Last night's meeting of the Northeast Waterfront Advisory Group (NEWAG) to the Port of San Francisco covered a variety of topics, including a new water-taxi dock at Pier 15, Teatro ZinZanni's planned return to the Embarcadero, an affordable housing project on Broadway and Salesforce's "Dreamboat" cruise ship rental.

First, the group discussed which member of the NEWAG should be a liaison to the forthcoming Waterfront Land Use Plan volunteer working group. The group expected to know by this meeting which of them, if any, had already been selected to serve as individuals.

But the Port hasn't finished whittling down the list from the 128 applications it received. "We were thrilled to get that kind of response," said Diane Oshima, planning director for the Port. "But it meant there was a lot of work to go through to review all of the applications.” She added they're looking for diversity and geographic representation. In the end, the group agreed to table the decision again until the next meeting on Oct. 7th.

Next up, Wendy Fisher of Power Engineering Construction Co. gave a brief presentation on a new water taxi dock at Pier 15 for the Exploratorium. The company repaired and restored Piers 15–17 for the Exploratorium in conjunction with design engineers Moffatt & Nichol, a well-respected industry leader in planning and design of facilities on waterways.

Fisher showed the audience a site plan for the dock, and said construction should begin on Oct. 26th and finish on Nov. 6th. It will include a 16-by-24-foot precast concrete float, an 80-by-5-foot gangway and steel piles to keep it in place. There should be minimal disruption to pedestrian access, she said.

Image: Courtesy of Power Engineering Construction Co.

"The Port’s lease with the Exploratorium had this water taxi installation as a requirement," said Phil Williamson, project manager for the Port. The Port will gain the title to it, and its maritime department will oversee management once it's built. “It’s not meant to be a guest dock; it’s a water taxi landing," to support companies such as Tideline Water Taxi, which already operates along other waterfront landings in the city and around the Bay.

Tideline Water Taxi at Pier 1 1/2. 

Next on the agenda was Teatro ZinZanni, which got unanimous approval from the Port Commission at its Sept. 8th meeting for an exclusive negotiation agreement (ENA) to build a theater, hotel and park at Embarcadero and Broadway, on what is now a parking lot. The Board of Supervisors also unanimously gave the OK on May 5th; It'll soon begin more community outreach in earnest.

Two members of the public spoke in opposition to Teatro ZinZanni, saying the entire parcel could be turned into a park, but several members of NEWAG and Port staff commented favorably about the project.

Following that, Teresa Yanga, director of housing at the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, gave a recap of the July 21st community workshop that gathered input on a new affordable housing project on Seawall Lot 322-1 at Broadway and Front Street, which is also currently a parking lot.

Yanga outlined a list of design criteria suggested by neighbors, including building setbacks and step-downs, retail on the ground floor, alleys and mid-block walkways, street trees and planting, and building within the 65-foot height limit, among others. A summary of the meeting and the workshop presentation are available online.

Seawall Lot 322-1. 

Discussion ensued about income maximums. "We are proposing a majority will be affordable, at 60 percent of area median income and below," Yanga said. If the housing bond (Proposition A) passes in November, she added, they plan on incorporating middle-income housing, up to 120 percent of area median income (AMI).

For a single person in a studio, Yanga explained, rent would be $1,070 if he or she earned maximum of 60 percent AMI ($42,800), or $2,140 for someone earning the maximum 120 percent of AMI ($85,600). Senior housing would be included; it hasn't been decided if that will be 60 or 120 percent of AMI.

Finally, the group discussed Salesforce's "Dreamboat," a docked Celebrity Infinity cruise ship that the company will rent to provide hotel rooms for attendees of its mammoth Dreamforce conference, being held throughout the city from Sept. 15th-18th. Neighbors have raised concerns about possible noise and other intrusions, and have questioned the legality of the ship serving as a hotel. 

Celebrity Infinity. (Photo: Wikipedia)

"There’s never been a single public meeting about this issue," said NEWAG memberJon Golinger. "Voters in 1999 banned hotels on the waterfront. This is not a ship that’s moving. It’s a hotel." Golinger has also been consistently vocal about the waterfront public access near the Pier 27 cruise terminal, and is concerned that access will be closed for the duration of Dreamboat. Oshima said this is a new issue, and it can be scheduled for further discussion.