Latino Cultural District Expansion Report

Exploring an
Expansion of the
Latino Cultural
District
JUNE 2019
Photo: Antonio Peretev
Report by
Chung Hagen Consulting
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................................... 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................. 3
CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................................................... 6
TRENDS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8
SCOPE AND PURPOSE .......................................................................................................................................... 10
APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 11
FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Perceptions of Mission Street ................................................................................................................ 13
Cultural District Opportunities .............................................................................................................. 16
Value in Expanding .................................................................................................................................. 23
OTHER KEY THEMES ............................................................................................................................................. 24
CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................................... 24
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................................... 25
Appendix A: Community Engagement Advisory Group ..................................................................... 25

Appendix B: Existing Cultural Districts .................................................................................................. 26
Appendix C: San Francisco Cultural Districts Program ...................................................................... 27
Appendix D: Calle 24 Latino Cultural District ....................................................................................... 29
Appendix E: Mission Action Plan 2020 (MAP2020) ............................................................................. 31
Appendix F: Proposition E – Restoration of Hotel Tax for Arts and Culture .................................... 32
Appendix G: List or Community Engagement Process Participants ............................................... 33
Appendix H: Interview Questions .......................................................................................................... 34
Appendix I: Interview Results ................................................................................................................ 36
Appendix J: Focus Group Questions .................................................................................................... 51
Appendix K: Focus Group Results .......................................................................................................... 52
Appendix L: Community Meeting Break Out Group Questions ........................................................ 81
Appendix M: Community Meeting Break Out Group Results ............................................................ 81
Appendix N: Business Interview Script ................................................................................................. 93
Appendix O: Business Interview Results ............................................................................................... 95
Appendix P: Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................... 97
Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Diana Ponce de Leon, Stella Adelman, Aurora Alvarado, Svetha Ambati, Erick Argüello, Chirag Bhakta, Carlos
Bocanegra, Vanessa Bohm, Tomasa Bulux, Celina Chan, Francis Chan, Dyana Delfin-Polk, Lariza Dugan-Cuadra,
Marilyn Duran, Claudia Flores, John Francis, Jacqueline Gutierrez, Yaneth Hurtado, Krissy Keefer, Katie Martin
Selcraig, Diana Martinez, Arturo Moh Mendez, Claudia Perez-Vaughan, Quency Phillips, Edwin Rodriguez, Dairo
Romero, Stephanie Romero, Julia Sabory, Carlos Solorzano, Robynn Takayama, Reanna Tong.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The concept of expanding the Latino Cultural District stems from community efforts to stabilize cultural com-
munities across San Francisco facing displacement. The impact of displacement and gentrification on residents,
businesses, artists, and nonprofits in the Mission1 are well documented in several recent studies, whose main
themes surfaced in this community engagement process and include:
• Demographic shifts. The Latino population in the Mission dropped from 50% in 2000 to 39% in
2018, and the neighborhood lost 26% of its families. Meanwhile, high-income households – those
making more than 200% of the Area Median Income or more than $206,000 – doubled.
• Tenant and housing crisis. Evictions remain high, and 37% of households are “rent-burdened”.
• Business, nonprofit and artist displacement. Long-time organizations face rising rents and
changing needs, and many feel unequipped to adapt.
This community engagement process spanned four months from January to May 2019 to answer three core
questions:
1) What makes the Mission Street corridor special and unique?
2) What opportunities could be developed to meet the Cultural Districts Program goals?
3) Is there value in expanding the Latino Cultural District?
To answer these questions, the process used various information gathering methods including 11 in-depth in-
terviews, 8 focus groups with 81 participants, a broad-based community meeting with 78 attendees, 13 inter-
views with small businesses, and individual meetings with neighborhood and business associations.
1 See Mission neighborhood map in MAP2020 Plan:

http://default.sfplanning.org/Citywide/Mission2020/MAP2020_Plan_Final.pdf

Findings
1) What makes the Mission Street corridor special and unique?
Themes. Several themes emerged that suggest apparent contradictions yet paint a special picture of the cor-
ridor. Participants pointed to its deep Latino heritage, which included “spiritual, religious and physical” roots
dating back to the California missions. At the same time, they described its multiethnic and welcoming nature
that has made it a home for a diverse multiracial population. They described the Mission as grandiose spatially
(“our Market Street”, “our Main Street”) that’s dynamic and fast-paced, yet also as a gathering place that you go
to with a purpose and to pasear (stroll). It’s where everything you need is within a few blocks and is affordable
and accessible.
When asked about negative changes, participants raised issues like skyrocketing rents and displacement of
residents and long-time businesses, proliferation of high-end housing and establishments (gyms, bars, restau-
rants), increasing xenophobia and growing traffic congestion.
When asked about positive changes, they talked about new parks and BART plaza improvements, stronger
City/business collaboration, better resourced and interconnected community groups and social services, and
a pipeline of affordable housing that has broken ground. Several called the transit improvements negative for
businesses, but some felt it was positive for the residents, many of whom rely primarily on transit to get around.
2) What opportunities should be developed to meet the Cultural Districts Program goals?
Participants shared a multitude of opportunities they would like to see developed to meet the goals of the Cul-
tural Districts Program across its six focus areas.
Historic Preservation
• Establish multilingual cultural and historic markers
• Increase support for large-scale, cultural events (Carnaval, Día de los Muertos)
• Revitalize and preserve historic buildings
• Provide affordable spaces for indigenous groups to practice and preserve traditions
• Educate public about the history and significance of cultural events
Tenant Protections
• Increase affordable housing, especially for vulnerable populations
• Strengthen tenant protections
• Create more Navigation Centers and homeless shelters
• Enhance social services for populations most vulnerable to housing instability

Arts & Culture
• Increase cultural arts spaces and events
• Increase affordable arts programming for youth and seniors
• Protect existing and create new murals
• Showcase diverse Latin American culture and celebrate Latinx unity
• Support, train and hire local artists
Economic & Workforce Development

• Stabilize and support existing businesses
• Maintain cultural ecosystem of businesses
• Make it easier to open a new business along the corridor
• Study customer patterns and success of long-time businesses on the corridor
• Market and promote small businesses to drive up sales
• Increase public safety to address vandalism and open drug use
• Increase economic investment along the corridor
• Improve support and work opportunities for job-seekers
Land Use
• Create conditions for community-focused development
• Support residents and businesses that have been displaced
• Invest in green public spaces
• Improve parking and accessibility of corridor for customers
• Promote pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure
Cultural Competency
• More dialogue with neighbors and community to get opinions
• Ensure that City agencies follow through on these ideas
• Make information about City resources accessible to all
• Increase community policing
• Acknowledge cultural history and geography of the area
3) Is there value in expanding the Latino Cultural District?
Overwhelmingly, respondents supported the idea of expanding the Latino Cultural District because of the in-
creased City resources and attention it would bring, and the cultural significance of the neighborhood. They also
believe that cultural district designation will help better protect small businesses and long-time residents from
displacement, and that it will lead to more events that promote and preserve Latino culture.

While there was strong support for expanding the Latino Cultural District, respondents coupled their support
with various suggestions or conditions such as the following:
• Acknowledge the diversity of the corridor and promote inclusivity/dialogue among diverse co-
munity members and businesses
• Promote inclusivity and dialogue among diverse community members and businesses
• Have a sense of urgency about it
• Add to Cultural District goals a focus on community building, leadership development,
equitable transportation, and youth
• Double the Latino Cultural District’s budget
CONTEXT
The concept of expanding the Latino Cultural District along Mission Street is rooted in community stabilization
efforts launched in the past five years. In 2014, Calle 24 (formerly the Lower 24th Street Merchants and Neigh-
bors Association) shifted its focus from primarily quality of life issues to addressing the growing displacement
of Latino residents and businesses as a result of the second technology boom. With the support of Supervisor
David Campos and Mayor Ed Lee, they passed a Board of Supervisors resolution to recognize the Calle 24 Latino
Cultural District as San Francisco’s first formal cultural district. While many other areas in the city have distinct
cultural identities, the Latino Cultural District was established to protect and enhance Latino cultural and com-
munity assets. Their pioneering efforts, along with those of five other cultural districts in San Francisco, inspired
the creation of an official Cultural Districts Program staffed by City personnel and funded by a November 2018
ballot initiative that restores hotel taxes for the arts.
San Francisco’s Cultural Districts Program seeks to:

“Formalize a collaborative partnership between the City and communities and bring
resources and help in order to stabilize vulnerable communities facing or at risk of dis-
placement or gentrification, and to preserve, strengthen and promote our cultural
assets and diverse communities, so that individuals, families, businesses that serve and
employ them, nonprofit organizations, community arts, and educational institutions are
able to live, work and prosper within the City.”
The Cultural Districts Program aligns in its intent with the Mission Action Plan (MAP2020), a unique City-commu-
nity collaboration started in 2015 to address displacement and gentrification in the Mission using multiple strat-
egies. Community leaders involved in MAP2020 recognized the importance of the Mission Street corridor to the
neighborhood and the Latino community regionally. They also saw the value of cultural districts as stabilization
tools that could bring with them much-needed City resources and attention. With these opportunities in mind,
they began advocating for the expansion of the existing Latino Cultural District beyond its current boundaries.

