Vol. 168, Issue 5 | October 23 – November 6, 2019 | City College of San Francisco | Since 1935 | FREE
Faculty and Neighbors Voices Their Concerns About Proposed Housing Development for Balboa Reservoir By Caoilinn Goss
and educators from City College,” said Low. Neither the Board of The Balboa Reservoir Project Supervisors, the developers, nor has prompted concerns of traffic the Planning Commission have congestion by City College staff, specified how many units that has challenged the city’s definition would be, but all three institutions of affordable housing, and has have assured that some of the fanned the flames of a larger housing would be reserved for debate about the privatization of faculty, staff, and students. public land. The city will subsidize the The project itself, a proposed remaining 17 percent for both private housing development at income groups, comprised City College Ocean Campus’s partially of an undisclosed number western edge, published a Draft of for sale units capped at a single Environmental Impact Report income that is 105 percent of the for public review and comment city’s AMI. on Aug. 7. Traffic congestion of the The 17 acres of undeveloped surrounding streets, including but land identified as the reservoir, not limited to, Frida Kahlo Way are currently owned by the and Ocean Avenue, also pose San Francisco Public Utilities major concerns for those who are Commission and have been used Community members chalk the Balboa Resevoir Notice of Public Hearing bullitin to encourage students critics of the project. by City College for various reasons, to voice their opinions at a Sept. 12, 2019 hearing at City Hall. Photo Illustration by Claudia Drdul / “Supervisor Yee has been The Guardsman including a student parking lot adamant about the issue around since 1946. Housing, Pacific Union Devel- worked with the community roughly $60,000. transportation mitigation, ensuring San Francisco voters have opment Company, and Habitat members to push it to that level,” Another 15 percent will that we actually have transit access rejected three past propositions for for Humanity of Greater San said Jen Low, a legislative aide be subsidized by BRIDGE for and congestion mitigation given the city to sell the land to private Francisco to develop a housing to Supervisor Norman Yee who residents earning a single income the size and scale of the project. housing developers, most recently plan to combat the city’s lack of specializes in land use measures. of up to roughly $105,000 or 120 We already have a lot of issues, as in 1991. The current Balboa affordable housing. However, the 50 percent that percent of the city’s AMI. it stands, with Frida Kahlo Way Reservoir Project originated in The parameters for the is said to be set aside for affordable “City College faculty would and some of the intersections near November 2014 as part of the development, as it currently housing is actually much less. not qualify,” said Madeline the project site. We’ve been very Public Land for Housing Program stands, include a total of 1,110 BRIDGE Mission Housing Mueller, City College Music public about our concerns on the under former San Francisco housing units. Of those units, 50 will subsidize 18 percent of the Department Chair, in a public issue of traffic congestion and the mayor, Ed Lee. percent have been allocated as rental apartments for residents comment letter submitted to the impact it will have on our transit A development team was affordable housing. earning a single income of Planning Commission. system, especially with the K line” selected in 2017, including “I think when this project was up to 55 percent of the city’s “I believe they are negotiating said Low. AvalonBay Communities and initially conceptualized it wasn’t Average Median Income (AMI), an educator housing building that Balboa Reservoir continued BRIDGE Housing with Mission even at 50 percent. Our office putting the annual income cap at would potentially house faculty on page 3 cgoss2@mail.ccsf.edu
Buildings on Ocean Campus Evacuated After Bomb Threat By Meyer Gorelick msggorelick@gmail.com
Students and faculty on Ocean campus were evacuated from the Multi-Use building (MUB), Creative Arts, and Science Buildings Wednesday, Oct. 17 after an unidentified caller at 2 p.m. told campus police that a bomb would go off at a designated time in one of those buildings. Given the size of each building and the volume of students on campus, law enforcement made a joint decision to evacuate before conducting sweeps, said City College Chief of Police Colleen Fatooh. The goal was to make sure everyone was evacuated swiftly and safely without raising panic, said Fatooh. News choppers hovered over a tense scene as police cars, fire trucks and SFMTA vehicles blocked off Frida Kahlo Way during the evacuation. Students and faculty gathered on the sidewalk outside of the MUB, some asking about family, friends and coworkers who were still inside. “I was in the Creative Arts building and there were police tearing through trash cans and searching bathrooms, and they told me to get out,” Matt Wood, a 25-year-old economics major, said. “I walked into the Science building and there were fire alarms going off and they told me there was a bomb threat so I got out.” At 4:33 p.m. police officers and bomb sniffing dogs gathered outside Conlan Hall’s parking An SFPD officer closes off the Multi-Use Building (MUB) parking lot on Frida Kahlo Way and restricts access after a bomb threat was reported to the Ocean Campus on Oct. 17, 2019. After searching MUB, Science Hall, Student Health Center and Creative lot and announced that all three buildings were safe to enter. Arts, the campus was given the all-clear and classes resumed at 4:33 p.m. Photo by Franchon Smith / The Guardsman