D1 Legislative Updates

The District 1 team is currently working on a number of legislative efforts to deliver housing and stability for the Richmond District.

Alexandria Theatre

Our legislation to rezone the Alexandria Theatre for housing will go to the Planning Commission this month. This legislation will help expedite housing on the site by creating a “Special Use District” to memorialize community vision. We are in continued conversation with the owners who have committed to meeting with the community as we move this project forward.

The legislation will allow the owner to build up to eight stories of 75 two- to three-bedroom housing units with commercial space on the ground floor while preserving the historical character defining elements of Alexandria. If approved by the Planning Commission, this legislation will move to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. To ensure timely delivery of these promises, the legislation also sets a two-year timeline for the project to be approved and move forward. We will continue to update you on this family housing project as it progresses.

Access to Pharmacies

Last October, Walgreens announced that it will be closing 12,000 stores across the country and recently announced the closure of local stores which will include 12 in San Francisco and our store on Geary Boulevard and 17th Avenue. This is a corporate decision and does not weigh the health and safety impacts this will have on our community regarding access to medication, particularly for seniors and vulnerable groups. It is clear we must find alternatives to this solution rather than relying on corporations that will choose profit over community.

To that end, I am working on legislation to create a network of local neighborhood pharmacies, places where our residents can go for their medications with linguistically and culturally competent services. We are also exploring ways to expand access to lower cost medications to neighborhood pharmacies throughout the City in order to create more reliable alternatives to big box stores. For now, the timeline of the closure of Walgreens on Geary is unclear, but we will continue to meet with representatives and keep you updated as we learn more. The Walgreens in the Outer Richmond on Point Lobos will remain open in addition to our local neighborhood pharmacy.

Skilled Nursing Facilities

Last month we also learned that Little Sisters of the Poor will be closing the skilled nursing home they have run out of St. Anne’s Home on Lake Street for the past 123 years. This is a devastating blow to the residents of the home as well as the entire Richmond community. As soon as we learned of this closure we began talking with the Sisters as well as the Department of Public Health to see how we can help with the transition. As of now, the City has moved to bring the seniors currently living at St. Anne’s and their families to Laguna Honda Hospital to ensure they are able to continue to live in a skilled nursing facility and receive the care they need.

We are also working with SF Mayor Daniel Lurie to ensure that the St. Anne’s site continues to serve the community. At Mayor Lurie’s first monthly appearance before the Board last month, I asked him if he would support our vision to keep St. Anne’s as a resource for our community as well as help develop the site for other critical resources for seniors in the Richmond and throughout San Francisco. The mayor has agreed to work with us and direct his departments to ensure this important Richmond resource and site continues to serve the community.

Emergency Firefighting Water System

Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the fire disasters in Southern California. The ongoing dire situation sends us a reminder of the work that we must do here in San Francisco to keep our communities safe. In 2023, we held a public hearing discussing the progress of the emergency firefighting water system. During the hearing, we learned that the cost of design and construction of the westside system had significantly increased, and we worked with the SF Public Utilities Commission to come up with an additional $300 million water bond to complete the design. We know that we will have to continue to push for updates and progress as we approach 2028 for additional bond dollars for construction. My team is working to schedule another public hearing so we can present the most recent status of the system design and build out and will make sure to share any updates as we get them.

As we continue to see issues arise that impact the Richmond District, my team and I are here to help identify ways to problem solve and invest our resources back into our neighborhood. As always, if you have questions or issues that you need help resolving, please reach out to ChanStaff@sfgov.org or join me for coffee at our community partner space CYC (980 Clement St.) on the second Fridays of every month, 9-11 a.m. I look forward to seeing you in the neighborhood!

Connie Chan represents District 1 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.