Photos: Antonio Peretev

TRENDS
The impact of displacement and income inequality on residents, businesses, artists, and nonprofits in the
Mission are well documented in several recent studies, whose main themes surfaced again in this community
engagement process.
Demographic Shifts
• The Latino population in the Mission dropped significantly from 50% in 2000 to 39% in
2018.2
• A 2015 San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst found that the Mission neighborhood lost
26% of its families with children between 2000 and 2013. 3
• High income households (>200% of the Area Median Income or over $206,000) have doubled
since 2000, while low- and middle-income households have been displaced. 4
Hispanic Population in the Mission
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
2 http://default.sfplanning.org/Citywide/Mission2020/MAP2020_Status_Report_2018.pdf
3 https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/FileCenter/Documents/54068-BLA.MissionDisplacement.102715.Final.pdf
4 http://default.sfplanning.org/Citywide/Mission2020/MAP2020_Status_Report_2018.pdf

Tenants and Housing
• Evictions remain high in the Mission with 144 in 2017, a figure that does not include informal or
unlawful evictions, or harassment that results in displacement.
• While 989 units have been developed since 2017, affordable housing production won’t hit the
target of 1,700-2,400 by 2020 due to resource constraints. 5
• Rent-burdened households stand at 37%, with almost half of those households experiencing
extreme rent-burdened. 6
Businesses
• On average, retail stores on Mission Street are experiencing a decline in sales according to the
Mission Street Corridor Analysis of 2017. 7 Key challenges include increasing competition from
online vendors; a loss of long-time customers, especially for businesses that rely on Latinos,
families, and lower-income households; limited customer parking and vehicle access; and a
shift in consumer preferences and buying patterns. For instance, younger Latinos appear less
interested in the types of products that stores on the corridor have historically sold, such as
jewelry, bridal and quinceañera dresses.
• While retail stores have experienced a decline in sales, upscale dining and nightlife establish
ments have experienced high growth. Average restaurant and hotel sales on Mission Street
increased by 70% between 2007 and 2016, compared to general consumer goods sales that fell
by 11% in the same time period. 8 According to data from the San Francisco Treasurer and Tax
Collector, the trend in general consumer goods reversed in 2017 with a 4% increase in sales.
Nonprofits and Artists

• Rents for commercial space have increased on Mission Street since the end of the last reces-
sion to between $2.50 and $3.50 per square foot in 2017. 9 The Nonprofit Displacement Project
reported that 82% of Bay Area nonprofits surveyed are concerned about sustaining their work in
the face of rising commercial space costs. 10 A full 60% of community-based nonprofits surveyed
in 2014 indicated a need for real estate-related technical assistance to deal with leases
coming to an end. 11
5
http://default.sfplanning.org/Citywide/Mission2020/MAP2020_Status_Report_2018.pdf
6 Rent-burdened households spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Extremely rent-burdened households pay 50% or more of
their income on rent.

7 https://oewd.org/sites/default/files/Invest%20In%20Neighborhoods/MissionStreetReport_Final_08-30-2017_0.pdf
10 https://ncg.org/resources/first-regional-nonprofit-displacement-report
11 https://sfmohcd.org/sites/default/files/FileCenter/Documents/8010-Nonprofit%20Displacement%20Report%20FINAL%20with%20appendix.pdf

• 288 artists living in the Mission responded to a 2018 artist census survey by the San Francisco
Arts Commission. 16% reported being displaced from their work place in the past two years,
11% reported being displaced from their home in the past two years, and 6% reported being
displaced from both their workplace and home in the last two years.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE

Community advocates working with the City on MAP2020 called for the expansion of the Latino Cultural District
to build on existing stabilization efforts. In 2017, Supervisor Hillary Ronen budgeted for and requested that the
Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) research whether community support for the expansion
is broad-based. In Fall of 2018, OEWD and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) selected Chung Hagen
Consulting through competitive bidding to facilitate a community engagement process with the objectives of:
• Understanding community perceptions of Mission Street,

• Soliciting ideas for achieving the Cultural District program goals, and
• Learning whether community members see value in expanding the existing Latino Cultural District.
With this initial community engagement process complete, the next steps in advancing the cultural district ex-
pansion rely on the formation of a dedicated community leadership body with representation from the Mission
neighborhood’s diverse sectors and perspectives (e.g. businesses, nonprofits, arts, residents, etc.). This leader-
ship body would be responsible for: ensuring transparency in decision-making; initiating the legislative process
with the Board of Supervisors; developing and executing a strategic plan; collaborating with City departments
and the leadership of the Calle 24 LCD; and actively drawing in resources to achieve the cultural district’s goals.
In addition, this information will help inform ongoing stabilization efforts and strategies such as MAP 2020, the
existing Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, the Planning Department’s Community Stabilization Strategy 12 (of-
fers analysis and tools to make strategic decisions that stabilize vulnerable populations), and OEWD’s Mission
Marketing and Business Support Strategy (aims to stabilize community-serving businesses within the corridor).
Together, these and other efforts hold the promise of a vibrant, dynamic and culturally-rich neighborhood for all.
12 https://sfplanning.org/community-stabilization-strategy

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
The community engagement process that led to this report was guided by a Community Engagement Advisory
Group (“Advisory Group”) and spanned four months from January to May 2019. OEWD identified Advisory Group
members that could engage populations in the Mission neighborhood most impacted by widening income in-
equality and displacement, and that could provide feedback throughout the process.
The community engagement process used various information gathering methods that built on one another: 11
in-depth interviews, 8 focus groups with 81 participants, one broad-based community meeting with 78 attend-
ees, 13 one-on-one interviews with a sampling of small businesses along the full length of the corridor, and in-
dividual meetings with neighborhood and business associations. These engagement methods were conducted
in English, Spanish and Cantonese, as needed.
Mission Street is the largest commercial and transportation corridor in the Mission neighborhood and is com-
prised of over 400 generally-large storefronts with a diverse mix businesses and residents. As a point of depar-
ture, the community engagement process asked about an expanded Latino Cultural District along this corridor.
This initial geographic scope did not preclude participants from sharing their opinions about desired boundar-
ies for the cultural district.
Mission Street. Photo: Antonio Peretev

Potential Expansion

Information Gathering Methods
Interviews. We conducted 11 interviews with community leaders from organizations representing various sec-
tors (e.g. health, arts and culture, housing development) and with a long-range view of the corridor to better
understand the shifts that have happened along Mission Street. These initial interviews also served to hone the
questions asked of focus groups participants.
Focus Groups. With the help of the Community Engagement Advisory Group, we organized 8 focus groups with
key populations in the neighborhood facing displacement pressures: 1) seniors, 2) arts organizers, 3) families
with children, 4) immigrants, 5) small businesses, 6) youth, 7) affordable housing outreach workers, and 8)
Single Residential Occupancy (SRO) hotel residents and organizers. A total of 81 individuals participated in the
focus groups, which were conducted in English and Spanish.
Community meeting. More than 78 residents, business owners, artists and families attended the April 9, 2019
community meeting at The Women’s Building. With half of the 2 hour-long meeting dedicated to break out
sessions on the Cultural District Program goals, participants had the opportunity to share their opinions about
the corridor and brainstorm opportunities for cultural stabilization and growth. They also addressed questions
that surfaced in the interviews and focus groups (e.g. reconciling support for a Latino cultural district in a grow-
ing multiethnic area).
Business-specific Outreach. Recognizing that businesses are one of the most prominent elements of the
Mission Street corridor, we developed a business-specific outreach strategy that included facilitating a small
business focus group, attending business association meetings (e.g. Mission Merchants, Northeast Mission
Business Association), and interviewing small business owners at their place of business. These activities were
conducted in English, Spanish and Cantonese, as needed.
FINDINGS
Perceptions of Mission Street

Unique and Special
We asked participants to share with us their perceptions of Mission Street by asking their opinions about what
makes the corridor unique and special. Their answers fell into five overarching categories:
Deep Latino heritage

Participants pointed to the Mission’s deep Latino heritage, which includes “spiritual, religious and
physical” roots dating back to the California missions. They described the area as rich in social activism.
It has served as the cradle of multiple social movements, including the labor and Chicano-Latino

movements. Important Latino traditions such as Carnaval and Día de los Muertos continue to be
celebrated, and the Mission Street corridor serves as a regional hub for goods, social services,
community, and work for Latinos – even those displaced throughout the Bay Area region.
Multiethnic
Participants described the Mission as a welcoming place that has always embraced diverse and mul-
tiracial populations, allowing them to feel at home. Some participants recalled Irish and Italian
immigrants welcoming Central American refugees to the Mission in the 1980’s. Others talked about pres-
ent-day Chinese and Arab merchants speaking Spanish to their predominantly Latino clientele. The
Mission’s large-scale and public cultural events also draw in and include people of all backgrounds.
Grandiose spatially
Participants described the scale and size of the corridor as grand, especially as compared to 24th Street
– a street that shares many cultural commonalities with Mission Street, but on a smaller scale.
Individuals referred to Mission Street as “our Market Street” or “our Main Street,” and noted that it is a
dynamic, fast paced corridor with numerous businesses, historic theaters, and major transit hubs.
Purpose and “pasear”

Described as a place you go to both with a purpose and to pasear (stroll), Mission Street strikes all the
senses – sight (colors, murals), smell (aromas of food), sounds (music and preachers at BART plazas),
and feel (crowded, bustling). Not only is it a comprehensive commercial corridor; it serves as a hub for
arts organizations and social services, a community gathering place that is “relational,” and a “face-to-
face Internet,” where you can get the latest in current events directly from people. “It’s the River
Jordan – where you go to feed, meet, socialize, fix a broken phone, buy a belt, and get medicine,”
summarized one interviewee.
Participants also noted the differing identities of the corridor depending on the time of day. One re-
spondent characterized the corridor as a “big piñata fiesta” filled with affordable goods that meet ev-
eryone’s needs by day, and an entertainment and nightlife hub after dark.
Affordable and accessible

Participants explained that, on Mission Street, you can get “everything you need” within a few blocks
at affordable price points. Unlike Valencia Street, which participants described as expensive, gentrified,
even pretentious, Mission Street remains a vibrant, working class corridor. It continues to provide
goods and services in multiple languages and at price points that are accessible to all, including work-
ing class people, recent immigrants, and families.

