Neighbors for Fair Planning v. City and County of San Francisco CA1/3

The City and County of San Francisco (the City) certified an environmental impact report and issued other approvals for a community center and affordable housing project (Project) proposed by real party in interest Booker T. Washington Community Service Center (the Center). The Project, if it goes forward, will involve the demolition of the Center’s existing facility at 800 Presidio Avenue and its replacement with a mixed-use project with 48 units of affordable housing and an expanded and updated community center.

Plaintiff, Neighbors for Fair Planning, a group of local residents that opposes the Project, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to set aside the City’s certification of the final environmental impact report (EIR) and to invalidate its approval of a conditional use permit and special use district. The superior court denied the petition and plaintiff appealed the ensuing judgment. Based on our independent review of the administrative record, we conclude the City’s actions are lawful and supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

A. The Project and Parties

The Center, a nonprofit organization founded in 1919, has occupied its…