Should San Francisco Draw Line in Sand at 3400 Cesar Chavez?Randy Shawbyline‚ Jul. 16‚ 2007On July 17th, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will decide whether to give final approval for a 60-unit condo project at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Mission Streets. With thousands of high-rise luxury condos under construction in the city, the 3400 Cesar Chavez project seems a curious symbol for an all-out war against market-rate housing. But housing activists believe the Supervisors must draw a line in the sand against this project; they argue that its Mission location, close proximity to affordable family housing, and its inclusion of a 24-hour Walgreens – whose pervasiveness creates a generic quality to city neighborhoods – renders it unsuitable for the area. Should the Board use 3400 Cesar Chavez to send a message that the city does not want more market-rate housing, or is the appeal of the project’s environmental impact statement the wrong vehicle for this statement to be made? |