Recent Changes
When asked about the positive and negative changes along the corridor in the past few years, participants
shared the following observations:
Positive Changes Negative Changes
• Pipeline of affordable housing – construc- • Skyrocketing rents for residents and

tion starting businesses
• New and improved parks (e.g. In Chan • Displacement of residents, especially Latinos,
Kaajal) due to evictions, high cost of living, fires
• BART Plaza improvements • Loss of Latino and long-time businesses
• Better collaboration between business (e.g. Thrift Town, Siegel’s)
associations and City departments • Red lanes impact businesses (i.e. less foot
• Better resourced, interconnected and traffic and customers) and cut off neigh-
collaborative community groups and so- borhood access
cial services • Increase in luxury housing and high-end
• Continued presence of long-time busi- restaurants, bars, gyms
nesses • More xenophobia and classism – the
• Cleaner along some stretches of the corri- “othering” of Latinos as neighborhood
dor changes
• More reliable bus service • More traffic congestion with Uber/Lyft
• Less traffic congestion because forced stopping everywhere
right turns direct cars off Mission St • • Lack of investment to keep up with wear
Significant reduction in gang violence and tear of corridor
• Resolution of flea market situation with • Dirtier along some stretches of the corridor
creation of pilot program • Less bustling and family-oriented than
• Increased street lighting decade ago
• New murals attract visitors and reduce • Increased homelessness
graffiti • Open drug use
• Internet sales replacing local sales
• New construction lacks character
• Higher price of public transit
• Reduced bus stops
• Reduced housing stock because of
Airbnbs

Positive Changes (continued) Negative Changes (continued)
• Tension between long-time and new resi-

dents (often breaks down along race
and class lines)
• Although working class salaries have in-
creased, they haven’t kept pace with the
Bay Area’s high cost of living
• Federal poverty line hasn’t adjusted to
Bay Area cost of living, leaving federal pro-
grams (e.g. Medical) out of reach of
working-class people
Cultural District Opportunities

We asked participants about opportunities they would like to see developed to meet the goals of the Cultural
Districts Program. Below are the key themes and a few examples that emerged. For a full list of opportunities,
please see the appendices.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
• Establish multilingual cultural and historic markers
• Add signs or banners that affirm cultural history
• Install decorative archways to mark entrance to Mission (similar to Chinatown and Fruitvale)
• Identify and recognize historic locations (e.g. Mission Language Vocational School as the site of
the first Mexican government in the area)
• Increase support for large-scale, cultural events (Carnaval, Día de los Muertos)
• Eliminate/Decrease event permit fees within cultural districts
• Conduct advanced outreach to non-Latino businesses regarding Latino cultural events
• Elevate Carnaval from a regional to a national event like Tournament of Roses
• Revitalize and preserve historic buildings

• Document culturally-significant places/murals
• Revitalize and preserve historic theaters, Mission Cultural Center, Redstone building (houses
many non profits)
• Lower the requirements for Cultural Centers to set up long-term leases with the City therefore
easing access to capital for maintenance and improvements

• Provide affordable spaces for indigenous groups to practice and preserve traditions
• Provide free or low-cost spaces for teaching and practicing ancient traditions
• In addition to supporting arts and culture organizations, support social service organizations
that integrate cultural expression into their programming
• Educate public about the history and significance of cultural events

• Teach public about meaning of Día de los Muertos to avoid having the tradition be treated as
another Halloween
TENANT PROTECTIONS
• Increase affordable housing, especially for vulnerable populations
• Construct affordable housing for seniors, homeless, artists, Transitional Age Youth, immigrants,
SRO residents
• Increase percentage of inclusionary housing
• Develop more “step-up” housing options for tenants living in SROs
• Expand small sites acquisition program
• Develop new co-ownership models
• Raise awareness among landlords and tenants about respecting families with children
• Prioritize buying SRO buildings and maintaining them as affordable housing
• Research international housing and design models (e.g. affordable units built by Mexican
government, doughnut-shaped housing developments with open space in the middle)
• Pass a vacancy tax
• Strengthen tenant protections

• Strengthen rent control
• Increase protections for tenants to remain after unit sold to new owner
• Change law to allow more tenants per room
• Increase home ownership programs and co-ownership models to help community build assets
• Create more homeless shelters
• Enhance social services for the housing insecure

• Increase social services for the homeless, tenants, school children, and artists facing
displacement

ARTS AND CULTURE
• Increase cultural arts spaces and events
• Create state-of-the-art performance venue and cultural spaces (like Artillery Gallery)
• Use vacant storefronts for artist studios until leased out again
• Expand Paseo Artístico to Mission St.
• Increase affordable arts programming for youth and seniors
• Protect existing and create new murals

• Protect existing murals from displacement
• Create new and relevant murals along the corridor with the involvement of school-age children
• Showcase diverse Latin American culture and celebrate Latinx unity

• Expand Fiesta de las Américas (Festival of the Americas)
• Support, train and hire local artists

• Contract with artists from the Mission
• Provide more artist residencies
• Create SF artists registry
• Provide artists with technical assistance
• Loan vacant storefronts to artists until they are leased
ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

• Stabilize and support existing businesses
• Pass state law to allow for commercial rent control
• Assist businesses in securing long-term leases
• Create a commercial, small sites acquisition program
• Establish commercial Tenancies in Common or other co-ownership models to help businesses
purchase buildings
• Develop/support merchant networks
• Increase investment in keeping corridor clean, walkable, and well-lit
• Create more spaces for street vendors to sell
• Move sidewalk vendors from selling in front of existing storefronts
• Maintain cultural ecosystem of businesses

• Be intentional about recruitment of new businesses (diverse, culturally-relevant and
culturally-sensitive)
• Increase protections for Legacy businesses within cultural districts; Strengthen the Legacy
business program

• Limit liquor licenses to ensure corridor doesn’t become just restaurants and bars (gentrifying force)
• Retain corridor as a nonprofit and multi-sector corridor
• Pass zoning legislation that maintains the balance of diverse business types along the corridor
• Make it easier to open a new business along the corridor

• Provide well-publicized technical assistance on starting business (e.g. developing business
plan, finding affordable commercial space, loans)
• Streamline permitting processes
• Study customer patterns and success of long-time businesses on the corridor

• Use data from interviews of businesses that are still thriving and displaced customers that con-
tinue shopping on the corridor to inform strategies
• Market and promote small businesses to drive up sales

• Increase City support in promoting businesses to Latinos and new residents (e.g. online marketing)
• Encourage restaurants that attract tourists and new residents to promote shopping at cultural
retail stores
• Set up valued-customer program
• Work with tourism industry and student-developed tourism projects to promote neighborhood
• Increase public safety to address vandalism and open drug use

• Increase community policing that builds long-term relationships between law enforcement and
local communities
• Set up eNetwork (WeChat) for merchants to communicate, report complaints
• Increase economic investment along the corridor

• Attract Latino foreign investments
• Encourage City departments to purchase from local businesses
• Improve support and work opportunities for job-seekers

• Increase salaries to a living wage
• Offer option of paper-based and multi-lingual job applications, not just online
• Set up job training centers
• Incentivize small businesses to hire locally
• Require City-funded nonprofits to hire from around project area
• Fund workforce partnerships with arts organizations to create work opportunities for the homeless

LAND USE
• Create conditions for community-focused development
• Ensure land is used for community needs
• Reintroduce and pass moratorium on luxury development in the Mission
• Balance decision-making power between residents and developers on governing boards
• Support residents and businesses that have been displaced

• Establish right of return for those displaced
• Invest in green public spaces

• Increase investment and programming at parks (e.g. Garfield, York Mini Park, Parque Niños Unidos)
• Provide funding for school gardens
• Improve parking and accessibility of corridor for customers

• Get rid of red lanes
• Take out Ford bike parking to provide more car parking for customers
• Add white and green zones for customer pick-up or to go orders
• Create parking validation programs
• Promote pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure
CULTURAL COMPETENCY
• More dialogue with neighbors and community to get opinions
• Ensure that City agencies follow through on these ideas
• Make information about City resources accessible to all

• Establish an information hub to orient immigrants to neighborhood services
• Increase community policing

• Build long-term relationships between law enforcement and local communities
• End racial profiling of youth
• Acknowledge cultural history and geography of the area

• Remember that the Mission is part of a watershed and on Ohlone land

Focus Group Prioritization Exercise
We asked focus group participants to prioritize cultural district focus areas they deemed most critical for an
expanded Latino Cultural District to work on. Each person received two dot-shaped stickers to place by their
preferred focus area. While this exercise is not an exact science, it does provide a general sense of the urgency
participants feel about protecting tenants, improving economic and workforce development, and historic pres-
ervation.
Important to note: The suggestions that participants brainstormed for implementing the focus area strategies
could easily fall into multiple categories. For instance, “Preserving, maintaining and developing unique cultural
and historic assets” is an express historic preservation strategy of the Cultural Districts Program. However, par-
ticipants often categorized ideas associated with this strategy under the arts focus area.
Focus Groups Prioritize Cultural District Goals
Tenant Protections
Arts
Economic and Workforce Development
Land Use
Cultural Competency in City Services
0 20 40 60

Value in Expanding
creased City resources and attention that Cultural District designation brings, and the cultural significance of the
neighborhood. They also believe that cultural district designation will help better protect small businesses and
long-time residents from displacement, and that it will lead to more events that promote and preserve Latino
culture. One respondent suggested that the whole of Mission Street in the Mission neighborhood should have
been included in the original Latino Cultural District designation.
While there was strong support for expanding the Latino Cultural District, respondents coupled their support
with various suggestions or conditions:
• Acknowledge the diversity of the corridor
• Promote inclusivity and dialogue among diverse community members and businesses
• Have a sense of urgency about it
• Add to Cultural District goals a focus on community building, leadership development, equitable
transportation, and youth
• Double the Latino Cultural District’s budget
A couple of respondents answered that they were unsure about supporting an expansion. They wished to know
the impact of the existing Latino Cultural District before making a decision. One respondent raised concerns
about effectively administering a larger cultural district given needs within the existing Latino Cultural District.

