95,752 / 54.10% Yes votes ...... 81,061 / 45.80% No votes

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Part of the land that was occupied by the Central Freeway and the freeway ramps (the right-of-way property) will not be needed to construct the Octavia Boulevard Plan. The State Legislature is considering a bill that would give the right-of-way property to the City. The City would have to use any monies raised by sale or lease of the unneeded property first to pay for the Octavia Boulevard Plan and then for transportation improvements along routes leading to or from Octavia Boulevard.

THE PROPOSAL: Proposition I is an ordinance that would call for using any proceeds from the sale or lease of the right-of-way property—if the State gives the property to the City—to fund the design and construction of the Octavia Boulevard Plan and to use any remaining monies for transportation improvements along routes leading to or from Octavia Boulevard.The City's Transportation Authority would decide which transportation improvements to fund after consulting with the Central Freeway Citizens' Advisory Committee and following guidelines listed in the ordinance. Proposition I also would call for development of residential and mixed residential/commercial uses, including affordable housing, on the right-of-way property. The ordinance would prohibit widening the existing elevated freeway structure between Market and Fell Streets. City and neighborhood representatives would participate in determining appropriate development of the right-of-way property.

The ordinance is contingent upon State approval of legislation that would give excess right-of-way property from the Central Freeway to the City. Should that legislation pass, this ordinance would allow the City to sell the property. It then sets forth processes and priorities for how funds would be spent and how the property would be used. Should that property be used for purposes other than what they would have been used for without this ordinance, City revenues or costs may increase or decrease accordingly.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote of this measure means:

If you vote yes, you want to use the proceeds from any sale of unneeded Central Freeway right-of-way property to fund the Octavia Boulevard Plan and related transportation improvements and you want to support construction of housing and mixed uses on that property.

A NO vote of this measure means:

If you vote no, you do not want to use the proceeds from any sale of unneeded Central Freeway right-of-way property to fund the Octavia Boulevard Plan and related transportation improvements and you do not want to support construction of housing and mixed uses on that property.

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• ELECTION '99

Last February, the Board of Supervisors asked State legislators to give the City surplus land freed up by the Octavia Boulevard replacement for the Central Freeway.

Senator Burton's SB 798, now pending, transfers this surplus land to the City, free of charge. State law requires any revenues from its sale to go toward transportation improvements on corridors leading to the Central Freeway.

According to a recent market estimate, this surplus land consists of prime residential and mixed-use parcels-almost nine full acres-worth $33 million. All but $3 million of the cost of the Boulevard is already funded from other sources, leaving $30 million for other transportation projects of our choosing.

Prop I establishes:

• A process to determine which transportation projects will be built with the $30 million, consistent with our Countywide Transportation Plan;

• A neighborhood-driven planning process to oversee housing and mixed-use development, consistent with the 1993 Hayes Valley Development Guidelines.

Prop I gives voters a clear and informed choice: significant new affordable housing construction to alleviate our housing crisis, $30 million to alleviate traffic congestion, and a safe roadway OR the ill-conceived traffic plan contained in Prop J.

Please join us in voting YES on I.

Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano
Supervisor Sue Bierman
Supervisor Leslie Katz
Supervisor Mark Leno

Before the 1989 earthquake destroyed the Central Freeway, the freeway occupied property from Market to Turk Street. Now, this stretch of land has two uses, Market to Fell is where the freeway now stands, and Fell to Turk is where the freeway was destroyed and the land is now unused.

In the argument above, the proponents of Prop I are trying to scare you into believing that all of the land from Market to Turk will be used for non-housing purposes if you do not vote for Prop I. ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE!!

Regardless of whether the Octavia Plan (I) or the Central Freeway (J) prevails, both projects will consume the land from Market to Fell. That means both projects equally consume and preserve land for housing. San Francisco will get more housing no matter which you vote for.

Don't be distracted by political spin. The Proponents of Prop I did not talk about traffic in their argument above because they know that Octavia Boulevard will never handle the 93,000 cars that use the Central Freeway daily. Think traffic is bad now? Think Hayes Valley looks great now? Prop I will tear down the freeway and dump 93,000 MORE cars onto city streets, right in the middle of the city, Hayes Valley.

Don't vote for Prop I's horse and buggy transportation plan. End the gridlock now. Vote No on I.

Scott Zeller, MD
Rolf Mueller
Sharon Bretz

VOTE NO ON I

Prop I will put 93,000 more cars a day onto city streets instead of using the Central Freeway. Prop I is misleading and will create TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK!

