By Erik Honda, Paige Rausser, and David Troup (DTNA Board members who live on Henry, Beaver, and 15th Streets)

A large and boisterous crowd of over fifty people turned out for our June General Meeting to hear from supervisor Rafael Mandelman and representatives from the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA) about proposed changes to the Noe Slow Street. MTA had placed flyers in the neighborhood about some proposed changes, along with a link to their website that described various proposals, but prior to this meeting had held no public discussions of the matter, so DTNA pressed them to comeand take questions. DTNA Vision 2030 co-chair Hans Galland explained that these changes were not initiated or pushed by DTNA – we supported Noe Slow Street during the pandemic but in response to neighbor surveys Vision 2030 has recently been focused on pedestrian danger and traffic flow problems at intersections on the north side of the Triangle – at Sanchez, Steiner and Duboce, and at 14th and Sanchez.

The MTA Representatives, transportation planner Julia Malmo and associate engineer Ellen Robinson, gave a history of the nineteen Slow Streets approved by the city starting in 2021, and the mandates the city has put in place to make those streets truly slow. The number of vehicles must not exceed 1,000 per day, and the average speed cannot top 15 mph. MTA clocked speeds and made vehicle counts on Noe Street, and while speeds 

were close to the goal (16 mph), average traffic was well over the goal (1,700 vehicles a day). As a result they looked at “volume management tools” – different forms of diversions to turn cars away from the Slow Street; you can see the options (a traffic diverter at 15

thto reduce northbound traffic, changing the loading zone there to a painted safety zone, and adding speed bumps between Beaver and 15th) athttps://www.sfmta.com/projects/noe-slow-street and settled on the traffic diverter option. Many attendees felt that this change would make Noe Streetonly marginally safer, while making surrounding blocks significantly less safe.

Neighbors expressed concerns that these changes will negatively affect traffic on other streets in the Triangle (primarily 15th, as cars will turn off Noe onto 15th) and suggested other options like allowing a left turn off Market onto Castro (since Castro is the major north/south artery in the area). MTA is still taking feedback (you can provide yours on the website above) and will hold a public hearing on the matter (you should be able to sign up to get a text or email about the meeting on the same website). Supervisor Mandelman also asked folks to reach out to him by emailing or calling his office. He is supportive of the Vision 2030 plan to reduce traffic speeds and increase pedestrian safety throughout the Triangle as a whole, and opined that MTA should be looking at the broader picture rather than focusing on single streets. DTNA concurs – at its July meeting the DTNA Board approved a resolution to ask MTA to consider the impacts of their implementation on the rest of the neighborhood before considering paths to move forward, and to consider the viability of an option which adds guidance signs to the current configuration of barriers. Stay tuned!

Solidcore, a national fitness chain, presented their plan for activating the retail space at the corner of 15th Street and Market that has been vacant for 10 years. They have a 10-year lease and are seeking conditional use permission for Formula One retail use of the space. The Board unanimously voted to support the project.

The Board also voted to support the landmarking of the Rainbow Flag at Harvey Milk Plaza.

WiggleFest was a success. Efforts at traffic calming on Steiner, Deboce at Sanchez & 14th Street, Noe at 14th Street, and crosswalks at Noe at Beaver & 15th Street are being pursued.

Board approved DTNA privacy statement and membership area map including one block beyond DTNA boundaries where neighbors are eligible for membership.

By Erik Honda, DTNA Editor

A healthy crowd of engaged neighbors showed up at Harvey Milk Rec Center for our August meeting to hear the results of the DTNA logo contest and to organize around traffic safety.

The logo contest was competitive, with sixteen different submissions from nine different artists, and resulted in some tough and closely contested votes both by the neighborhood and the Board. DTNA President Frank Tizedes announced and gave gift certificates to the winner and runner up, Annie Prowell and Alex Ron, and thanked all the contestants for their submissions. Frank also gave a special gift to our young (under 12) artists, he knows they will be ongoing contributors to the Triangle as they grow. To see the new logo check out our website, and also check out Prowell’s artist’s statement on page [insert page # here] of this newsletter.

Frank also made announcements about the long-delayed Bureau of Urban Forestry tree planting scheduled to begin soon in the Triangle, and celebrated the 50-plus volunteers we have gathered to water the trees. Thank you!!! He also encouraged folks to turn out for our now-monthly neighborhood cleanup days with Refuse Refuse, and to attend an upcoming meeting on densification of the neighborhood (see the cover story of our August/September newsletter).

Vision 2030 co-chair Hans Galland presented on our ongoing work on the Sanchez-Steiner corridor, and plans for our Sunday October 22 Wiggle Fest block party co-hosted with the SF Bicycle Coalition, which will temporarily close Steiner between Duboce and Waller to car traffic, so we can have some learn-to-ride-a-bike clinics, bike obstacle course, free bike repair, and other Bike Coalition swag and events. Mark your calendar!