OTHER KEY THEMES
Reconciling multicultural and Latino-focused cultural district
During the community meeting, we asked respondents to reconcile two seemingly conflicting themes that sur-
faced during the interviews and focus groups – support for the expansion of the Latino Cultural District, and a
recognition that the corridor is diverse and multiracial. Respondents acknowledged the concentration of Latinos
in the Mission and their deep history in the neighborhood. They recalled the rise of historic, social movements
in the neighborhood, including the rise of San Francisco’s Chicano/Latino movement, the United Farmworkers
Union and the push for increasing social services. They suggested that the cultural district could help honor that
history and educate community members about it.
Participants also noted the historic and current working-class ties between the diverse residents of the neigh-
borhood. They suggested that while it is important to focus on the largely Latino community in the Mission, that
it did not need to do so at the exclusion of other communities. Community events and services would continue
to welcome people of all backgrounds, and the Latino Cultural District could reflect the diverse people and per-
spectives of the neighborhood through its signage, arts, music, food and events.
Boundaries
While boundary setting was not an objective of this community engagement process, many participants offered
their ideas on where to set the boundaries of an expanded Latino Cultural District. Some suggested an expan-
sion along Mission Street stretching from either 14th Street or 16th Street to the North and either Cesar Chavez
Street, a cross street in Bernal Heights or Geneva Street to the South. Others advocated for including the entire
Mission neighborhood with 14th Street to the North, Potrero Avenue to the East, Cesar Chavez Avenue to the
South and either Mission Street, Valencia Street or Dolores Street to the West. A handful of participants asked for
the boundaries to exclude the northeastern portion of the Mission. One participant suggested including individ-
ual cultural assets near, but not on Mission Street (e.g. Roxie Theater on 16th Street, Clarion Alley Mural Project).
CONCLUSION
Using various information gathering methods, this community engagement process sought to answer three core
questions: 1) What makes the Mission Street corridor special and unique? 2) What opportunities could be de-
veloped to meet the Cultural Districts Program goals? 3) Is there value in expanding the Latino Cultural District?
We learned that participants see the corridor as special because of its deep Latino heritage; multiethnic pop-
ulation; spatial grandeur; identity as a place people go to with purpose, to stroll around, and to build com-
munity – especially among working class people; and a commercial corridor that is affordable and accessible.
Participants identified negative changes over the past few years such as skyrocketing rents and displacement of
residents and long-time businesses. In terms of positive changes, they pointed to new parks and a pipeline of
affordable housing construction underway.

Participants shared a multitude of opportunities they would like to see developed to meet the goals of the Cul-
tural Districts Program across its six focus areas. A few examples include establishing multilingual cultural and
historic markers (historic preservation focus area); increasing affordable housing, especially for distinct, vulner-
able populations (tenant protections focus area); and studying customer patterns and the success of long-time
businesses on the corridor to improve business practices (economic and workforce development focus area).
creased City resources and attention it would bring, and the cultural significance of the neighborhood. They also
believe that cultural district designation will help better protect small businesses and long-time residents from
displacement, and that it will lead to more events that promote and preserve Latino culture.
With the completion of this initial community engagement process complete, the next steps in advancing the
cultural district expansion rely on the formation of a committed and diverse community leadership body that
can ensure transparency in decision-making; initiate the legislative process with the Board of Supervisors; de-
velop and execute a strategic plan; collaborate with City departments and the leadership of the Calle 24 LCD;
and actively draw in resources to achieve the cultural district’s goals.
In addition, this information will help inform ongoing stabilization efforts and strategies such as MAP 2020, the
existing Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, the Planning Department’s Community Stabilization Strategy, and
OEWD’s Mission Marketing and Business Support Strategy. Together, these and other efforts hold the promise of
a vibrant, dynamic and culturally-rich neighborhood for all.
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Community Engagement Advisory Group
Below is a list of community engagement advisors that helped to engage focus group participants from diverse
sectors (see sectors in parenthesis below), and provide feedback on engagement tools (e.g. interview ques-
tions), the report, and the overall process.
Stella Adelman, Dance Mission (arts)

Erick Argüello, Calle 24 Latino Cultural District Council (cultural district)
Carlos Bocanegra, United to Save the Mission / Mission Neighborhood Centers (families and seniors)
Chirag Bhakta, Mission Housing (affordable housing)
Marilyn Duran, People Organized to Demand Environmental and Economic Justice (youth)
Krissy Keefer, Dance Mission (arts)
Diana Martinez, Dolores Street Community Services (SROs)
Arturo Moh Mendez, formerly with Mission Arts Performance Project (arts)
Edwin Rodriguez, Mission Economic Development Agency (small business)

Appendix B: Existing Cultural Districts
Prior to the creation of the Cultural Districts Program, San Francisco already boasted six cultural districts. Cur-
rently, a new handful of cultural communities are actively pursuing cultural district status.
Cultural Districts as of January 2019

1. Japantown Cultural District
2. Calle 24 Latino Cultural District
3. SoMa Pilipinas - Filipino Cultural District
4. Compton’s Transgender Cultural District
5. Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District
6. African American Arts & Cultural District

Appendix C: Definition of San Francisco
San Francisco Cultural Cultural District:
Districts Program
“A geographic area or location within the City and
Recognizing the value of cultural districts, the County of San Francisco that embodies a unique cul-
Board of Supervisors unanimously passed in tural heritage because it contains a concentration of
May 2018 the Cultural District legislation intro- cultural and historic assets and culturally significant
duced by Supervisor Hillary Ronen. It creates a enterprise, arts, services, or businesses, and because
process for establishing areas of San Francisco a significant portion of its residents or people who
as cultural districts. More significantly, it for- spend time in the area or location are members of a
malizes cultural districts as tools for stabilizing specific cultural, community, or ethnic group that his-
cultural communities facing discrimination and torically has been discriminated against, displaced
displacement. and oppressed.”
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Cultural Districts Program is three-fold:
• Celebrate. To celebrate and strengthen the unique cultural identities of San Francisco’s communities
• Strengthen. To preserve, strengthen and promote diverse communities’ cultural assets and to ensure
that residents and institutions thrive
• Coordinate. To formalize partnerships between the City and communities to better coordinate resourc-
es and focus on stabilizing communities facing displacement
STRATEGIES
Managed by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, the Cultural Districts Program seeks to
advance the following strategies:
1. Preserving, maintaining and developing unique cultural and historic assets,
2. Preserving and promoting significant assets such as buildings, business, organizations, traditions, practices,
events- including their venues or outdoor special events and their geographic footprints.
3. Preserving works of art and public facing physical elements or characteristics that have contributed to the
history or cultural heritage of San Francisco and its people or are associated with the lives of persons important
to San Francisco history.
Tenant Protections
1. Stopping the displacement of residents of Cultural Districts who are members of vulnerable communities that
define those Districts

2. Promoting affordable housing opportunities and home ownership within the Districts
3. Developing and strengthen new tools to prevent displacement
Arts
Attract and support artists, creative entrepreneurs, cultural enterprises and people that embody and promote
the unique cultural heritage of the District especially those that have been displaced.

1. Promote tourism to stabilize and strengthen the identity of the district while contributing to the district’s
economy.
2. Promoting employment and economic opportunities for residents of Cultural District
Land Use
Creation of appropriate City regulations, tools, and programs such as zoning and land use controls to promote
and protect businesses and industries that advances the culture and history of Cultural Districts.
Cultural Competency in City Services

1. Promoting cultural competency and education by diversifying our historic narrative on the history of Califor-
nia’s San Francisco’s many diverse cultural and ethnic communities, with an emphasis on those who have been
previously marginalized and misrepresented in dominant narratives.
2. Promoting culturally competent and culturally appropriate City services and policies that encourage the
health and safety of the community, culture, or ethnic groups in Cultural Districts.
3. It is acknowledged that culture is fluid and ensuring that the community will have a framework in which to
revisit its goals and priorities to respond to those changes slowing down gentrification and mitigating its effects
on vulnerable minority communities.
4. Promoting and strengthening collaboration between the City and communities to maximize cultural compe-
tency and pursue social equity within some of the City’s most vulnerable communities.