Prop I is misleading because it argues that housing can only be built if voters pass the Octavia Plan instead of fixing the Central Freeway. Simply UNTRUE! The land available for housing will be available REGARDLESS IF WE HAVE A FREEWAY OR OCTAVIA! That's because most of the land available for housing is located north of the freeway and the Octavia Plan, and is thus unaffected by either project. San Francisco will get more housing regardless of whether or not you vote for Prop I.

Prop I will, however, create more GRIDLOCK by building a two-way boulevard where the freeway once stood, along with five stop lights and a left-hand turn in order to reach Fell. Unbelievably, this is supposed to be more efficient than the freeway! No common-sensed person can believe that! All this will do is turn the center of town into a traffic nightmare, make streets even more dangerous, and worsen the air pollution that we already have.

A 1997 study by CALTRANS and the U.S. Department of Transportation found that the Octavia Plan had a 33% lower vehicle capacity than the freeway alternative, increased travel times, and increased risk to bicycle and pedestrians.

Say NO to deception! Say NO to GRIDLOCK! Say NO to Road Rage!

Vote NO on Prop I.

Scott Zeller, M.D.
Rolf Mueller
Sharon Bretz

Without the land sales, San Francisco throws away $33 million for transportation improvements all over town. Proposition I establishes a process for spending these funds.

Without the land sales, hundreds of housing units will not be built. Proposition I sets out a community-planning process for these parcels.

Without the boulevard, San Francisco throws away the substantial property tax revenue to come from revitalization of the mid-Market corridor and Hayes Valley.

The Proposition J freeway design cannot handle anything like 93,000 cars. That number comes from the old eight-lane freeway with four off-ramps. Their design is a four-lane freeway with two off-ramps. Every professional study, including CalTrans' 1998 final study, says travel time for those going north from the boulevard will be much better and for those going west, the same. Stoplights for through traffic will be timed, like Oak and Fell.

The boulevard will be cheaper, safer, quicker to build, and moves traffic better. Land sales will bring housing and widespread transportation improvements.

Vote yes on I.

Tom Ammiano
Sue Bierman
Leslie Katz
Environmental Organizing Committee

Section 1. Findings.

(a) On November 3, 1998, the voters of San Francisco demonstrated their support for the Octavia Boulevard Plan for replacement of the Central Freeway by passing Proposition E, the Central Freeway Replacement Project Act of 1998, by more than 10,000 votes.

(b) Proposition E called for the City and County of San Francisco to authorize the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) to replace the Central Freeway with an elevated structure from Mission Street to Market Street and a ground-level boulevard on Octavia Street, from Market Street to Fell Street (collectively, the "Central Freeway Replacement Project.")

(c) In March of 1999, the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco established a Central Freeway Project Office to prepare design, engineering and environmental review documents necessary to build the Octavia Boulevard portion of the Central Freeway Replacement Project (the "Octavia Boulevard Plan").

(d) In July of 1999, members of the Board of Supervisors, sitting as the San Francisco County Transportation Authority ("Transportation Authority"), voted to accept the conceptual design and preliminary engineering of the Octavia Boulevard Plan.

(e) The replacement of the last four blocks of the Central Freeway with the Octavia Boulevard Plan will provide the City with significant benefits, including the opportunity to build more than 500 units of new housing, improved north-south access for vehicles traveling to and from the Central Freeway, and substantial revenue for transportation improvements on adjacent corridors.

(f) Construction of the Octavia Boulevard Plan will free up approximately three hundred and eighty thousand (380,000) square feet of land formerly occupied by that portion of Route 101 containing the elevated freeway structure north of Market Street and freeway ramps north of Fell Street (collectively, the "Excess Central Freeway Parcels").

(g) The Excess Central Freeway Parcels include prime residential, commercial and mixed use lots that could be used for housing, including much-needed permanently affordable housing. Proposition E specifically recognized that, in planning for the uses of the Excess Central Freeway Parcels, special consideration should be given to the need for affordable housing.

(h) The California Legislature is currently considering Senate Bill 798, which would require that the State transfer to the City at no cost the Excess Central Freeway Parcels, with the City to use the proceeds from the sale and/or disposition of those parcels for transportation improvements to Octavia Boulevard and along corridors leading to the Central Freeway, including but not limited to the Oak Street/Fell Street corridor to the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods, South of Market, the Mission corridor, the Upper Market corridor, and the Franklin/Gough corridor to the Marina. Senate Bill 798 is similar to Senate Bill 181, passed by the California Legislature in the wake of the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway, which transferred the unused Embarcadero Freeway right-of-way to the City and County of San Francisco so that the right-of- way, or proceeds from the sale thereof, could be used to create an alternate system of city streets.

