Even "Good" Projects Get a Hard Time From San Francisco's Populist Planning Police

For a project that restores the waterfront, preserves the historical feel and includes up to 600 units of affordable housing, Prop. F has taken a long time to generate enthusiasm. Sources tell me it’s only recently gotten up to 50 percent approval, and there continues to be a substantial group of undecided voters.

Could it be that opponents of waterfront development did their job too well? That any time San Francisco voters see the words “height limit” and “waterfront,” they become deeply skeptical?

“People don’t like tall buildings on the waterfront,” says political analyst and pollster David Latterman. “The fact is you can’t scream and yell about a wall on the waterfront for years and then be surprised that it doesn’t poll so well.”

Nonsense, says waterfront activist and progressive mastermind Aaron Peskin.
“I have not heard any gloom and doom from the Prop. F people,” Peskin said. “If it comes in with less than 60 percent approval, I would be amazed.” 

Other supporters say it is just a function of another in a series of dull, low-turnout elections. The governor’s race looks like a runaway for incumbent Jerry Brown, and the hottest issue for debate is a tax on sugary beverages. 

“I just don’t think anybody is engaged right now,” said Susan Eslick, a Dogpatch artist and Prop. F supporter, who was a longtime member of the Pier 70 Citizens Advisory Board. “People are talking about traffic and rent. 

But Latterman sees this as a cautionary tale. Given the passage of Proposition B in June, requiring a vote for any structure taller than the waterfront height limit, if you expect to build on the shoreline, better check your bank balance.

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