Appendix D: Calle 24 Latino Cultural District
HISTORY
Calle 24 began in 1999 as a grassroots organization
formed by a group of long-time residents, merchants,
service providers and arts organizations concerned with
quality of life issues in the community. It was known then The Calle 24 Latino Cultural
as the Lower 24th Street Merchants and Residents Asso- District’s mission:
ciation.
To preserve, enhance and advocate for Latino
As the second technology boom of the 2010s began cultural continuity, vitality, and community
changing the Mission neighborhood and its residents at a in San Francisco’s touchstone Latino Cultur-
rapid pace, Calle 24 began organizing community mem- al District and the greater Mission neighbor-
bers to preserve the history, community and culture of hood. It envisions an economically vibrant
the 24th Street corridor. Their advocacy led to an unprec- community that is inclusive of diverse income
edented collaboration between Calle 24, the San Francis- households and businesses that together
co Latino Historical Society, San Francisco Heritage, May- compassionately embrace the unique Latino
or Edwin Lee and Supervisor David Campos to establish heritage and cultures of 24th Street and that
the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District (LCD). celebrate Latino cultural events, foods, busi-
nesses, activities, art and music.
Recognized by resolution by the Board of Supervisors
in May 2014, the Calle 24 LCD seeks to “stabilize the dis-
placement of Latino businesses and residents, preserve
Calle 24 as the center of Latino culture and commerce, enhance the unique nature of Calle 24 as a special place
for San Francisco’s residents and tourists, and ensure that the City of San Francisco and interested stakeholders
have an opportunity to work collaboratively on a community planning process.” The geography of the LCD is the
area bound by Mission Street to the West, Potrero Avenue to the East, 22nd Street to the North, and Cesar Chavez
Street to the South, including the 24th Street commercial corridor from Bartlett Street to Potrero Avenue.
IMPACT
At the April 9, 2019 community meeting, Erick Arguello, President of Calle 24, shared the following programs and
accomplishments of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District:
Land Use, Design & Housing

• Advocated for increased affordable housing in new development projects
• Acquired affordable spaces for cultural institutions in the district 5000sqf
• Established a Special Use District to stabilize small mom and pop businesses and maintain a healthy
retail to food mix
• Advocate to maintain vendors and artists on 24th St BART plazas

EXISTING CALLE 24 LATINO CULTURAL
DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

Economic Vitality
• Leveraged City grants for small business façade improvements, ADA, marketing
• Hired Business Liaison: Provides referrals & small business assistance
• Hired Marketing Coordinator: Markets the area-cultural events, businesses, nonprofits
• Hired Executive Director: Oversees operations and funding of the organization
Arts & Culture

• Restored 24th Street banners of Latin American Flags
• Leveraged funding for cultural and art events – Flor y Canto (Flower and Song), Paseo Artístico (Art Stroll),
posadas navideñas (Christmas lodging)
• Brought back festival Fiestas de las Americas
• Holiday street lights
Quality of Life
• Organized community meetings with beat officers to build trust through social justice lens
Appendix E:
Mission Action Plan 2020 (MAP2020)
In March 2017, the San Francisco Planning Commis- MISSION ACTION

sion endorsed the Mission Action Plan (MAP2020). The PLAN 2020
culmination of a two-year City-community collabora-
tion, MAP2020 identifies specific measures to address
the displacement and gentrification in the Mission af-
fecting residents, businesses, artists, nonprofits and
other community organizations.

MAP2020 has developed proactive measures to ad-
dress seven broad issue areas: 1) Housing; 2) Tenant PHASE 1 REPORT
The purpose of MAP2020 is:

MARCH 2017 (REVISED OCTOBER
Protections; 3) Production, Distribution, and Repair 2018)
(PDR) space; 4) Affordable Housing Preservation and

Production; 5) Economic Development; 6) Communi- “To retain low to moderate income residents
ty Planning and 7) Homelessness. These issue areas and community-serving businesses (including
overlap with several the Cultural Districts Program Production, Distribution, and Repair), artists,
goals, providing an opportunity to increase resources and nonprofits in order to strengthen and pre-
and attention on pressing needs like tenant protec- serve the socioeconomic diversity of the Mission
tions and economic development. Neighborhood.”

Carnaval procession. Photo: Sheila Chung Hagen
Appendix F:
Proposition E – Restoration of Hotel Tax for Arts
and Culture
The passage of Proposition E (“Restoration of Hotel Tax for Arts

and Culture”) in November 2018 by a 75% majority is a testa-
ment to the commitment and vibrancy of San Francisco’s arts
and cultural communities. Prop E restores the historic Hotel Tax
allocation for arts and cultural programming. As hotel tax rev-
enue grows, so will city funding for the arts with an annual cap
set at 10%. Should hotel revenues decrease, the arts and culture
allocation will fall no more than 10% in any given year.
The legislation increases investments in existing arts and cultur-

al programs, such as Grants for the Arts, the Cultural Equity En-
dowment and the city-owned Cultural Centers, all of which were Arts for Everyone
funded through the City’s General Fund prior to the passage of
Prop E. It also includes a new $3 million annual allocation to
support the city’s legislated cultural districts. Paid for by San Franciscans for the Arts. FPPC #1386300.
Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.

Appendix G:
List or Community Engagement
Process Participants
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS PARTICIPANTS

Below is a list of individuals that participated in the information gathering sessions, whether through a one-on-
one interview, focus group, community meeting, business interview, or merchant or neighborhood association
meeting.
Olman Acosta Iltzy Canul Maurelin Gonzalez

James Addicott Stephanie Carpenter Pedro Gonzalez
Stella Adelman Adolfo Carranza Luis Granados
Roberto Alfaro Norma Carrera Oscar Grande
Miguelina Alvarado Angela Carrier Fred Green
Mary Alvarez William Cartagena-Ortiz Sergio Guevara
Gailene Arce Guillermina Castellanos Rick Hall
Erick Arguello Vicky Castro Brittany Henry
Jonathan Argueta Henry Chen Chantel Hernandez
Ana Avalos Yuna Chuquilin Kimberly Hernandez
Margarita Ayala Debi Cohn Maria Hernandez
Debra Baida Brenda Cordoba Madrigal Roberto Hernandez
Jenny Barragan Kany Correa Matt Hill
Efrain Barrera Lourdes Cruz Yanelly Hill
Christina Battle Eric Cuentos Simon Hong
Maribel Becerra Shaghayegh Cyrous Felicitas Huezo
Arnoldo Bercian Sabine Dabady Clara Ibarra
Chirag Bhakta Jordan Davis Lissette Irizarry
Naima Blanco-Norberg Roberto De la Rosa Kim Izar
Carlos Bocanegra Dyana Delfin-Polk Krissy Keefer
Anabelle Bolanos Lariza Dugan-Cuadra Brian Kutner
Maura Bolivar Marilyn Duran Juana Laurel
Tomasa Bulux Rodrigo Durán Demauric Laviene
Verónica Cab Sven Eberlein Phil Lesser
Francis Cabrera Jean Feilmoser Francis Li
Jose Ramon Cabrera Mel Flores Michael Li
Stephanie Cajina Paul Flores Lily Liang
Bernardela Camacho Estela Garcia Claudia Llanos
Jaime Campos Zaila Garcia Raymond Loi
Ashley Canul William Gomez Dulce Lopez

Viviana Lopez Colin O’Leary Jennifer Salcedo
Gabriella Lozano Lucia Obregon Martha Sanchez
Doug MacNeil Isabel Ochoa Rafael Sarria
Rosa Elia Magana Ameyalli Ordonez Marc Solomon
Josefina Magdaleno C. Augusto Oyagata Carlos Solorzano
Marcela Maldonado Annie Paradise Marie Sorenson
Kellita Maloof Larisa Pedroncelli Alex Suen
Ana Manzares Antonio Peretev Tracey Sylvester
Julian Mark Marlen Perez Margarita Temelo
Claude Marks Peter Phan Lilliam Thude
Diana Martinez Magaly Querevalu Fabiola Torres
Lezly Martinez Elizabeth Ramirez Blanca Trujillo
Cindia Ines Martinez Román Fatima Ramirez Raul Ttito
Eva Mas Kate Razo Ileana Umanzor
Diana Medina Marco Razo Leticia Valades
Arturo Mendez Michelle Reiss Jesus Varela
Manuela Mendez Tomás Riley Gloria Vasquez
Michael Mendoza Maria Rocha Yoani Verboonen Fariba
Pilar Mero Edwin Rodriguez Flora Villalobos
Alijah Mestuyer-Orallo Jennie Rodriguez Erika Villegas
Ana Montenegro Julia Rodriguez Eric Wallner
Adelaida Moreno Luz Rodriguez Richard Williams
Yeimy Moreno Mariana Rodriguez Megan Wilson
Ryen Motzek Violeta Roman Benny Yee
Yesenia Muñoz Dairo Romero Emanuel Yekutiel
Lucero Muñoz Arellano Santiago Ruiz Louisa Young
Northeast Mission Business Associ- Severin Saenz
ation members Esperanza Salazar
Appendix H:
Interview Questions
1. When you walk along Mission Street, how would you describe it? What do you do when you come out to
Mission Street?
2. What do you think makes Mission Street unique and special? What do you like about it?
3. What do you see as the importance of the Mission Street corridor to the neighborhood as a whole?

4. What would you like to see preserved about Mission Street?
5. What changes along Mission Street in the past few years would you describe as positive? as negative?
6. What changes need to happen in order to stabilize, strengthen, and help grow the Mission Street corridor?
7. What opportunities and activities would you like to see developed along Mission Street that support the
Cultural District goals?
GOAL OPPORTUNITIES and ACTIVITIES

you would like developed along Mission Street
1. Historic Preservation
Preserve and develop cultural and historic build-
ings, businesses, organizations, traditions, arts,
events and district aesthetics
2. Tenant Protections
Protect tenants from displacement and promote af-
fordable housing and homeownership
3. Arts
Attract and support artists and cultural enterprises
4. Economic & Workforce Development

Promote jobs, tourism and economic opportunities
that stabilize the district’s economy
5. Land Use
Create City regulations, tools and programs that
support businesses & industries that advance the
cultural district
6. Cultural Competency in City Services & Policies

Promote culturally competent and appropriate City
services, policies and narratives

8. Thinking about all the things you’ve mentioned, what are the 1 or 2 most important changes you would like to
see implemented along Mission Street as part of the Latino Cultural District?
9. Do you see value in expanding the Latino Cultural District along Mission Street?
10. Is there anything else that you’d like to add? Is there anything that we should be mindful of in exploring an
expansion?
Appendix I:
Interview Results
Interviews conducted with Mission community leaders from various sectors between January and March 2019:
• Roberto Alfaro, HOMEY (youth)

