“We don’t have to destroy San Francisco to save it.”
By Marc Norton
Mayor London Breed was recently quoted in the media claiming that “Existing rules protect against impacts to historic resources.”
Apparently Mayor Breed does not know — or perhaps just doesn’t care — about the Planning Commission’s shameful February 22 vote to let the real estate speculators who bought 369 Valley Street have their way with the two Earthquake Cottages there. In the words of SF Heritage President Woody LaBounty, this project will “destroy their visual integrity and recognition as 1906 earthquake relief cottages.”
Mayor Breed made her proclamation in her veto message of legislation passed by a super-majority of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors that would protect historic buildings in the Northeast Waterfront and Jackson Square Historic Districts. Apparently historic buildings in those districts are no more deserving of protection than the Valley Street Earthquake Shack Cottage, at least in the mind of Mayor Breed. It is worth noting that the Mayor appoints the majority of Planning Commission members, and thus controls the commission.
In response to the mayor’s comment, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, the sponsor of the vetoed legislation, said “Instead of outsourcing housing decisions to developers so they can maximize profit, as the Mayor is doing, we need to build housing our working families can afford while improving the neighborhoods they live in. We don’t have to destroy San Francisco to save it.”
We would add that we don’t need to destroy the Valley Street Earthquake Shack Cottage in order to save it.
More history: Save the Shack