(i) The Excess Central Freeway Parcels are estimated to have a market value of approximately thirty-three million dollars ($33,000,000), which is well in excess of the amount needed to complete the Octavia Boulevard Plan. The sale and/or disposition of these parcels will provide the City with much needed revenue for other transportation improvements.

(j) The San Francisco Department of City Planning has undertaken studies with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the Hayes Valley neighborhood to determine appropriate land uses, housing types, densities and design standards for the Excess Central Freeway Parcels, as summarized in the Hayes Valley Development Guidelines endorsed by the City Planning Commission in 1993. The San Francisco Department of City Planning is currently in the process of implementing a "Strategic Neighborhood Action Plan" pursuant to funding approved by the Board of Supervisors in the City's fiscal year 1999-2000 budget. The Strategic Neighborhood Action Plan will include the development and implementation of a community-based, public planning process to ensure the involvement and participation of the community in land use and transit planning. The proposed Strategic Neighborhood Action Plan would apply to the Upper Market/Hayes Valley Neighborhood, which includes the Excess Central Freeway Parcels.

(k) If a widened freeway structure is approved and the Board of Supervisors' ban on construction of new freeway ramps north of Fell Street is repealed, the City will not receive all of the substantial benefits of the Excess Central Freeway Parcels. A widened structure will preclude any affordable housing development between Market Street and Fell Street; and re pealing the ban on construction of new ramps north of Fell Street will hold the parcels between Fell Street and Turk Street in limbo pending the outcome of years of engineering and environmental review. In either case, the City will not be able to construct much-needed housing in this area or sell the land and use the proceeds for other transportation improvements for the foreseeable future.

Section 2. Title.

This ordinance shall be known as and may be referred to as "The Central Freeway Corridor Housing and Transportation Improvement Act."

Section 3. Transportation Improvements Funded by Proceeds from the Disposition of the Excess Central Freeway Parcels.

(a) Consistent with SB 798 and Article XIX of the California Constitution, the City shall first use any proceeds from the sale and/or disposition of Excess Central Freeway Parcels transferred by CalTrans to the City for design, engineering, construction and maintenance of the Octavia Boulevard Plan as finally adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, sitting as the Transportation Authority.

(b) The City shall utilize any remaining proceeds from the sale and/or disposition of the Excess Central Freeway Parcels for transportation improvements to corridors on or ancillary to Octavia Boulevard, including but not limited to the Oak Street/Fell Street corridor to the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods, South of Market, the Mission corridor, the Upper Market corridor, and the Franklin/Gough corridor to the Marina.

(c) The Transportation Authority shall allocate remaining revenue from the sale and/or disposition of Excess Central Freeway Parcels for transportation improvements to corridors on or ancillary to Octavia Boulevard, with advice from its Central Freeway Citizens Advisory Committee and its Technical Working Group, which includes the Municipal Railway, the Department of Parking and Traffic, the Department of Public Works, the City Planning Department, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and regional transit operators. Such revenue shall be allocated to transportation projects on a competitive basis, according to the following minimum criteria: (1) conformance with the priorities expressed in the San Francisco Long Range Countywide Transportation Plan (as finally approved by the Transportation Authority in April, 2000); (2) improved transit and traffic flow and pedestrian safety along corridors leading to and from the Central Freeway; (3) cost-effectiveness; and (4) project eligibility under SB 798 and Article XIX of the California Constitution.

Section 4. Construction of Housing on Excess Central Freeway Parcels and Neighborhood Planning Process.

(a) It is the express intent of the voters that housing, mixed use and/or complimentary developments be constructed on the Excess Central Freeway Parcels. To that end, no competing transportation use, such as the widening of the elevated freeway structure between Market Street and Fell Street, shall prevail. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit public transit or alternative transportation use consistent with the Hayes Valley Development Guidelines and the Octavia Boulevard Plan.

(b) The City shall utilize a community-based public planning process, involving representatives from the Hayes Valley and Western Addition neighborhoods, the City Planning

Department, the Redevelopment Agency, the Mayor's Office of Housing and the Transportation Authority's Technical Working Group, to determine the mix and type of land uses for the Excess Central Freeway Parcels. Such uses shall include the construction of affordable rental and/or ownership housing on such parcels and shall be consistent with the Octavia Boulevard Plan and related transportation improvements.

(c) The recommendations from this community- based planning process shall be presented to the City Planning Commission and the Redevelopment Commission (as appropriate) for incorporation into the Hayes Valley Development Guidelines to ensure that the future development of the Excess Central Freeway Parcels will reflect the outcome of the planning process.

Section 5. Severabillity.

If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid or unconstitutional provision or application. To this end, the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed severable.