At PAR’s May 21, 2025, General Membership Meeting, Supervisor Connie Chan provided attendees with updates about our neighborhood.
Supervisor Chan began by providing a summary of City Hall’s expected budget shortfall, which will result in a 15% reduction for all City departments and an overall reduction in contract spending. Federal reductions to funding MediCal, MediCare, Section 8 and other social services will also create challenges for San Francisco.
Chan also answered audience questions about expanding rent control, which cannot be expanded without changing the state law, building more affordable housing, which is only possible if both the funds and the land is available, and possibilities for the Board of Supervisors to write and pass legislation preventing small businesses displacement from upzoning. One promising option that Supervisor Chan suggested is zoning control for legacy business, which would require developers to go through the Conditional Use Authorization process through the Planning Department. Supervisor Chan wants to make this permanent.
Supervisor Chan has introduced “Right to Know” legislation in anticipation of the approval of proposed upzoning legislation. If the City is upzoning in your area and you are impacted within 300 feet of a proposed upzoning, you will be mailed a postcard to be informed.
An additional question was asked about the Great Highway closure, and whether this closure was the result of “car dependence”. Sup. Chan responded that the Richmond is not a car dependent neighborhood and has some of the most effective and highly used bus lines in the entire City: 1-California, 5-Fulton, 38-Geary. Many people voted “No on K” because there are not enough North-South bus routes between the Richmond and the Sunset and the Great Highway remains a highly used road for commuters between the two neighborhoods and beyond.
This August, there are several (and a growing number) of private, ticketed concerts produced by Another Planet Entertainment (APE) planned for Golden Gate Park, including a 3-day Dead and Co. concert announced by Mayor Lurie, tickets for which are over $600. This will result in the closure of parts of Golden Gate Park for almost a month. There has been minimal consultation with the neighborhood about these concerts and closures.
Supervisor Connie Chan’s office hours are on Fridays from 10am - noon at Community Youth Center at 12th Avenue & Clement.