Back from the meeting. My camera actually turned on before I left the house, and was left on, so when I got there it was completely DEAD
But.. there wasn't too much to take pictures of, and nothing that we haven't seen or read already.
The whole meeting was basically some guy, who was a very good speaker, standing at the podium generalizing the TransBay and Downtown plans pre- and post- Embarcadero Freeway, and how the city wants to change the density and height limits in the areas that are state owned (the bus overpasses, for example) and that these are really the only unspoken for parcels downtown, thus the intense planning process and public input necessary to begin development of this vital area. He said that this area needs to be dealt with in a mindset that looks toward the future. He also brought up something which I thought was very intriguing: that if height limits are raised and density increased in this area, that San Francisco can provide more competitive office space that is currently in Silicon Valley, thus bringing more business and jobs right downtown, which is the goal of the TransBay development plans.
He explained that the TJPA and City Planning commission has discussed raising height limits for the signature tower above the current 550' to 850', and possible 1000+ feet. The environmental review process will begin and will continue onto the next six months, so that when the planning commission decides how tall and what type of tower to build, those reports and reviews will already be taken care of.
I stayed for a little while for some of the questions. The ones who spoke while I was still there seemed to be very supportive of a very tall, beautiful tower, or at least had no open qualms about that. Their main concerns were providing enough underground transportation to be able to support the dense populations that will inhabit this area when all of these towers open, and one guy asked why there is no AmTrak or other express train service taking people directly to downtown SF, and that this is a major issue with tourists flying in, most likely to the Oakland Airport and San Jose, and taking in AmTrak (the station is in Emeryville and there is a very slow bus that drops people off at the Ferry Building).
The meeting was very brief and introductory, so there were no workshops or thorough discussions. The real date to mark is Aug 6, when the designs will be unveiled. These had better be immaculate so that the public will accept something 1000+ ft.
I think it very important that everybody take time off of whatever they are doing and plan ahead to attend these meetings, as we need as much of the support we can get for a 21st century world class anti- NIMBY downtown core.