SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- A resolution put before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors calling on the housing authority to present alternatives to the demolition of a public housing site was passed unanimously on Tuesday.
The resolution, put forth by Supervisor Dean Preston, was introduced at the requests of residents at the Plaza East in the Fillmore, a 193-unit complex located at 1360 Buchanan St. Earlier in the day, residents held a press conference to demand increased transparency about the future of their homes-- a site that had already been demolished and rebuilt 21 years prior.
Now the same developer wants to build market-rate housing on the site, which in San Francisco means pricy. "The residents at Plaza East have dealt with decades of government neglect and inaction," said Preston in a statement. "It's truly remarkable that after a year of obscuring their intentions, the developer now wants to bulldoze the property to make way for market-rate housing on a public housing site."
The developer, McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS) could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday. Preston said he stands with residents who want to see options, including plans that do not rely on market-rate units.
The resolution also references the HUD program known as Faircloth-to-RAD, which offers an opportunity to expand the number of units at Plaza East while keeping the complex affordable to low-income and working-class residents. "To date, the housing authority and MBS have dismissed, without even reaching out to HUD, the potential use of the program to ensure broader affordability at Plaza East," Preston said.
The resolution calls on the SF Housing Authority to explore alternatives, such as affordable housing. Plaza East resident Yolanda Marshall called for transparency from MBS.
"We are concerned that MBS will replace residents while building market-rate units for wealthy and mostly white residents in our predominantly Black community," she is quoted as saying in Preston's statement. Preston added that the previous demolition and rebuild done by the developer already displaced Black families from the Fillmore when it jettisoned 83 units and decreased the complex's size by 30 percent.
"With all this talk about investing in the Black community, I'd like to see it here," said Plaza East resident Rashad Owens. "Let the residents lead development planning that centers resident needs, keeps us housed, improves living conditions and offers more homes that members of our communit can afford."
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