Neighbor Alicia is spreading the word about a community meeting that will happen tomorrow, Wesdnesday December 11 at 7 pm at the Precita Neighborhood Center, to review a proposal to build two single-family homes on a patch of undeveloped land on Folsom near Chapman, on the south side of the hill just below Bernal Heights Blvd.
Here’s the meeting announcement:
Bernalwood 
I thought there was a big PG&E line or something underneath that patch (and that that was the reason why it hadn’t been developed yet). Anyone know the scoop?
According to trusted source Bernalwood, you are absolutely correct about the location of the pipeline: https://bernalwood.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/gulp-troubled-pge-gas-pipeline-with-a-history-of-trouble-runs-through-bernal-heights/
Yikes! That was some nasty damage in 1963!
Bernalwood’s follow up to this story is also worth looking at. Good factual info about the gas line from a PG&E rep , and a hotline number to call if you want more info.
https://bernalwood.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/an-safety-update-from-pge-about-that-anxiety-generating-gas-pipeline-in-bernal-hill/
More nimbys who can’t deal with change. They’ve got their houses near the hill, but no one shall be allowed to build. Such bullshit.
Throw those puppies up, and make them the Playboy Playmate Bunny houses.
If anyone here makes it, I’m quite curious what these boards actually do in practice. I’m worried it’s particularly NIMBYish, but the city mandates both these meeting and a pretty strict set of size and aesthetic guidelines for Bernal Heights, so I imagine that nothing too substantial is likely to happen.
More:
http://masonkirby.com/bernal-heights-resources/northwest-bernal-heights/
Actually, this property is covered by the East Slope Design Review Board, but you’re right, there are extra requirements. Anyone making a substantial change to their property in this area has to go through the review process before the Planning Department will do anything. I recommend the meetings. I’ve been to a few over the years and they are often heated and lengthy, but are a real look at democracy in action.;
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&t=p&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=115222306031936564540.00048206628ac4688229b
The proposed houses are actually located on the west side of the Folsom Street right of way – about where the word “site” is written on the aerial photo – not where the arrow is pointing.
I have/had several computer tech support customers in the Crestmoor neighborhood, three who lost their homes. That explosion was from a mere THREE-INCH pipeline. Goodness knows what could happen in Bernal Heights. Obviously that land was not built upon for a reason.
Actually, the San Bruno explosion was from a 30 inch pipeline.
Is there any update on this? Thanks.
Yesterday, I chatted with the neighbor in the last house on the west side of Folsom, who is organizing opposition to the houses. She is setting up an email loop to keep people informed.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get her contact info. Nothing was decided at the meeting, and I believe a second meeting is going to be scheduled by the Design Review Board.
I suspect the gas pipeline doesn’t have anything to do with why the lots above Chapman have not been developed to date. After all, there has been lots of development along the pipeline route over the years. The bigger problem is that anyone who wants to build there is going to have to put in a paved street, presumably at their own expense. Economically, that probably made the lots unbuildable until the recent runup in home prices.
Did the neighbor explain the reasons for her opposition?
Well, I don’t want to speak for her, but from our short conversation, it was mostly in the nature of “it’s always been open space and wouldn’t it be nice to keep it that way.”
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