It’s ironic that the site of a longtime fast food restaurant — where predictable food was served with predictable haste — has become an emblem of City Hall’s incredible slowness and indecision.

The McDonald’s that stood at Haight and Stanyan streets for five decades attracted violent crime and open-air drug sales, and it had to go. After years of complaints from neighbors, the city bought the property in April 2018 for $15.5 million with plans to build 100% affordable housing on-site.

So 16 months later, the 38,000-square-foot parcel across the street from Golden Gate Park has been put to good use, right? Come on, folks. This is San Francisco.

Demolition of the old restaurant was supposed to occur quickly — as was the temporary activation of the space while the affordable housing plans were crafted. There was even a great proposal: a mix of soccer for low-income youth alongside food trucks, nonprofit space, a garden and more. It was one that neighbors put more than 100 hours of work into crafting, and yet it has been discarded by City Hall.

It could have been along the lines of Proxy, the popular mix of outdoor cinema, food, beer garden and art shows on a two-block stretch of city-owned land on Octavia Street in Hayes Valley. That’s still billed as temporary until development begins, though it’s now 9 years old. But there’s nothing cool, active or Proxy-esque about 730 Stanyan St. Instead, it’s a desolate parking lot surrounded by chain-link fencing and strewn with litter — and the city confoundingly intends to keep it that way until development begins, which is at least a year and a half away.

When I visited the other day, a sign hung on the fence announcing a community meeting about the affordable housing project that only time travelers can attend, seeing as how it happened on April 26, 2018. A whopping eight cars were parked inside, and a trash can spilled over with foul-smelling garbage.

“I can’t imagine why anyone would want this,” Steven Madrid, a board member of the Cole Valley Improvement Association, said as we talked in the depressing parking lot. His group helped craft the soccer plan at the behest of City Hall but was given the brush-off. “This is the entrance to one of the most famous parks in the world, and it’s just completely underutilized.”

It doesn’t have to be, though.

In December, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development issued a request for proposals to activate the site for three to five years, asking for plans that would provide a “mix of amenities to the public,” be financially self-sufficient and benefit low- to moderate-income people.

Madrid’s group, along with other neighborhood associations, teamed with Street Soccer USA, a national nonprofit that sets up artificial turf fields in low-income neighborhoods and teaches soccer and confidence-boosting life skills to kids, homeless families and people in recovery.

Street Soccer proposed setting up fields at the Stanyan Street site, and other groups got on board as part of one grand vision. Off the Grid agreed to bring its food trucks. S.F. Village, a community organization that tries to make aging easier, signed on to provide services for seniors. UCSF agreed to provide youth and senior wellness clinics. There were plans for an urban farm, art garden, play structure and culture events including poetry readings and movie nights.

It sounds great, right?

Even the Mayor’s Office of Housing agreed the Street Soccer plan was the best proposal, but opted for the parking lot instead. A July letter to Rob Cann, chief impact officer of Street Soccer USA, from Kate Hartley, the former director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing, vaguely states that “changed financial conditions at the city” prompted a “pause” on the activation of the space. But it sounds like the pause is a full-on stop.

Supervisor Vallie Brown, whose district includes 730 Stanyan, said the change in financial outlook refers to the placement of a $600 million housing bond on November’s ballot. Passage means development of the site could begin sooner than initially expected — within “18 months, two years at the most,” she said.

That means leaving the space empty so shovels can be in the ground as quickly as possible, she said. Brown said Cann of Street Soccer told her he could make the temporary use work only if it was for a five-year contract.

“I’m not slowing down housing — I just can’t,” she said.

Cann said his plan was for five years because that’s what the Mayor’s Office of Housing asked for, but that he’s flexible and whatever is installed can be taken down quickly when development is ready to begin. He said even if it’s for just one or two years, he’s “open to that conversation.”

Max Barnes, spokesman for the Mayor’s Office of Housing, said demolition of the restaurant should occur after Labor Day and his office will release a request for qualifications to choose a developer for 120 affordable rental units this month.

So with 16 months of city ownership plus two years to plan development plus time to build the units, we’re looking at a minimum of five years between purchase and anybody living at the site. That’s a long time for the neighborhood to live with this eyesore.

Barnes said the parking lot was chosen as the interim use because roadwork on Haight Street has meant limited parking spaces.

“We are providing the parking in response to concerns expressed by both merchants and neighbors regarding loss of parking,” he said.

But the roadwork and parking shortage were already known when the Mayor’s Office of Housing issued its request for proposals to activate the space. So City Hall just wasted a lot of people’s time.

Michelle Leighton, a board member of the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association, which helped craft the plan, said neighbors and the Street Soccer team spent hundreds of hours on the plan only to be told: “Never mind.”

“There are many of us who feel duped and taken advantage of by the whole situation,” she said, adding that she’s dubious development will really begin quickly at 730 Stanyan, considering the other city-owned parcels awaiting development that are ahead in the queue.

“It has made me sour much more on City Hall,” she said. “It would have been much more palatable to everyone in the community if they had just been forthright from the beginning. Just let us know what’s going on.”

That’s not too much to ask for.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Instagram: @heatherknightsf