Captain Jack Hart of Park Station wrapped up the meeting by reporting on his recent work to beef up traffic enforcement in the Triangle (see article on page 5 of our August/September newsletter). Hart credited the efforts of both Supervisor Mandelman’s office and DTNA to convince his folks to devote some of their limited resources to returning to enforcement after a collapse during the pandemic. Neighbors thanked Captain Hart for the visible presence of officers and enforcement, and several felt that it was making a difference already. Captain Hart should have statistics on which violations are happening and where coming soon, so stay tuned!

A draft Privacy Statement was reviewed. After final editing, the draft will be presented to the Board for approval in October. A 2024 Board Election subcommittee was appointed to oversee the election process, screen nominees, and be a resource for anyone seeking an elected position.

The DTNA Logo Contest winner was selected in August as well as other awardees.

The next Triangle Clean-Up is Sunday, October 15th, and a Wiggle Fest is being organized for Sunday, October 22^nd on Steiner between Duboce & Hermann.

Discussed status of tree plantings, addressing SF Housing Element and Triangle Upzoning, membership recruitment, Davies noise persisting despite recent mitigations, role of various DTNA outreach tools. See newsletter articles and dtna.org for details.

The April General Public Meeting will be filled with great opportunities for neighbors to get involved and help build a community that supports us all:

●      Logo Contest: Creating an identity and brand for the neighborhood

●      Help Plant Trees and expand the Duboce Triangle Tree Canopy

●      Install Sidewalk Gardens near your homes – Bureau of Urban Forestry

●      Sidewalk Garden Park Safety Repairs on Noe and Sanchez, Department of Public Works

●      DTNA’s Vision 2030 projects – Hans Galland Coordinator

○      Safer Sanchez/Duboce/Steiner intersection

○      Duboce Triangle Commons: Activation of retail/restaurant/social Noe at Market

●      SF Housing Element updates

●      Rescue SF: Supporting shelter and care for the most vulnerable

●       

Let’s meet up, have fun and work towards creating opportunities that build community. We need your optimism and energy to help make a difference.

At our March meeting the Board certified the 2023 Board Election Results and welcomed three new Board Members - Secretary David Troup, Director Corbin Muraro, Director Dennis Richards, and new DTNA News Editor, Erik Honda. The Board approved an organizing resolution which describes logistics of how the board will operate this year. Dennis Richards was appointed Land Use Chair.

The Board also discussed and approved expenditures for some updates to our web presence, and explored the possibility of seeking National Historic District recognition. In addition, we planned community workshops to take input on the city’s newly approved Housing Element, as well as other topics to address with neighbors at the April General Meeting.

Erik Honda, DTNA Secretary

At our February General Meeting your neighborhood organization announced the results of our Board election, and welcomed new Secretary David Troup, new editor Erik Honda, as well as new Board Members Dennis Richards and Corbin Muraro. We also got out in front of other neighborhoods in the city by being the first neighborhood association to have the Planning Department present on the just-approved Housing Element, which is San Francisco’s road map for how to guide and invest in housing, which this cycle includes a plan to add 85,000 new housing units to the city by 2030.

A thoughtful and energetic group of neighbors, along with Super- visor Mandelman, gathered at Harvey Milk Rec Center to hear Planning’s Joshua Switsky lay out the plan. He noted that San Fran- cisco was one of the few cities to have its plan approved by the state, and also that the penalty for not approving the plan this time were strong – the plan had to be approved to get state afford- able housing and transportation

funds, and there were non-financial penalties like losing control of zoning and planning if was not approved. He also noted that it was the first Housing Element to really focus on racial and social equity – as seen in the accompanying illustration, the legacy of racist redlining in the 1940s and 1950s is still with us in terms of the economic and racial segregation of our neighborhoods, and in the recent steep decline in the Black and Native American populations in many parts of the city, including our own.

Switsky showed statistics reveal- ing that almost all (95%) the affordable housing that has been built over the last ten years has been in on the on east side of the city, so this plan focuses on the west side – upzoning building heights along Geary Boulevard in the Richmond district for ex- ample. More germane to Duboce Triangle, the plan also focuses affordable housing in highly re- sourced neighborhoods close to transit, which certainly includes ours. He showed three possible maps the city is considering, and all involve increased building heights along Market Street, but less so in what he called the “interstitial” blocks, which is the rest of the Triangle. He congratulated

us on being the first neighbor- hood association to engage in the process, and encouraged folks to sign up to engage more – you can get on the email list to give input by going to www.sfhousingelement.org. He explained that the input process will continue for the rest of this year, with the final plan fleshed out by late 2023.

Switsky and Supervisor Mandelman then took a number of thoughtful questions from the audience, including questions about the design standards for the new buildings, city subsidies to get stalled developments to start construction, repurposing office buildings into housing, housing as racial reparations, our terrible city process for permitting new construction, vacant units in Triangle affordable housing, streetscape redesign, and green space (which is part of the plan). One neighbor asked how they can support more building in general. The answer to that, as Joshua and a DTNA Board member told him, is to stay involved and have your voice heard at DTNA Land Use and General Meetings, and at the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. So... see you all at those meetings! Our next General Meeting is April 11 – see you there.

