We watched as the recycling center at the Market Street Safeway got its eviction date delayed by several months, then overstayed that extension, and despite a last-minute protest was forcibly removed on July 17th. (A recycling shuttle service launched in September to fill the void.)

Hayes Valley bookstore Bibliohead faced a steep rent hike following the retrofitting of its Gough Street space, and closed up shop in September. Also in Hayes Valley, the Growing Home Community Garden on Octavia was forced to vacate in July to make way for new housing developments.

In the Lower Haight, Cuco's faced its third eviction threat in recent memory, only this time the threat was real. Despite a plea for public support, the restaurant served up its last burritos on Oct. 13th.

Residential tenants also faced eviction woes throughout the city this year. In June, Hayes Valley's Place Pigalle (which faced an eviction threat of its own) hosted a meeting to help both commercial and residential tenants understand their rights. 

Meanwhile, Pigalle's next-door neighbor Paolo Shoes was the target of protests in October. Owner Paolo Iantoro and his father came under fire for allegedly using the much-maligned Ellis Act to evict tenants at the Iantoros' other real estate properties around the city.  

And the Ellis Act was the focus of Hayes Valley protests yet again in November, as tenants of the historic Rube Goldberg building at Oak and Gough faced eviction by their landlord.

Evictions weren't the only symptoms of San Francisco's booming housing market this year. Soaring rents, pricey new developments, and pressures on the city's homeless residents were also frequent topics around the city.

In the Upper Haight, neighborhood group HANC held a meeting to solicit ideas for policy solutions to the housing situation. Nearby, in NoPa, we learned that median rental prices for a 1-bedroom had risen 62 percent in the past three years.

In the Castro, Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced legislation to allow construction of in-law units in the area, in a bid to increase the local housing supply. The Planning Commission approved the legislation in March, and the full Board of Supervisors gave it their unanimous approval in April. Wiener also proposed legislation to allow increased density in residential developments if more affordable units are included in the mix. That proposal was approved by the full Board in July.

Hayes Valley residents were divided about whether they were truly seeing an influx of homeless people displaced by the so-called Mid-Market renaissance, as a Chronicle article had reported. There was less division in Duboce Triangle, however, where residents attributed numerous quality of life issues to this alleged homeless migration. Meanwhile, over in Duboce Park, The Harvey Milk Recreation Center installed a security camera to deter transients from gathering at the property at night.

Finally, in the Lower Haight, rental woes abounded. We saw the last of the rather pricey units above CVS come on the market, while across the street, a landlord issued a very controversial letter to existing tenants requiring them to make six figures and have high credit scores. (Following our story and subsequent media attention, the letter was retracted.)

Various construction projects around the area caused headaches and provoked heated discussions amongst our readers this year.

Hoodline was first to report on a couple of contentious local housing projects: a 9-story building being planned for the current site of Flax Art & Design at Market and Valencia, and a 7-story building coming to the former Home restaurant site at Church and Market. Commenters had plenty of opinions on both of those stories, unsurprisingly.

We also got some unexpected feedback on news of a housing development being planned for the Alouis Radiator building at Divisadero and Grove. The proposed design of the building was considered so heinous by our readers, some took to creating renderings of their own.

Opposition of a different kind befell the 8 Octavia construction site on May 1st (International Workers' Day), as a group of protesters picketed against the alleged use of non-union labor in that building's construction.

And in the Castro, extensive streetscape work through most of the spring and summer caused significant hardship for local businesses, at least a few of which either closed up shop entirely or went on vacation until the work was complete. 

Maybe the biggest parking story of the year was the proposal to create a new permit parking zone around Alamo Square. The proposal surfaced in January, was discussed in May, and received a name (Area Q) by October. Some residents between Page and Haight felt left out, but the borders of the area are still being finalized, and there will be at least one more hearing in January. So, stay tuned. 

Slightly southwest, in the area around Buena Visa Park, a separate petition surfaced to expand the existing Area S parking zone. That proposal is still in the early stages.

Another hot-button parking issue this year: car sharing, which secured itself hundreds of on-street sites throughout the city as part of a pilot program that took shape in May. The proposal received some pushback from at least a few residents in the Upper Haight, but proceeded nonetheless, with at least a few parking spots in Hayes Valley getting the car-sharing-only designation in November.

Hayes Valley had other parking woes this year, mostly related to the boom of construction around the neighborhood. A different issue plagued the Upper Haight: namely, the overnight parking of oversized vehicles. And in December, the mayor and SFPD announced a crackdown on double-parking, a longtime practice outside our city's many churches. 

