Updated 9/26

The Baylands Project is a proposal to develop 4,500 new units of housing (along with commercial and retail space) in Brisbane, just South of the San Francisco county line. Building more housing almost anywhere in the Bay is a plus, but the Baylands project has special advantages having to do with location, transportation, and land use.

The project site — and Brisbane itself, really — is as close to San Francisco as you can get without being inside the City. Adding more units there would help feed housing starved San Francisco neighborhoods like SOMA as well as housing constrained communities on the Peninsula. It’s housing exactly where housing is needed most.

The Baylands Project Area with current and proposed transit lines

The Baylands Project is also well positioned to increase population density without increasing traffic. The area is already serviced by MUNI, SamTrans and two Caltrain stops. With housing concentrated within a mile of these different options, new residents would have easy access to mass transit for both North and Southbound commutes, something that’s important as housing density is allowed to scale.

But the Baylands project has something else going for it that should make it even more attractive in terms of both politics and policy. There’s no one to displace.

There’s not much undeveloped land left in San Francisco proper. And when new development does occur, it often means knocking down an older building to make room for something new. This raises justifiable concerns about what happens to existing tenants and can be a sticking point for new development. But the Baylands project would avoid that entirely. The project site sits on top of land that’s currently unused and undeveloped, meaning there are no existing residents to displace or otherwise disturb. If there was ever a place to build more housing in the Bay Area, this would be it.

Naturally, because this is the Bay Area, there’s a small army standing in opposition. On August 25th, the Brisbane Planning Commission recommended that no housing whatsoever be allowed on the site. It’ll now be up to Brisbane’s City Council to render a final decision after a series of hearings starting this month.

Let’s be very clear. There is zero reason this project shouldn’t happen. It makes sense from every possible angle. It’s supported by housing advocates. It’s supported by environmentalists. It’s even supported by development skeptical progressives in SF. If this project fails to see the light of day, it’ll be because NIMBY homeowners were allowedto kill it. Not because it was in any way, shape or form bad policy.

So how to get 4,500 units of housing perfectly placed between job centers in SF and Peninsula? Take two preliminary steps.

Sign this petition telling the Brisbane City Council that they need to permit more housing than…well, none

Head down to this weeks Brisbane City Council meeting yourself. SFHAC and GrowSF are providing transportation for interested parties; click ‘interested’ on the Facebook page and they’ll reach out once details are finalized

Steps like sending a message to City Council or showing up at a meeting might sound trivial, but they’re exactly what NIMBYs do to kill housing. And when we fail to do the same, we surrender the field without a fight and nothing gets built by default.

Do the things. The petition will take you under 2 minutes. And if you decide to head down to the council meeting, transportation is covered (and I’m told there’ll be snacks).

The Baylands project represents a significant amount of new housing right where we need it most. If we do nothing, policy will dictated by individuals who value ‘neighborhood character’ over poverty, environmental degradation or the health of the regional economy; all things we can help address by allowing more housing to be built. We need this housing. We need it now. And we need to make sure the Brisbane City Council understands that.