Joshua Switzky from SF Planning Department discussed the newest SF Housing Element and how the focus on the new housing density program will focus on equity and inclusion. Supervisor Rafael  Mandelman shared his vision for 2023 and how the challenges of a smaller tax base may impact all of us.

See the SF Planning presentation on the Housing Element here.

Contact Frank Tizedes, DTNA President, or Dennis Richards, new DTNA Land Use Chair, if you have any questions.

Communication Tools

Your Mail List Program (YMLP) is a software we use sending notifications to members. This includes letting subscribers know when a new issue of Duboce Triangle News is available for viewing online. YMLP will now include periodic messages from DTNA President. The Board of DTNA will continue to use Slack for internal communications.

DTNA Editor

After serving the neighborhood for two years, Rose Linke will be stepping down from her role as Editor of Duboce Triangle News, but will continue to contribute articles on neighborhood history, culture, and green spaces. Secretary Erik Honda to run for Editor in the upcoming election.

Website/Membership

The Board discussed website activation, adding a homepage carousel, and developing a page for Greening of the Triangle. Members-only online directory now populated with all member names. See the Membership/Website Tips article for all the details.

Land Use Updates

DTNA will take a critical look at proposed San Francisco Housing element and impacts on the neighborhood. Kevin Riley is stepping down as Chair of the Land Use Committee. We are grateful for his service and leadership for the last several years, and all that he has accomplished for the neighborhood. We know he will continue to do great things for the neighborhood, the City, and the greater Bay Area in his work as architect, educator, and advocate.

2023 DTNA Board Election:

There are two open Director seats and the Secretary position will be open with Erik Honda running for Editor. See 2023 DTNA Election article.

Upcoming Tuesday, February 14^th Public Meeting Agenda: DTNA Election

• Erik Honda, DTNA Secretary

  A healthy group of neighbors was on hand for the October DTNA general meeting at the Harvey Milk Community Center in Duboce Park. DTNA President and Noe Street neighbor Frank Tizedes opened the meeting by lauding the recent Bureau of Urban Forestry tree trimming which is finally taking place in the Triangle, and thanked neighbors who have stepped up to water trees that Friends of the Urban Forest will install in empty tree wells in front of their houses. If you have an empty space you ’d like filled, please contact us via our website at dtna.org.
  

  We also heard a presentation from the new captain at our local SFPD Park station. Captain Jack Hart says he will respond to every email to jack.hart@sfgov.org, so contact him with your concerns, it ’s better than calling 311. But call 911 in an emergency, and ask to speak to an officer (who can call you) if you make a report to find out what the resolution was.

• Neighbors asked Captain Hart about recent media reporting around “do nothing” police officers, a serial harasser (Bill Jean Hobbs) that as of the meeting day remained at large despite multiple police and DA contacts, a lack of traffic enforcement, and racial bias in policing. Hart responded that the investigation was ongoing with the harasser (he was arrested the following week) and that the department has been engaged in collaborative reform with the US Department of Justice. He conceded that the department is still both implicitly and explicitly biased, but believes he is doing his part to improve his department. Re: traffic enforcement, Hart said that the motorcycle detail is low on officers but asked us to email him about problem intersections and he will make it a priority. 
• We then heard a presentation on a proposed Duboce Triangle Historic District from Shannon Ferguson, a Senior Preservation Planner at the SF Planning Department. Shannon (a 15^th Street neighbor), explained how historical context statements provide a framework for evaluating historic resources, highlighting significant events or trends, important people, and distinctive architecture, and encouraged folks to check out ours on the SF Planning or DTNA websites. She explained that following community engagement this fall, our district will go to the Historic Preservation Commission in December. Former DTNA President and Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards explained how the process started way back in 2002, and emphasized that for most homeowners or renters, this designation would not change anything, except perhaps to increase the value of the property. It is already true that for major modifications to any property over 45 years old, they must be looked at by the Historic Preservation Commission. 
• Architectural Historian Christopher Ver Planck presented the broad outlines of his survey, which is 175 pages long, and which he encourages everyone to read on the website. The history of the Triangle is covered back to 10,000 years of Ohlone occupation, the Spanish era, the construction of the Victorian and Edwardian architecture in the 1870s through 1910s, little Scandinavia 1910-1930, the post WWII Fillmore-extension era, and the emergence of the Triangle as an LGBTQ+ neighborhood. He notes that the survey identified 37 structures that meet the standards for historic landmarking – a lot for such a small area. He suggests a 2^nd historic district called “Hillside Homes” landmarking the Victorian villas uphill from Noe between 14^th and 16^th. 
• Neighbors asked a lot of detailed and wonky questions, and Frank encouraged everyone to remain involved and engaged as the process moves forward. Land Use Chair Kevin Riley then gave an update on the last two years of the Slow Triangle process, now known as Duboce Triangle Vision 2030, and told neighbors how to get involved to set priorities for immediate action - painting out parking spaces, adding stop signs, yield signs, and raised crosswalks, and to help plan more rigorous interventions starting with a Noe Plaza “town square”, which DTNA is pursuing in collaboration with the Castro Merchants association. Email landuse@dtna.org if you’d like to be part of the planning.