The Potrero team had a great time at Carnaval San Francisco over Memorial Day Weekend. We enjoyed celebrating the unofficial start to summer with you. In case you missed us, we’d like to share some updates for the Potrero Yard Modernization Project. This summer, we are planning an opportunity for the proposing developer teams to hear from you firsthand. Also, the project is achieving a major milestone with the Planning Department’s release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report!
Developers want to hear from you!
Earlier this year, San Francisco Public Works released the project Request for Proposals, providing the details for developer teams to prepare proposals to design, build, finance and maintain the nation’s first mixed-use bus yard. The Potrero Yard team is committed to a transparent process and is hosting a virtual community meeting so the public can provide feedback to the developer teams before they submit their proposals. Each of the proposing developer teams are providing questions to SFMTA staff for responses from the community. We hope you will join us on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, for this bilingual (English and Spanish) virtual community meeting to present these questions and record responses to share with the developers. This is a unique opportunity for the developers to understand community priorities and incorporate what they learn into their proposals.
For those who cannot participate in this virtual meeting, the SFMTA will provide an opportunity to respond to these questions in writing online. The questionnaire will be available starting July 13 on the Potrero Yard Modernization Project webpage and will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Filipino.
The Planning Department is releasing the Draft Environmental Impact Report on June 30!
You may have noticed signs posted all around the Potrero Yard site. These signs advertise that the San Francisco Planning Department has issued the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for this project and that it is available for public review and comment. The EIR provides decision-makers and the public with an objective analysis of the potential immediate and long-range environmental effects of the Project. Comments made in response to the Draft EIR will be addressed in an upcoming Response to Comments, which is the next step in the process.
The Potrero Yard Modernization Project will have a two-month public comment period, giving community members ample time to review and comment on the findings of the Draft EIR. The public comment period begins July 1 and ends August 31, 2021. To view the Draft EIR and provide comment, visit the Planning Department Environmental Review Documents webpage.
Public comments on the Draft EIR can also be made at a public hearing. The Planning Commission will hear public comments on the Draft EIR on Thursday, August 26 at its regular meeting. In addition, the Historic Preservation Commission will meet on Wednesday, August 4 and members of the public are welcome to speak to the Historic Preservation Commission on this project.
Written comments on the Draft EIR may be submitted by sending a letter to the Planning Department, 49 South Van Ness Avenue, Suite 1400, 94103, or by email to CPC.PotreroYardEIR@sfgov.org.
For more information on the environmental review process for this project, please contact Jennifer McKellar at 628.652.7563 or email CPC.PotreroYardEIR@sfgov.org.
Looking ahead to fall
As San Francisco continues to reopen, the SFMTA is working closely with the Department of Public Health to determine when we can resume walking tours of the one-hundred-year-old transit facility. When the tours can resume, we’ll let you know. Until then, feel free to contact us at PotreroYard@sfmta.com or 415.646.2223 for more information about the Potrero Yard project.
Enjoy your summer and stay safe!