Rendering of the Hub
Downtown/Civic Center

Market & Octavia Area Plan Amendment (Formerly The Hub)

The Market & Octavia Area Plan Amendment seeks to examine potential opportunities to better ensure the area’s growth supports the City’s goals for housing, transportation, and the public realm through zoning and policy refinements. 

Market & Octavia Area Plan Amendment

On July 28, 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved legislation associated with the Market & Octavia Area Plan Amendment.

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.

Project Goals

This project will evaluate opportunities to enhance implementation of the policy goals of the Market & Octavia Area Plan around affordable housing, coordinated transportation planning and placemaking. Project goals include:

Increase Housing and Affordable Housing Near Transit

Recent City policy, including the voter-approved Proposition K and former Mayor Edwin Lee’s Executive Directive 13-01, have called on all City departments to aggressively pursue new opportunities to increase the housing stock, especially permanently affordable units. There are a number of ongoing initiatives to implement this, including  2017’s amendments to the City’s Inclusionary Affordable Housing Program, increasing local dollars via a new affordable housing bond for affordable housing, and increasing development potential to subsidize affordable housing.

 Photo of Housing Options
Develop and Coordinate Designs for the Public Realm

This is an opportunity to re-envision the public realm - streets, alleys and new open spaces. The Market & Octavia Area Plan includes conceptual designs for improvements to streets, parks, and other public open spaces in the area. Since these concepts were first created in the early 2000s, best practices and City policies for the public realm design have advanced. The City now has a more developed vision for components such as bike facilities, pedestrian safety enhancements, shared streets, living alleys, and temporary interventions such as parklets and plazas. Creating better public spaces will reinforce the area’s identity as both as a gateway to other neighborhoods as well as a distinct neighborhood of its own. 

 Photo of Public Realm Options

 
Update the Market + Octavia Public Benefits Package and Prioritize Projects for Implementation

The project will conduct economic feasibility analysis and develop recommendations for how additional development may contribute to the area in the following ways: help create new and additional affordable housing, contribute to transit improvements, provide new open space opportunities and/or enhance existing open spaces, improve streets and alleys, and others as identified through the planning process. 

 man seated on bench in tree lined alley

Key Deliverables

Amend the Market & Octavia Area Plan

Update Objectives 7.1 and 7.2 and associated policies in the Market & Octavia Area Plan, the zoning map to reflect land use changes, and the height map to reflect additional height on select parcels. 

Update the Market & Octavia Implementation Plan

As part of the Market & Octavia Area Plan, a list of projects and associated costs were developed. Many of these projects have been funded and implemented. This is an opportunity to add additional projects in the Hub area that can be funded and built over time. 

Amend the Planning Code

Amend the Planning Code to reflect the land use and policy recommendations identified through the planning process, such as land use and parking. 

This project timeline may change. Please continue to check back here for updates.
A. Project Start-up, Existing Conditions Analysis JAN. 2016 - MAR. 2016
B. Develop land use, urban form, and public realm design options APRIL 2016 - JUNE 2016
C. Refine land use, urban form, and public realm design options; develop public benefits package JULY 2016 - JULY 2019
D. Environmental Review OCT 2017 - MARCH 2020
E. Plan Adoption and Approvals – Planning Commission  MARCH 2020
F. Plan Adoption and Approvals – Board of Supervisors SPRING / SUMMER 2020

Presentations and Materials

Resources

The Hub covers the eastern-most portions of the Market and Octavia Area Plan. 

The Hub Project Map. Click here to download a PDF version of this map.
Click here to download this map

Workshop #5 - January 28, 2020

This workshop built on previous workshops and provide a general project update as well as the City’s latest recommendations for all topic areas: land use, urban form, public realm and public benefits

Workshop #4 - June 11, 2019

This workshop built on previous workshops and provide a general project update as well as the City’s latest recommendations for all topic areas: land use, urban form, public realm and public benefits

Workshop #3 - March 8, 2017

Workshop #2 - June 22, 2016

Workshop #1 - April 13, 2016

Final Adopted Materials

The Market & Octavia Plan was amended by Board of Supervisors in July 2020.

  1. Area Plan
  2. Planning Code Text
  3. Zoning Map
  4. Height Map
  5. Special Use District
  6. Community Improvements Appendix C
  7. Public Benefits Document

Adoption

Presentation to the Planning Commission on May 21, 2020

Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary
II. CEQA Findings – E Case

III. General Plan Amendments – GPA Case

IV. Planning Code Amendments – PCA-01 Case

V. Planning Code and Business and Tax Regulation Code Amendments – PCA-02 Case

VI. Zoning Map Amendments – MAP Case

VII. Implementation Program – CWP-02 Case

VIII. Supplemental Information

Plan Initiation

Presented at the Planning Commission on February 13, 2020

  1. Executive Summary
  2. General Plan Amendments – GPA Case
    1. General Plan Amendments Initiation Draft Resolution
    2. General Plan Amendments Proposed Ordinance
  3. Planning Code Amendments – PCA Case
    1. Planning Code Amendments Initiation Draft Resolution
    2. Planning Code Amendments Proposed Ordinance
  4. Planning Code and Business and Tax Regulation Code Amendments – PCA Case
    1. Planning Code and Business and Tax Regulation Code Amendments Initiation Draft Resolution
    2. Planning Code and Business and Tax Regulation Code Amendments Proposed Ordinance
  5. Zoning Map Amendments – MAP Case
    1. Zoning Map Amendments Initiation Draft Resolution
    2. Zoning Map Amendments Proposed Ordinance
    3. Zoning Districts Maps (Existing and Proposed)
    4. Height and Bulk Districts Maps (Existing and Proposed)
    5. Special Use Districts Maps (Existing and Proposed)
  6. Supplemental Information
    1. Market and Octavia Area Plan: Hub Public Benefits Document
    2. Market and Octavia Community Improvements Program (Appendix C)
    3. Market and Octavia Area Plan: Hub Public Realm Plan
    4. Summary of Revisions – General Plan
    5. Summary of Revisions – Planning Code
    6. Market and Octavia Area Plan Maps 1-12

Questions, comments, and suggestions on this planning effort should be directed to:

Lily Langlois
Project Manager
San Francisco Planning Department
(415) 575-9083
lily.langlois@sfgov.org

Maia Small
Urban Design
San Francisco Planning Department
(415) 575-9160
maia.small@sfgov.org

Ben Caldwell
Public Realm
San Francisco Planning Department
(415) 575-6616
ben.caldwell@sfgov.org