bayview.

Proponents also say that capturing property tax revenue to use specifically for the Bayview provides the best way to fund a rehabilitation of the area.

Others, however, fear the Redevelopment Agency hasn’t changed much since the 1960s and 70s, when vast swaths of the Fillmore and South of Market neighborhoods were leveled to make room for wealthier, less diverse residents. The believe a similar effort could now be coming to the Bayview.

'Eviction Notice' Served on Bayview/Hunters Point [SFHomeBlog]