Jack London Inn Project goes to the Planning Commission 4/19
The owners of the Jack London Inn will be presenting their preliminary plans for a 250-unit condo building with retail space to replace the existing Jack London Inn.

There is an Environmental Impact Review (EIR) scoping session tomorrow (Wed 4/19). It's number 5 on the agenda and listed as 444 Embarcadero.

There was a "Community Meeting" last Wednesday night to discuss the project, but due to the lack of notices, there were only 5 or so people from the "Community" at the meeting.

There are quite a few hurdles for this project:

1. Ingress/egress issues with blockage from the train tracks - and trains will increase dramatically in the coming years.

2. Traffic issues. If many intersections in the area are already LOS F (worst), then having a huge project like this will have a serious impact, even if we're already at the worst rating with many intersections in the neighborhood.

3. Massing. The floor area ratio is of concern - they are building on pretty much every square inch of the lot. 310' is HIGH!

4. Parking. Already awful, need to see whether this will add public parking or merely provide for it's own needs.

5. Wind/wall issues - our local FedEx driver is already noticing a change in wind tunneling on the streets, and we're curious what impact this will have on Embarcadero based on the wall being built around it. With the Jack London Square project factored in, Embarcadero could very well be a tunnel very soon.

There are undoubtedly other issues, but tomorrow night's scoping session is a good chance to start getting our concerns heard so that they can come up with solutions.

The meeting starts at 6:30pm at City Hall, One Frank Ogawa Plaza, Hearing Room 1. You can park for free in the garage behind City Hall - just write "Planning Commission Meeting" on your parking ticket and give it to the attendent when you leave. Easy!
Posted 4/18/2006