An Alternative Future for the North East Mission Industrial Zone

An Alternative Future for the NEMIZ
Mission Coalition for Economic Justice & Jobs
Byer clothing is one of many important business in the
NEMIZ involved in production, distribution and repair.
Beginning in the 1960s, some of these industrial
uses began to leave the area following an economic
evolution of jobs, housing, and transportation
inputs. The neighborhood, due in large part to
the fact that it accommodated a mix of uses as it
grew, remained stable through the change. Many
businesses involved in production, distribution
and repair remained, while in place of those that
left the area, new types of businesses and residences
have found their place in the NEMIZ, continuing
the tradition of use diversity in the neighborhood.
Today, the City and the NEMIZ are faced with the
challenge of retaining appropriate production, distribution
and repair (PDR) jobs in San Francisco
while preserving this neighborhood’s capacity for
diversity in use. While these goals are not mutually
exclusive, MCEJJ is concerned about the ability
of current zoning proposals to effectively “protect”
the needs of today’s PDR businesses and worries
that such protective zoning will simultaneously
undermine the mix of uses that make the
NEMIZ valuable. In addition, there is while preserving
the opportunity for investment in the
NEMIZ. The Mission Coalition for Economic
Justice and Jobs (MCEJJ) is using its intimate
knowledge of the neighborhood and its stakeholders
to develop a future for the NEMIZ that is compatible
with these goals. Toward this end, MCEJJ
has hired a team of professionals to assist them in
I.2 Executive Summary
understanding the legal, planning, and market
implications which will factor into this vision. The
team has come up with a uniquely qualified alternative
that is focused on the NEMIZ, while inclusive
of broader City goals. MCEJJ’s work provides
for a more detailed analysis of NEMIZ-specific
issues than the planning department could feasibly
accomplish with its own resources.
This Executive Summary outlines MCEJJ’s policy
and planning recommendations and the work that
underlies these conclusions. More detailed information
is provided in the full report which is available
by contacting MCEJJ at (415) 487-4552.
The City’s Planning for the Mission and the
NEMIZ has taken place in the context of a much
larger planning project to rezone San Francisco’s
Five Eastern neighborhoods, including SoMa,
Bayview, Visitacion Valley, and Showplace
Square/Potrero Hill and the Mission. Each neighborhood
has been examined individually, however
they are connected by a citywide strategy to retain
a set of uses within the city that would fall under a
new zoning category “Production, Distribution
and Repair” (PDR). PDR uses include a broad
range of businesses including:
Food and beverage wholesale and distribution;
Fashion/garment design and manufacture;
Delivery services (messengers, airport
shuttle vans, taxis, limousines);
Event production and catering;
Construction contractors and building
material suppliers;
Wholesale and retail of furniture, equipment,
appliances, and furniture manufacture;
and,
Printers, designers, photographers; film
producers, graphic designers, and soundrecording
firms.