This week’s workload at City Hall looks to be lighter than last week as the board of supervisors prepares to adjourn for summer recess through August. Nevertheless, some significant issues under the spotlight include whether to ban “whippets,” finalizing appointments to the Planning Commission, and settling sore spots in a relationship between the city and a major tech bus provider.
Last week we hinted that changes were coming to the Planning Commission, and one big manifestation of those changes occurred last Thursday when the body approved its first project under the city’s Family Zoning Plan, an 85-plus-foot condo tower on Anza Street in the Inner Richmond. The building includes eight family-size units, two of which are deed-restricted as affordable. It’s a policy milestone for San Francisco, but with fewer than 11 units, it could have been approved under recent state laws if it weren’t for the fact that it will replace an existing duplex.
On Monday, the Supervisor’s Rules Committee will review three new appointments to fill vacancies on the commission: now-former SFMTA director Mike Chen, nominated by Mayor Daniel Lurie; U.C. Berkeley planning professor Elizabeth Macdonald, from Supervisors’ President Rafael Mandelman; and Joel Koppel, governmental affairs chief at the San Francisco Electrical Contractors Association, also from Mandelman. Koppel served on the commission previously from 2016 to 2024, including two years as president. Chen resigned from the MTA board last week, which opens up a seat on that commission…