• Erick Argüello, Calle 24 Latino Cultural District (cultural district, small business)
• Lariza Dugan-Cuadra, Central American Resource Center (immigrant)
• Marilyn Duran and Oscar Grande, People Organized to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights
(youth, economic and workforce development)
• Estela Garcia, Instituto Familiar de la Raza (health)
• Luis Granado, Mission Economic Development Agency (small business, housing)
• Roberto Hernandez, Carnaval (arts and culture)
• Jeannie Rodriguez, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (arts and culture)
• Santiago Ruiz, Mission Neighborhood Centers (seniors, families, children)
• Carlos Solorzano, Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of San Francisco (small business)
1. When you walk along Mission Street, how would you describe it? What do you do when you come out
to Mission Street?
• Multi-ethnic (Latinos for diverse Latino families; Chinese, Jewish, Arab, Irish, Italian); mixed-income;
diverse; mixture of families, couples, individuals; and culturally-integrated (e.g. Chinese business
owners speaking Spanish to clients)
• Diversity of businesses – food, electronics, arts, services, programs, organizations
• Dynamic, fast-paced, busy corridor every day, including weekends
• Patches of quietness with restaurants closed during the day
• “Grandiose spatially” Large boulevard, but distinct from Market Street. Our version of East LA.
• Large storefronts, formerly occupied by large department stores like Newberry’s and Woolsworth
• Contrast between high end restaurants and small mom and pop shops
• “The River Jordan – where you go to feed, meet, socialize, fix broken phone, buy a belt, get medicine”

• Noisy
• Less lively/busy/noisy than 5-10 years ago
• Historically distinct from Valencia – Valencia was where the Latin American political refugees hung out,
Mission Street was where you ran your day-to-day activities/errands (e.g. disaggregated shopping at car
niceria, fruteria, fish markets, etc.)
• Affordable price points (e.g. 99 cents store)
• Ambiance changes as you move along corridor
• Reminiscent of Latin American commercial areas
• Crowded, but not dangerous – gang warfare concentrated at specific corners or side streets, not on
corridor itself
• Contrast of businesses open by day versus by night – retail by day, restaurants and bars by night
• Contrast of people on the corridor before 4pm and after 4pm– more Latino families by day, more young
white people after 4pm
• More single white men that likely work in tech
• Welcoming environment
• Changing façades
• Mission Street continues to be the street on which you conduct your day-to-day business and run er
rands
• Familiar – people know where they’re going
• See both locals and tourists (with bags trying to find Airbnbs)
• Full life in the Mission -- Combine running errands with visiting family living near corridor
• There were more migrant-owned restaurants/bars in the past
• Corridor of businesses
• People come here with purpose and to pasear (stroll)
• Four theaters
• Significantly less number of families walking along corridor
• Mix -- Still see families with children, elderly Latinos, Latino-serving and neighborhood-serving business
es, and long-time businesses (e.g. Pete’s BBQ, mercaditos, restaurants). At the same time, see new bars
and restaurants that cater to high-income customers
• Serves different populations and clients
• Character and welcoming sense have diminished along Mission St. between 14th to 18th – increased
prostitution and open substance abuse, depressing, sad
• Young people getting on the bus
• It’s an expansive street, especially as compared to 24th Street, which is more intimate (a mini Mission St)
• On a gentrification scale of 1-10, Mission Street is a 3. 24th Street is a 5.
• Different smells – 90% of which are food
• Place that you come to chit chat with local merchants and hear about what’s happening in other parts of
the world – “It’s the face-to-face Internet”
• Diverse

• Not as bustling and vibrant a thoroughfare as it was in the 80s to mid-90s, but retains its essence with
anchor tenants
• Multicultural
• New generation of Latinx businesses coming in
• Our “downtown”
2. What do you think makes Mission Street unique and special? What do you like about it?
• Vibrant, bustling community – music, sounds, mi gente (my people), welcoming, families, kids – in
comparison, Valencia is subdued
• Get everything you need; Something for everyone – retail, restaurants, professional services, pharmacies
• Street vendor, food carts
• Murals – tell community stories
• Variety of stores – clothing, theaters
• Wide, openness
• Visual markers (e.g. red and blue floor tiles near McDonald’s)
• Presence of Latino families
• Combines day to day life needs with social
• Accessible -- walking distance or close to transit
• Strong presence of multiethnic/multiracial, immigrant and working class people
• Diverse ecosystem – not all food-based, not all retail
• Activities and community building at BART plazas (e.g. preachers)
• Art at night
• Now the Mission has two identities: By day it’s a “big piñata fiesta” filled with “plástico (plastic) and all
this stuff from China” By night, it’s got an “urban grit feel,” and is active with restaurants and bars.
• Specialty stores and affordable stores (e.g. quinceañera shops, 99 cents)
• Families walking along corridor
• Ethnic diversity of corridor
• Aromas
• Crowded, but open feel of street – can see the sky
• Low-riders cruising
• Mission Cultural Center (drumming, salsa, music)
• BART plazas have everything – street vendors, Jehovahs, protests, salsa
• Musicians at plazas
• Carnaval – 100K people lined up, amazing
• Part of El Camino Real
• Theaters, including New Mission Theater – historic, iconic
• Concentration of nonprofits on corridor
• Serves needs of working-class, Latino and people of color communities

• Vibrant community
• Variety of local-serving businesses
• Historic, early and ongoing influence of Latinos and Latino immigrants through people movements —
labor movement (e.g. United Farm Workers movement in SF born in the Mission), civil rights movement,
people of color movements and building of alliances, contributions of indigenous people from Latin
America, cultural arts and activism, activists that established community organizations in the 1960s &
70s, push for increased and culturally-competent social and health services in the 1980s
• Always influx of cultures that makes vibrant community
• Weather
• Center of the city – easy access to Excelsior, the Avenues, downtown
• Food
• Affordable
• Safe for kids
3. What do you see as the importance of the Mission Street corridor to the neighborhood as a whole?
• It’s a Main Street/central hub for the neighborhood – where people connect, live, work, bank, eat, take
the bus, march
• Major transit hubs – easy to get to southern half of the city
• Even those that have been displaced from living in the neighborhood still view it as home – where they
may still work, where they gather with community, go to health clinic, see attorney
• Main corridor for affordable and culturally-relevant goods and services and jobs, including for people
that have been displaced from the Mission
• Spine of the Mission neighborhood – where people gather from all over for BART plaza vendors, Bay Area
nightlife, large-scale events like Carnaval, low riders
• Similar to the Tenderloin and Excelsior, serves a multiethnic and multiracial mix of people
• Combination of utilitarian and social
• Programs for kids – Dance Mission, soccer games at Garfield Park, family-friendly restaurants
• Regional corridor – those who left/displaced “coming home”
• Provides jobs for neighborhood folks
• Offers a great range of services and goods to all (e.g. families, residents, nonprofit workers, homeless), no
matter their income level
• No language barriers for Spanish speakers – allows all to be on the same page
• Immigrant entry point
• It’s the Mission’s Market Street, where you watch movies, get good food, do light shopping
• Our Geary St./Third St. – iconic street that gives you a sense that you’re in the Mission neighborhood
• The Mission is an identity – belonging to the Mission is synonymous with belonging to a pueblito (a town)
within a city
• Mission Street has a strong connection to the spiritual, religious and physical history of San Francisco

– its where the Catholic church established one of California’s missions, which has strong ties to the
Latino community. Today people continue to see it as a “place of congregation” – you can “speak your
language, shop in tiendas (stores), talk with comadres (close friends), and get the best deals”.
• While other cities have Latino hubs, Mission special because it is accepting of diversity
• It’s the spine of the neighborhood – the presence and name of the street is what signals to people that
they are entering the Mission neighborhood
• Preserves homage to people that came before; guarantees that Latino culture doesn’t get wiped out like
the Latino corridor in North Beach surrounding the Lady of Guadalupe Church
4. What would you like to see preserved about Mission Street?
• Diversity of businesses, services and goods – avoid turning into a strip of solely restaurants and bars or
indistinguishable from other commercial corridors
• Diverse, long-time mom and pop businesses that provide neighborhood-serving and specialty goods
(e.g. Dianda’s Bakery)
• Housing for low-income people
• Cultural markers because they give the corridor its unique flavor; distinguish it from cookie cutter
suburbs; make it a global tourist destination – historic buildings, icons, red and blue floor tiles, murals
• Local-serving businesses
• Affordable housing above businesses along the corridor
• Presence of Latino families
• Community organizations along the corridor
• Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
• Sense of pueblo
• “Protect cultural ecosystem through business” – use cultural lens when renting spaces to new businesses
• Space for old and new generations
• Public spaces (e.g. plazas, street corners) for people to hang out, have conversations, build community
5. What changes along Mission Street in the past few years would you describe as positive? As negative?
Positive
• Businesses continue to provide affordable goods
• BART Plaza renovations built with vendors and cultural activation in mind
• Long-time businesses (30+ years) continue to sustain themselves along the corridor as compared to
Valencia Street
• Low riders coming back to Mission Street
• New Mission Theater opening up
• MISBA vendors at 24th Street BART plaza
• City departments are working more with business organizations in the neighborhood

• Increased collaboration between business associations that has led to greater understanding among
diverse communities (e.g. Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and LGBT Chamber of Commerce)
• Slight decrease in racial profiling because of community activism
• Decreased gang turf warfare in the past 4-10 years as a result of violence prevention programs
• Mission St. between 19th-22nd St is cleaner perhaps because of DPW street cleaning or less foot traffic
• Comfortable decibel of noise
• Improved wheelchair access
• New businesses like Rincón Nicaragüense
• Decrease in exploitative sales of false social security cards
• Construction of Plaza Adelante and community organizations coming onto the corridor (e.g. HOMEY,
CARECEN)
• Tree planting
• Streets paved
• Affordable commercial/residential building going up on the NE corner of 17th and Mission (part of small
sites program)
• Having entities like Instituto Familiar de la Raza, HOMEY and MEDA, who maintain the Mission’s culture of
serving, establish themselves on the corridor
• Presence of Duc Loi Market
• SE corner of 18th and Mission slated to become building with affordable homeownership
• 1950 Mission St slated to be developed as affordable housing
• Arts and culture groups have been coordinating more
• Increased number of small venues providing cultural offerings
• Permits for cultural events have skyrocketed. One department provides grants and another takes those
grant monies in permits.
• New mom and pop shops opening up (e.g. new Chilean-owned coffee and sandwich shop on 25th)
• Increased multiethnic restaurants (e.g. Thai, Vietnamese)
• Acceptance of street vendors
• Seating on Cesar Chavez and Mission
• Activation of 24th Street BART plaza with bands and vendors
• Impact Hub listened and addressed community concerns before opening

