A proposed development in the South of Market could present an opportunity to bring the neighborhood much-needed low-income family housing, according to community activists and Supervisor Chris Daly. The project's developers currently hope to rezone their site so they can increase the height of their buildings 40 feet, which would add around 300 more units of housing. The most recent attempt at such a massive rezoning in SOMA, the 299-unit 4th and Freelon project, passed only after the developers pledged to purchase another site and build a 56-unit affordable housing project on it, then turn it over to a non-profit. The agreement passed unanimously at both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors, setting the stage for the current project to present a similar package for a community in desperate need of affordable housing for immigrant families.

The proposed project, called 'The Gardens at Harrison,' would be built on Harrison between Third and Fourth. The zoning in this area currently only allows new development to be a maximum of 45 feet high, which would allow approximately 196 market-rate units to be built there. Should the developers' current request to the Planning Department that their site be rezoned to allow for buildings 85 feet high, they could build 509 units.

However, such a rezoning would require approval from the Board of Supervisors. While debate surrounding the project currently centers on the loss of views from the freeway it would cause, once it reaches the Board the concerns will likely shift dramatically.

"I don't care about the views of people in cars - what I do care about is providing housing for the community," said Supervisor Chris Daly.

Daly brokered the 2003 agreement for 4th and Freelon, which brought 56 units to people making 50 percent of the median income at no cost to the city. Located at Brannan Street, the building will provide permanent affordable housing for former SRO hotel residents, and represents one of the most substantial concessions gleaned from developers in recent memory. Developers broke ground on the project two months ago, which will run by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

In exchange, the city allowed 4th and Freelon's developer, Joe Cassidy, to build 35 feet higher and provide some above ground parking.

Currently, the only concession from developers of the Gardens at Harrison will be to either include some affordable housing in their project or pay money into a city fund for housing as part of the city's inclusionary housing law. Most developers choose to simply pay into the fund, and the Gardens' developers will likely do the same, which would allow the money to go towards housing for people who make 80 to 100 percent of the median income.

However, should an agreement be struck similar to the 4th and Freelon project, the Gardens' developers would purchase another site in the South of Market and build affordable housing there. A dire need exists for family housing in the area, particularly for the neighborhood's immigrant Filipino community.

"If SoMa is really intended to be a diverse neighborhood, we need to stop handing over every developable site to luxury condominium developers," said Angelica Cabande, South of Market Community Action Network's community organizer. "We must be strategic with our rezoning and invest in areas of need."

The number of affordable units in such a an agreement would likely be greater than those gained from 4th and Freelon, as the Garden's height rezoning would be greater and more market-rate units would be built there.

Such an affordable housing project would appear to be a good candidate for becoming a Community Land Trust, a type of project that allows a building's residents to own their units and spend money towards the mortgage rather than rent. It also keeps the units there permanently affordable, eliminating the possibility of speculation.

"Any opportunity for a land trust to take on affordable housing and maintain it in perpetuity is a plus in this city," said Bruce Wolfe, a Board Member of the San Francisco Community Land Trust. "It's becoming a solution towards preventing affordable housing from becoming market rate, and provides all kinds of incentives and benefits to low-income, working-class people."

Those benefits represent an essential need in the South of Market, an area currently seeing a massive influx of new development, much of it market rate. To maintain the character of the neighborhood, particularly its immigrant population and families, it remains essential that housing be built for those who may soon be unable to afford to continue living there.

"My foremost concern is always listening to the community, hearing what they need, and ensuring any new development addresses those needs," said Daly.