 

Speaking of the Mayor, in January Ed Lee announced a pilot program to allow tech shuttles to use Muni stops throughout the city (for a fee). After soliciting public feedback, the program was finalized in June and went into effect.

Also in January, Supervisor Wiener called for a closer look at the city's late night transit options (or lack thereof).  A Late Night Transportation Working Group is currently tackling the issue. 

Speaking of which, the SFMTA announced its plans early this year to change up over 70 Muni lines in the hopes of speeding up public transit in San Francisco, with the 6-Parnassus and 71-Haight at the top of its list. 

In the Upper Haight, Page between Masonic and Ashbury got itself some new flashing traffic lights. Over in Hayes Valley, another traffic calming initiative was discussed, as one passionate neighbor created a petition to install speed bumps alongside Patricia's Green.  And in July, Hayes Valley's traffic issues took center stage when we profiled some of the neighborhood's most dangerous intersections and asked you to weigh in with your own picks. 

Over on the Wiggle, we took a closer look at why tow trucks were blocking the busy bike lane on Fell Street, a topic which elicited plenty of opinions from readers and spurred Supervisor London Breed to rope in SFPD and the offending tow truck company to reach a resolution.  

As August wound down, we took a look at another Wiggle traffic issue: the strangely dicey intersection of Haight and Scott, which saw a notably high volume of collisions this year, perhaps due to the confluence of Fell's westward artery with the Wiggle's heavy bike traffic. Bulbouts to "reduce Scott Street's appeal as a cross-town route" could be on the way in 2016.  

This fall, it was all about Haight Street, as the much-anticipated inbound Muni-only lane debuted in October, to the delight of local commuters. And in November, more big transit changes were approved for Haight Street from Stanyan all the way to Laguna, despite the objections of some Upper Haight merchants. Expect bus stop relocations, bulbouts and traffic light changes to be on the way later next year. 

As far as Hayes Valley's traffic issues, which were discussed in depth at a July meeting, the SFMTA promised in December to launch a comprehensive review of the area's issues and possible solutions, beginning in early 2015. 

When it came to political kerfuffles this year, soda was a big issue, with anti-soda tax private interest groups canvassing the Haight in January, pro-soda tax campaigners rallying mid-year, and a giant can of "diabetes" appearing in Hayes Valley in November, shortly before the soda tax measure was defeated in this year's vote. 

We heard a lot from Supervisor Scott Wiener this year, starting with a look at his campaign finance history early this year, and including his push for the city to reclaim responsibility for its urban forest, which now falls into the hands (and pocketbooks) of homeowners. Wiener won reelection to the D8 seat this year, and in unrelated news, we wondered about the influx of wieners that seemed to be headed to the neighborhood.  

Staffing shortages at the SFPD caught our eye in April, as a "mass retirement" of seasoned cops and a lag in integrating new recruits into the ranks meant the police were shorthanded this year. 

Meanwhile, we took a closer look at the once and future state of the city's marijuana dispensaries, with zoning  restrictions businesses causing dispensaries to migrate to the outskirts of the city. 

As the city's 2004 10-year plan to end homelessness hit the decade milestone, we took a look at what's been done, and hasn't been done, to combat homelessness over the course of the last 10 years. 

On an entirely different note, the debate over formula retail bans in certain neighborhoods of the city heated up again this year, with new rules upping the limit stores of that meet the "formula retail" definition to 19 (from 11), but now including international locations. 

Meanwhile, the Haight braced for the annual 4/20 celebration with more cops and traffic enforcement, and in an unprecedented move, closed down Alamo Square for May's raucous Bay to Breakers event. 

The Castro saw its share of event-related controversy as well, with the potential elimination of Pink Saturday bringing all sorts of opinions to the table, and culminating in a September community meeting which left the issue unresolved, though with lots of perspectives to consider. 

The Castro's long streetscaping project provoked no end of frustration amongst residents and business owners, but it wasn't just the construction that had readers down: controversy over the new rainbow sidewalks lasted all year, the narrative behind new sidewalk etchings had accusations flying (they were unveiled in October), new palm trees and street lamps sparked discussion, and misspelled Rainbow Honor Walk plaques get everyone talking. In semi-related news, a plan is in the works to look at the Castro's retail retention woes.

In August, the Panhandle cracked down on would-be rule breakers with a polite sign, and we wondered if Duboce Triangle was getting scarier. 

In September, some readers took issue with the new Haight Street Music and Merchants Festival, and we took an academic look at what's behind the "NIMBY" moniker.