Red lanes on Mission Street. Photo: Antonio Peretev
Negative
• Red lanes – proposed gain of increased speed and reliability not substantial enough to merit negative
impacts — cut up the neighborhood; cut off community; pedestrian safety hazard; cut off access to
downtown along Mission Street by southern neighborhoods; decreased pedestrian traffic that brought
clients to shops; sends messages of “no, no, no,” “danger,” and “don’t stop here” when focus should be
on welcoming (“Acompáñanos por el día”/”Accompany us for the day”); turns neighborhood into a free
way. Community groups united in opposition.
• Red lanes – didn’t take input; disrupts flow of people
• New luxury condos – unaffordable and design is out of sync with character of neighborhood and historic
buildings
• High-end restaurants have replaced long-time businesses along side streets. More recently, even
high-end restaurants can’t afford rent
• Speculators keeping storefronts vacant
• Building fires displaced residents and long-time businesses (e.g. Mission Market), and left gaping holes
along the corridor
• Traffic congestion – Uber/Lyft stopping everywhere; different modes of transit (e.g. bikes, skateboards,
cars) competing for same space
• Wear and tear of corridor coupled with lack of investment (e.g. insufficient street and sidewalk cleaning,
need for more trees)

• Loss of Mission Mercado due to fire
• New Mission Theater exciting at first, but didn’t turn out to serve community as promised
• Lack of activities for youth and seniors
• Attempts to remove La Pulguita flea market
• New neighbors saying they love Latino culture, but don’t want Carnaval in front of their house
• Skyrocketing rents and evictions for both residents and businesses
• “Forced displacement”
• Proliferation of homes for the affluent. The rise of the “Millionaires of the Mission” correlates with the rise
in “evictions and displacement of working class people, elders, single mamas, LGBTQ people”
• Increased xenophobia and classism, the “othering” of Latinos as neighborhood demographics change
• Ford bike parking – community opposition, take up parking that could be used by customers of business
es along the corridor
• Decreased business activity as a result of working-class clientele being displaced, increased cost of living
forcing clients to make tough economic choices when spending, and red lanes program decreasing
pedestrian traffic
• Challenges securing long-term, affordable commercial leases
• Decline in clientele at affordable restaurants
• Open drug use
• Loss of long-time stores like Seagull’s and Mission Thrift
• Empty storefronts, especially bigger spaces
• Few resources have gone into 16th-18th Streets (SROs, dilapidating storefronts) compared to 22nd-24th
Streets
• Decrease in produce shops
• Increase of upscale bars and restaurants -- not accessible to working class community
• Retail is down
• Displacement of 8,000 Latinos from the neighborhood
• Increasing number of expensive restaurants and bars (e.g. Gracias Madre, Commonwealth, Laundré)
• SFMTA and expensive new restaurants and bars lack an equity lens
• Cultural centers are having to fundraise more for facility repairs and maintenance that the City previously
covered
• Increased homelessness
• Dirty streets
• Unsafe streets
• Unkempt storefronts
• Increase in vacant store fronts
• Less beautification of storefronts by businesses that are now on month-to-month instead of long-term
leases
• Lack of affordable housing

6. What changes need to happen in order to stabilize, strengthen, and help grow the Mission
Street corridor?
• Start a commercial, small sites acquisition program and actively buy real estate
• Actively purchase real estate
• Increase color along the corridor with floor mosaic tiles, identify markers, and banners that raise cultural
and community awareness – generates more lively and strengthening energy
• Rethink development approaches. Strike a balance between building housing densely and maintaining
openness/feel of corridor. Study European, donut-shaped building designs where homes that are built
along the circle look out onto open space/children playing in the middle
• Study evolution of thriving, long-time businesses, like Casa Lucas, that have shifted their offerings as
client populations have shifted
• Increase salaries to retain workforce. If workers have to move away more than an hour commute, local
businesses will not have sufficient workers to remain open.
• Conduct an analysis of consumers that currently sustain businesses along the corridor to understand
what keeps them coming
• Create an economic development strategy for nonprofit workers, service sector employees, low-wage
public sector workers. Revisit City’s identified work sectors
• Bring in new businesses with outreach through Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Recognize Mission Street from Embarcadero to Excelsior as a nonprofit service corridor
• Improve car access
• Commercial rent control
• Develop more cooperation between businesses – network of information and resources
• A program to attract local and international Latino investment and businesses onto Mission Street
• Create a Latino, small business incubator – advocacy, information
• Invest in small businesses
• Promote shop local and small
• Market our community and the beauty it has to offer (e.g. the way Balmy Alley was marketed)
• Support street vendor permitting
• Get rid of red lanes
• Expand the existing small sites acquisition program
• Develop vision of what can go into larger buildings other than tech offices – follow up with regulations to
maintain diversity of corridor
• Developing a vision for the corridor that doesn’t just fight or address displacement, but reverses it; that
makes low-income folks feel like they have a place here; that avoids confusion over the type of future
development or businesses desired for the corridor
• Shift from just a culture of service to a focus on bringing in capital to follow through on vision
• Proactively recruit businesses that serve local needs
• Connect strategies of small business services, capital, real estate and policy

• Community groups continuing to work closely together and build consensus within the neighborhood –
In the past: Mission Anti-displacement Coalition; Today: Plaza 16, Mission New Agenda, USM, Calle 24)
• Legislation to establish commercial Tenancies in Common (TICs) and “create cultural wealth for future
generations”
• Funding to support next generation of businesses – create path to ownership of building or storefront;
subsidize
7. What opportunities and activities would you like to see developed along Mission Street that support
the Cultural District goals?

1. Historic Preservation • Create historic and cultural identity mark-

Preserve and develop cultural and historic ers on sidewalks and entrances to Mission
buildings, businesses, organizations, traditions, – wayfinders, landmarks, plaques that
arts, events and district aesthetics commemorate movements and narratives
• Eliminate or decrease and consolidate fees
for event permits within cultural districts
• Invest in maintenance of historic buildings
• Balance historic preservation with vision/
needs of business
• Lower the requirements for Cultural Cen-
ters to be able to set up long-term leases
with the City therefore easing access to
capital for maintenance and improvements
• Identify and recognize historically-import-
ant buildings (e.g. Mission Language Vo-
cational School – former site of the first
Mexican government, ties to United Farm
Workers and laborers)
• Use an inclusive definition of “historic
preservation” that embraces positive
identity, history, and contributions of
people, not just architectural uniqueness of
buildings
• Create affordable spaces for grassroots,
indigenous groups to practice, preserve

1. Historic Preservation (continued) and teach ancient traditions and cultural

practices (e.g. dance and oral traditions)
• In addition to supporting arts and culture
organizations, support social service orga-
nizations that integrate cultural expression
into their programming
• Acknowledge the community contributions
and visibility Carnaval brings to the city,
asess the level of support the event
receives compared to other cultural
events citywide, and build its sustainability
• Elevate Carnaval from a regional to a na-
tional event like Tournament of Roses
• Preserve cultural facades (e.g. Discolandia sign)
• Organize more cultural events and support
with greater publicity
• Bring back dollar day sales that foster
sense of community on Mission Street
• Sensitize/educate residents about the rich
and diverse cultural history of the Mission
2. Tenant Protections • Increase home ownership programs a

Protect tenants from displacement and promote co-ownership models to help community
affordable housing and homeownership build assets
• Increase amount of affordable housing
• Require new developments within the cul-
tural district to produce higher levels of
affordable housing
• Use local funds to build homes for immi-
grants prohibited from accessing federally
funded housing
• Increase housing for transitional-aged youth
and homeless people
• Regulate residential rent increases
• More support for social service programs
that serve the homeless
• Hold developers accountable for providing
affordable homes in their developments

2. Tenant Protections (continued) • Increase support to organizations that

specialize and excel in tenant protections
3. Arts • Recognize bus stops as natural community

Attract and support artists and cultural enterprises building spaces. Redesign with art, com-
munity history and youth focus.
• Paint new murals along the corridor
• Create an office that trains and supports
artists to be successful (e.g. training on
grant writing, information on funding op
portunities, guidance on presenting them-
selves)
• Develop an arts clearinghouse that: 1)
trains and supports artists, 2) matches art-
ists with people interested in hiring them,
and 3) develop a culturally-competent arts
tour for daytime tourists
• Require that new businesses adhere to cul-
tural, beautification guidelines
• Study how long-time businesses along the

corridor have stayed in business (e.g.
inquire whether landlord maintains rent
that stabilize the district’s economy affordable or business owns building).
• Provide free emergency technical assis-
tance on negotiating commercial leases
• Subsidize rent for small businesses
renting space in publicly-owned buildings
that meet certain criteria (e.g. social
enterprise, worker co-op, immigrant-owned)
• Study community members that have
been displaced, but that continue to use
the corridor (e.g. for work, commerce).
• Retain corridor as a nonprofit and
multi-sector corridor
• City departments can support local busi-



