Background

In the early 2000s, the Hub neighborhood near the intersections of Market Street with Valencia, Haight and Gough streets, historically known as “The Hub,” was included within the boundaries of the 2008 Market and Octavia Area Plan. The Plan includes numerous policies that support a vision for the Hub as a “vibrant new mixed-use neighborhood,” and it also created the Van Ness and Market Downtown Residential Special Use District (SUD). This SUD encourages the development of a transit-oriented, high-density, mixed-use residential neighborhood around the intersections of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue and Mission Street and Van Ness, and buildings ranging from 250 to 400 feet and reduced parking. Following the Plan's adoption in 2008, most of the housing imagined in the Hub was stalled due to the recession. Now, the area is receiving concentrated attention from the development community.

Major infrastructure improvements, such as Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit, were identified in the Market and Octavia Area Plan and have since moved through conceptual design. The sudden convergence of both infrastructure improvements and private development activity requires careful coordination and could afford great opportunity to achieve Plan objectives in a more holistic and effective fashion. In light of these recent changes, Planning is proposing to study this portion of the Market and Octavia Plan, and consider plan amendments. The proposed Market Octavia Plan Amendment seeks to benefit from current opportunities and analyze the potential for zoning and policy refinements that will better ensure that the area's growth supports the City's goals for housing, transportation, and the public realm.