The creation of parklets in San Francisco has led to some unintended consequences. They aren’t on park land, so park rules and regulations can’t be enforced. They aren’t a sidewalk, though, so sidewalk laws don’t apply. And even though they might be in the street, their design is such that laws governing what you can and can’t do in a street don’t quite fit either.

Parklet in the Inner Sunset (wouldn't be affected by the Wiener legislation, as written)

City Supervisor Scott Wiener has introduced legislation that will spell out what is and isn’t allowed in the two parklets in his district – both near the heart of the Castro.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

Highlights of Wiener’s legislation include banning sleeping at any time in the plazas; prohibiting camping, cooking or creating any kind of shelter; banning the selling or bartering of any merchandise without a permit; and prohibiting four-wheeled shopping carts. Also, plaza goers couldn’t smoke.

Violations would be an infraction with a maximum fine for repeat offenders of $500.

To me, this all sounds pretty innocuous and reasonable. It’s one thing to create a parklet with the hope of attracting visitors to liven up the streetscape during the day, it’s something else entirely to assume that means they can stay the night and set up a camp. Occupy parklet just doesn’t have the same ring as Occupy Wall Street.

People who make a living out of ‘advocating’ for the homeless are, expectedly, outraged and feel this is just one more horrible and mean-spirited piece of legislation.

My experience is that San Francisco bends over backwards to try and work with the homeless population and find solutions to a problem that has no easy solution, particularly given the larger framework of cuts at the state and national level for mental health care.

If we are truly compassionate, we should be focused on finding the dollars for mental health care, and not spewing outrage over common sense public courtesies. But those are just my two cents – what about yours?

It’s been a big hole in the ground for a very, very, very long time. 2299 Market St. was once home to the Trinity Methodist Church, but it was destroyed by fire in 1981. More than 30 years later, the replacement building is finally arriving. Construction has begun on the development that will include 18 residential homes (all market rate, BMRs to be built off site) over roughly 5,000 square feet of ground floor retail. According to the planning department’s July 2010 discretionary review analysis, the mix of home sizes will consist of eight (8) one-bedroom homes, nine (9) two-bedroom homes, and one (1) three-bedroom home.

2299 Market St. - January 2012

2299 Market: Someday Soon?

At one point, the renderings done by the project architect, ib+a architecture, had an Apple logo on the ground floor retail space, setting the intertubes abuzz with gossip of a possible Apple Store at the location. The fruity giant to the south never confirmed nor denied such speculation, but more recent renderings have removed all such hints… The folks at ib+a have done plenty of other projects in San Francisco, with 555 4th St. (The Palms) being one of the larger projects that comes to mind, but their 1600 Webster project is much closer in size to this development.

As you can see from the above photos, a large hole in the ground (once the seasonal home of Delancey’s Christmas Tree sales) will be replaced with a five story building, with basement parking for 18 spots (achieved in part with a mechanical auto stacker, according to the architect’s website). The garage entrance will be on 16th street, next to Starbelly.

No word on when these will be completed, but if you feel like it you can track the progress of the building permits for 2299 Market St. online (the project has been in planning for years, the permits were finally issued in September of 2011).

The project developer is Angus McCarthy, who has to be happy that after years of negotiations with neighbors and neighborhood groups the shovels have finally hit the dirt at 2299 Market St.

849 Sanchez St. is a gorgeous art-deco home on a corner lot in the prestigious Liberty Hill area of the Castro/Eureka Valley neighborhood. If you are a fan of art-deco architecture, you owe it to yourself to see this home.

849 Sanchez, listed by Richard Bastoni, Sotheby's International Realty

849 Sanchez has been listed for sale several times over the past several years, and according to public tax records the last sales were in March of 2011 for a sales price of $3,200,000 and in 2008 for a sales price of $3,400,000. The public tax records (which aren’t always accurate) list the home as having 2,781 square feet, which calculates out to just shy of $1,200 per square foot of living space. 849 Sanchez was built in 1938 per tax records.

The home is beautifully done, and has beautiful views of downtown and the San Francisco bay. According to walkscore, the home is located in a ‘Walker’s Paradise’ with a ranking of 91/100. It’s important to remember, though, that the location at the top of the hill will make the return walk a little more daunting. But the incredible views make for an excellent reward and motivator as you walk up the hill.

The interior of the home has nice clean lines and plenty of open spaces. Glass brick is also used thoughtfully throughout the home. If you are a dog owner, you’ll appreciate the fact that is is a short walk to Dolores Park, one of the more popular spots in the city for dog owners to hang out, although the park isn’t without its controversies these days.

Interested in learning more about 849 Sanchez St. in San Francisco? If you aren’t currently working with an agent, please feel free to get in touch with us and we will happily provide answers to any questions you might have about this Liberty Hill luxury home.