Community Benefit District (CBD) for Rincon Hill? Survey says ...

Credit: Jamie Whitaker

As Rob Black, VP of Public Policy with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, discussed with those of us who attended the May 2008 Rincon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting, the Chamber and San Francisco BOMA (SFBOMA) are gauging the support in greater downtown San Francisco for the creation of a new Community Benefit District (CBD). 

In this context, greater downtown includes the triangle shaped area north of Market Street and south of where Kearny and Washington streets intersect along with South of Market's Rincon Hill neighborhood between 2nd, Bryant, and Market streets and The Embarcadero.

Property owners received a survey in the mail a little over a week ago, and many of you may be wondering about others' thoughts on the need, at this time, for a CBD in Rincon Hill.  According to the mailer, services that could be funded by a new property assessment for a CBD include sidewalk cleaning and steam cleaning, dealing with aggressive panhandlers, security services (over and above that of the San Francisco Police Department), marketing and promotional activities, traffic control, parking management, special events, cleaning up graffiti within 24 hours, development of dynamic new public spaces, initiating new beautification programs, and installing holiday decorations. The survey is due back to New City America by August 8th.

I'll admit that my bias is against a CBD at this time.  Just like the privately owned public open spaces in Rincon Hill (like 55 2nd Street and 101 2nd Street) are almost useless to most residents in the neighborhood because they are only available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., I have my doubts that a CBD would offer much utility to residents who are at their workplace during weekdays.  Those of us who live in condominium complexes (dare I say, most of us) already pay homeowners' association fees that include 24-hour security guards, sidewalk cleaning around our buildings (and often beyond our buildings, like the nasty stairwell that leads down to Beale Street from Harrison Street's south side), and other services that keep our blocks looking good. As I walk around Rincon Hill, the biggest problem areas are the sidewalks around U.S. Parking's lot on Main Street, sections around the Transbay Terminal, and other Caltrans properties.  Instead of forming and paying a CBD to sweep the sidewalks in front of state-owned, city-owned, and Transbay JPA properties, perhaps residents can try applying pressure to elected officials and calling 311 to report such neglect in our neighborhood.

I've heard that aggressive panhandling occurs around the Transbay Terminal. I'm probably a big enough guy to ward off aggressive panhandlers, but I've certainly observed them at Union Square getting in young men's and women's faces. We simply cannot know if the outdoor-situated Temporary Transbay Terminal, that will be built over the next two years, will inherit the population that participates in aggressive panhandling until the thing is built and operating. Without the shelter of a building from the winds downtown, I question whether we'll see aggressive panhandlers hanging around the land bordered by Main, Folsom, Howard, and Beale streets. Most of the folks sleeping on the sidewalks in Rincon Hill are not here to panhandle - they just need a relatively safe place to sleep every night.

While the Southern Station of the SFPD is certainly understaffed and focused primarily on the areas that tend to have the most crime in SoMa, I've yet to have felt unsafe walking around Rincon Hill after Midnight on a weekend or after a long day at the office.  It would be nice to have speed limits enforced in Rincon Hill and, even better, cut drivers off from turning right off of Folsom onto Main Street to gun their cars up to Harrison to get on the Bay Bridge, but I don't believe a CBD could truly help in that context - can they issue speeding tickets or fines for turning into a crosswalk when a pedestrian is attempting to cross the street?  I doubt it.

A CBD focused on marketing and promotional activities, special events, initiating new beautification programs, installing holiday decorations, and serving as an advocacy group for the area are activities that are very appealing and could be very beneficial.  However, I'm not sure that this isn't more appropriate for a merchants association rather than a CBD.

Rincon Hill is still developing - we're still doing what we can to restore our neighborhood's name as Rincon Hill in peoples' heads as opposed to "South Beach" or "South FiDi" or the more broad "SoMa" (though I certainly consider Rincon Hill, as I do Yerba Buena, South Park, and South Beach, to be neighborhoods within SoMa). The transfer and property taxes from new residents in Rincon Hill alone should serve as good justification for the area to begin receiving more attention from the City's existing services like DPW, SFPD, and DPT. While Baron Davis may be moving out of the neighborhood, several other fairly influential folks will be moving in - and these folks could also be helpful in making sure our tax dollars are funneled back to Rincon Hill to some degree. Finally, we have two neighborhood associations that can roar like lions, if necessary, to get City Hall politicians to act.

A CBD may be appealing to folks who live in neighborhoods that have already tried several means to improve their quality of life, but I believe a CBD in Rincon Hill at this time is pre-mature because we're just getting started, baby.  Let's maybe reconsider this idea in 5 years as the new Transbay Transit Center is (hopefully) just about completed. In the meanwhile, please do respond to the survey and let Rob and others know that you appreciate their efforts. You can call Rob at the San Francisco Chamber at 415-352-8844 if you have questions about the CBD concept or would like to get involved in creating this new CBD.

Please leave comments to let us know what you think about a CBD for Rincon Hill or, if you live in a neighborhood with an existing CBD in San Francisco, what you think about the benefits of the CBD.