Planning Commission Rejects Walgreen’s Expansion

On Thursday, Feb. 5, the Planning Commission rejected a conditional use permit application to allow an expansion of the Walgreen’s Specialty pharmacy at 4127-29 18^th Street, across the street from Walgreen’s main Castro district store at Castro and 18^th.

The "specialty pharmacy" would have provided counseling services for people with complex disease states including HIV and AIDS. This service is not without value, but Walgreen's has expanded several times in the past decade, each time replacing taking over a space formerly occupied by small locally owned businesses. This expansion would have made Walgreen's an even more overwhelming presence at the heart of the Castro

While vacant retail storefronts are an ongoing concern in the Castro, allowing a single national retailer to take over more storefronts is not a solution. The space has been vacant for over two years, but Walgreen’s has held the lease for much of that time. Since the closure of the laundromat, the community has made great strides in filling empty stores, through the efforts of economic development program of the SF LGBT Community Center, headed by Ken Stram. Ken has been reaching out to brokers, property owners and potential businesses to fill storefronts, and has started seeing success. If you have any ideas about the types of businesses you want to see in the Castro, or possible leads, contact Ken Stram KenS@sfcenter.org. Be sure to mention that you are a member of CAPA

Discretionary Review Revisions Planned

The Planning Department has made recommendations for a new discretionary review (DR) process system that they hope to get community support for prior to asking for Planning Commission endorsement. The proposal includes a Residential Design Committee and a Hearing Officer to handle almost all DR's instead of the Planning Commission.

A small working group led by Peter Cohen of DTNA, and including CAPA member Judith Hoyem has been meeting at the behest of the Planning Commission to address concerns that the Planning Department’s proposal doesn't address how projects are handled in relation to community issues prior to DR application ( or Conditional Use hearings for that matter). So their focus has been on reforming the pre- application period, to achieve greater transparency and greater possibility for community involvement on some projects before notices are issued. The ideas recognize best practices that some planners and project sponsors already use. The committee believed that these ideas if implemented go a long way toward reducing DR applications. They are meeting with Planning Department officials, and will make a presentation at the DR Reform Open House on Tues. Feb. 10 (6 -8 pm at the Planning Dept., Rm. 431). Judith will also make a presentation at the CAPA meeting on Thursday Feb. 12.