District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Mayor Daniel Lurie spoke with residents who wanted answers about speeding, the troubled family zoning plan and the potential for more recall elections on Monday evening at the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association's quarterly meeting.
Held at Saint Finn Barr Parish and moderated by board member Michael Kelly, the Q&A using presubmitted questions drew a crowd of more than 70 people.
Lurie, who arrived a few minutes late after his appearance at Union Square’s tree lighting, joined the stage and gave his usual spiel about the drop in crime and the economic return of Downtown, alongside his mayoral focus areas: public safety, homelessness and small business.
“My biggest frustration is that bureaucracy moves slowly and, you know, coming from outside [politics], I'm still not OK with that,” Lurie said. “I get frustrated every day.”
Lurie with a constituent. | John R. Adkins/Ingleside Light
Lurie fielded questions from the audience and provided his usual talking points.
Regarding his phone call with President Donald Trump, he said he informed the president about his deep commitment to public safety. In response to the recent pedestrian fatalities on Ocean Avenue this year, he cited the 33 new automated speed cameras around the city as progress, one of which is located on Monterey Boulevard.
Then the divisive political talking point came up: state-mandated upzoning.
Lurie assured the group that 77% of the new zoning map maintains pre-existing height restrictions, which he believes will protect neighborhood character and “most of the rent control” apartments.
“This isn't ‘family zoning or nothing,’” Lurie said. “It's the family zoning plan, or the state comes in and takes complete control, and then there goes the neighborhood.”
When Kelly asked about the reports from the city’s Office of the Controller, which state that the plan will not meet the state’s housing goals, Lurie dismissed the report as an “independent analysis.”
The mayor was asked whether he would support a tax on the wealthy to help fund services such as childcare and public transit. Lurie dodged the question and spoke about a ballot initiative to fund public transit, even after being pressed by Kelly.
District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar speaks to about 70 residents. | John R. Adkins/Ingleside Light
After 45 minutes, Lurie left the parish, and Melgar fielded more questions.
She was asked about efforts to recall elected officials. (A small number of constituents have been discussing recalling her over the zoning proposal, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.)
Melgar said that the threshold for triggering a recall is much lower than in other counties and that supervisors are considering charter reform to increase the threshold.
“It is expensive for the city,” Melgar said. “Every time somebody gets recalled, we have to trigger a special election.”
After the Q&A, many neighbors had thoughts and feelings on the answers they were provided.
David Tejeda, 77, long-time Sunnyside resident and association member, told The Light he agreed with Melgar and said he would not support recalling her. Tejeda said he supported Prop K.
“You chose to have this person make these decisions,” Tejeda said. “Now, a recall is brought up just because they made one decision the voters didn't like?”
Despite lingering concerns around pedestrian safety on Monterey Boulevard and illegal dumping by the occupants of RVs parked on Circular Avenue, many meeting participants, many of whom came out specifically to hear Lurie speak, said they were impressed with the mayor.
“You know, things change,” said Bill Byrne, former president of the association. “I'm not opposed to change, but I do think that there are things in this neighborhood that are worth preserving.”
Cecilia Zhou, an association board member, told The Light she assumed the zoning proposal would be one of the more controversial topics. She was encouraged by the group’s positive reaction to the plan in recognition of the need for more housing in the west side.
“I support the Family Zoning Plan because I feel like the density can help revitalize some of the commercial corridors,” Zhou said. “Ocean Avenue has a lot more commercial storefronts and feels more ripe for foot traffic, so I would love to figure out how we can get some of that energy in Sunnyside.”
John R. Adkins is a San Francisco-based journalist and storyteller living in Ingleside. He is editor-in-chief of City College's student-run publication The Guardsman and reports on higher education, politics and the arts.
