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Hardware Wars continued:
The continuing saga in the fight against This is the month (January 2002) that will most likely decide the future of the Home Depot project on Bayshore Boulevard. Regular readers of the Hardware Hotline are aware that Home Depot wishes to build the largest Home Depot in the country at the combined former sites of Goodman Lumber and Whole Earth Access. Some time in January (or perhaps February 2002), two things will occur that will determine the future of the retail character of our community. Negative Declaration Home Depot's request for a permit to build their 149,000-square-foot behemoth, along with a three-story, 500-car parking garage, was given a "Negative Declaration" determination by San Francisco's Planning Department. In English, that means that the city has determined that it is not necessary for Home Depot to produce an Environmental Impact Report. The bit of information that was submitted with their application was apparently good enough for the city of San Francisco. But not for our local business community, nor the entire Bernal Heights neighborhood. Appeals were filed by the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center and a business group led by The city was impressed enough with the efficacy of these appeals to require Home Depot to go back to the drawing board to answer our many, many concerns, including the horrendous traffic mess this project will cause on Cortland and Cesar Chavez. Some time this month or early next month (as yet unscheduled), the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing with regard to our requests that a complete Environmental Impact Report be commissioned. Big Box, a Conditional Use Also this month, we anticipate that legislation put forth by Supervisor Tom Ammiano to make "big box" retail a conditional use in San Francisco will begin to move through the committee hearing process, and possibly be presented to the full Board of Supervisors for a vote. Supervisor Ammiano's proposed legislation will make big box retail over 50,000-square-feet a conditional use anywhere in the city of San Francisco except downtown (grocery stores are also exempt). This temporary legislation is necessary until the city can consider permanent legislation on the efficacy of big box retail. Without this legislation, big box retail can enter our city without public input. Zoning laws such as conditional use legislation are a powerful tool for our citizens to shape the retail character of our community, and encourage a locally rooted economy. This is critically important! Certainly today, we are fighting to stop Home Depot. But the battle is also against its cousins: Wal-Mart, Loews, Sam's Club, Ikea, Target and more. If Home Depot gets in, Pandora's box will open wide, allowing other big category and neighborhood-killing businesses into San Francisco. Supervisor Ammiano's legislation makes sure that you have a voice in the decision-making process on each of these proposals. Big box retailers have saturated rural and suburban America. In order to maintain growth and to satisfy Wall Street, they must continue to grow. The last battlefield is Urban America. Wal-Mart is trying to enter historic, downtown New Orleans, Ikea is fighting to get into Brooklyn (last month they were rebuffed in East Palo Alto, California), and of course Home Depot is trying to break into San Francisco. In my opinion, San Francisco must be the "line in the sand," and an inspiration and model to other urban communities around the country. If you are interested in following these issues as they mature, drop me an
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