4. Economic & Workforce Development nesses by increasing their purchase of
(continued) local goods
• Regulate commercial rent increases
• Provide low to no-cost legal services for
businesses
• Streamline permitting for businesses
• Fund construction/installation of decora-

5. Land Use tive archways to mark entrance to Mission
Create City regulations, tools and programs that – similar to Chinatown and Fruitvale
support businesses & industries that advance the • Establish commercial Tenancies In Com-
cultural district mon (TICs)
• Cultivate active open space (e.g. with music)
• Pass legislation that keep types of busi-
nesses on corridor diverse
• Add green space along the corridor (e.g.
green roofs)
• Add street signage in multiple languages
to affirm diversity of community
• Establish more dedicated cultural spaces
• Hang Latin American flags on street poles
and art banners
• Purchase real estate to develop community
assets
• Recognize geography of corridor – part of

6. Cultural Competency in City Services & Policies watershed, Ohlone land
Promote culturally competent and appropriate City • Bring information from City Hall to busi-
services, policies and narratives nesses directly so the process is not
intimidating
• Significantly increase upkeep of street

Businesses on Mission Street. Photo: Antonio Peretev
Comments about the focus areas themselves:

• Missing community building as a goal – engage people physically with space (e.g. plazas)
• Add transportation (with an equity lens) as an element
• Consider 1) local-serving commercial, 2) nonprofit, and 3) affordable housing when considering each of
the goals. Goals will manifest themselves differently with these unique sets of uses.
• Add access to capital to each component to scale what can be accomplished
• Separate economic and workforce development. Economic development is a bigger strategy versus job
development, which can be individual strategies
• Add leadership development to the goals to increase civic engagement
• Make equity an explicit principle of the goals and identify equity indicators
8. Thinking about all the things you’ve mentioned, what are the 1 or 2 most important changes you
would like to see implemented along Mission Street as part of the Latino Cultural District?
• Expand small sites acquisition – residential and commercial

• Support Latino businesses – RH
• Arts/Historic Preservation – Support Latino cultural events and the arts
• Tenant protections and land use
• Tenant protections and economic and workforce development
• Remove red lanes
• Fill vacant storefronts with culturally-sensitive businesses by creating incentives for landlords (e.g. tax
deferrals)

• Commercial lease protections and support for businesses using a cooperative model – adapt support as
technology changes
• Create rapid response team that can help businesses that run into trouble (e.g. lease negotiations, not
reaching target market) – “Hell’s Kitchen model, but with cultural humility”
• Training new generation of business owners and identifying opportunity sites (e.g. registry of business
owners ready to retire and pass on business to younger generation)
• Preservation of community life and living in the Mission – spaces for people to live and congregate. Inter-
faces with the need for rapid construction of affordable housing
• Zoning that regulates commercial uses to maintain mix of businesses
• Identity markers that let people know they are in a cultural district
9. Do you see value in expanding the Latino Cultural District along Mission Street?
• Yes, and simultaneously acknowledge the diversity of the corridor

• Yes. Mission Street should have been included in the original Latino Cultural District.
• Yes, it’s an important mechanism to connect with the City and increase support.
• Yes, and have a sense of urgency about it. If this doesn’t get established for another 3-5 years, our base-
line population and our indicators will be very different. Also, identify desired results.
• Depends on the process for making decisions about funding and whether it will require resources from
my organization
• Yes, particularly as I look at the goals
• Yes, but want it to be inclusive and want strong level of dialogue between Latino and non-Latino busi-
nesses/between old and new businesses
10. Is there anything else that you’d like to add? Is there anything that we should be mindful of in explor-
ing an expansion?
• Make community building an explicit goal of the Cultural Districts Program

• Approach with integration of diversity in mind, not segregation
• Strengthen Legacy program’s ability to stabilize businesses
• Monitor and evaluate efforts to ensure success of the cultural district
• Getting community engagement will be a good outcome of this process. Have energy for effort come
from community.
• Cultural district boundary suggestions: 1) stretch from 16th to Potrero to Cesar Chavez. , 2) from Duboce
Street to “top of the hill” (Bernal Heights)
• Create incentives for businesses to remain relational
• Focus on community building, equity, and positive identity – look at focus areas through these lenses

Appendix J:
Focus Group Questions
1. Imagine yourself walking down Mission Street. As you look around, what do you think makes Mission Street
unique and special? What do you like about it?
2. What changes along Mission Street in the past few years would you describe as positive? As negative?
3. Below are the goals of the City’s Cultural Districts Program. What opportunities and activities would you like
to see developed along Mission Street that support the Cultural District goals?

1. Historic Preservation
Preserve and develop cultural and historic build-
ings, businesses, organizations, traditions, arts,
events and district aesthetics
2. Tenant Protections
Protect tenants from displacement and promote
affordable housing and homeownership
3. Arts
Attract and support artists and cultural enterprises
and activities

that stabilize the district’s economy

5. Land Use
Create City regulations, tools and programs that
support businesses & industries that advance the
cultural district
6. Cultural Competency in City Services & Policies

Promote culturally competent and appropriate City
services, policies and narrative
4. Reviewing the Cultural District Program goals, which 1 or 2 goal areas would you prioritize for Mission Street?
5. Based on the goals we just reviewed, do you see value in expanding the Latino Cultural District along Mission
Street?
Appendix K:
Focus Group Results
Focus Group 1: Affordable Housing Outreach Workers – 03/01/2019
Unique and Special

• Nearby community resources (e.g. Mission Economic Development Agency, La Raza Community
Resource Center)**
• My neighbors, my people, community*
• Multiculturalism
• A “downtown” in the Mission – diversity of Latinos
• A “mall”
• Synonymous with Latino (unlike Valencia)
• Affordable
• Access to public transportation
• Diverse faith-based congregations, but that share values
• Welcoming
• Fight for social justice
• People speaking Spanish and availability of community resources offers sense of safety and protection
• Stores reminiscent of those in Latin American countries
• Street vendors at 24th Street BART plaza
• Free and excellent live music on Saturdays at 24th Street BART plaza
• Higher concentration of businesses along Mission Street (compared to 24th Street)
o 24th Street is a focal point for cultural traditions and murals

• Some streets have been remodeled • Displacement of residents*

• Less gangs • Rent hikes*
• More street cleaning • Displacement of businesses
• Construction of affordable housing under way • Increase in liquor stores and bars
• Installation of trash cans in places that • Police is slow to respond
previously didn’t have one • Increased traffic jams as a result of red
• Park renovations lanes
• More police vigilance • Increase in medical cannabis dispensaries
• Faster bus service • Increased stereotyping of Latino community
• Many community resources • Increased homelessness – decreased
cleanliness, lack of access to public
restrooms, impact on families
• Increased transportation costs
• Insufficient street lighting
• High cost of living
• Residential and commercial buildings have
burnt down
• Increase in construction of luxury homes

Opportunities
.
• Support the enhancement of the Mission
Cultural Center
• Engage tenants through education,

surveys, and petitions
....
Tenant Protections • Construct more senior housing
• Pass legislation to allow tenants to remain
....
in homes that are sold to new owners; even
relocation payments worth 6 months of
rent don’t help stabilize tenants
• Create more homeless shelters
• Provide social service support to the
homeless on the streets
• Strengthen rent control
• Address obstacles to renting homes – lack
of credit history
• Support the enhancement of the Mission
...
Arts Cultural Center
• Provide scholarships for youth to attend
..

•
arts programs at Mission Cultural Center
year-round and in the summer
Establish more art centers
• Invite schools to create murals
• Provide free youth art activities in the summer
• Organize an art fair day
• Provide scholarships and make affordable
music programs for children
• Celebrate Latinx unity (e.g. Holy Week,
independence days) – involve children and
schools
• Establish an instrument-lending program
• Establish a dance program that teaches
dances from all Latin American countries

..
• Set up a job training center
.
Land Use • Establish and maintain community gardens
• Provide funding for school gardens
.
Cultural Competency • Establish an information hub to orient im-
migrants to neighborhood services – use
social media and neighbors as messengers
• Make information accessible to small busi-
nesses, not just the wealthy
Value in Expanding the Cultural District

Yes
Focus Group 2: Families – 03/04/2019
Unique and Special

• People from all over the world
• Snacks
• Colors – shops, buildings, people
• Shops that are nearby, accessible
• Celebrates cultures of all Latin American countries
• BART plazas
• Political marches start at 24th and Mission
• Murals
• Centralized location
• Restaurants with diverse Latin American cuisine
• Businesses owned by sole proprietors
• Extensive transportation corridor
• Variety of options within a few blocks
• Access to community services from organizations such as CARECEN, Instituto Familiar de la Raza,
Mission Graduates, HOMEY, MEDA
• Over time, builds in people a sense of pride and belonging – “I’m from the Mission”
• Reminds Latino immigrants of being in their native countries
• The Mission unifies people

Lowrider cruisin in an alley on 24th Street. Photo: David L. Gregory

• Feel safer – less gangs and violence • Displacement of Latinos

• Less prostitution • Latino and Anglo families being replaced
• Beautiful new buildings with young Anglos working in technology
• Expanded coordination of family services • Unaffordable housing unless have lived in
• Growth and increased investment in com- the neighborhood for many years
munity organizations • Newly constructed homes are unaffordable
• Long-time organizations continue to operate • A great deal of change in property owners
• Increased number of educational centers • As restaurants and businesses close, losing
for youth and adults (e.g. Heath Start, City what makes this community special
College) • New businesses cater to interests and
• Establishment of Calle 24 Latino Cultural needs of new residents
District • Harder to park car
• Losing homes to Airbnb
• Increased bullying and violence on buses
• Google buses facilitate the displacement
of residents by giving technology workers
the ability to live in working class
neighborhoods previously difficult to
commute to work from
• New, high-income residents lack respect
and commitment to local communities –
focused on partying and benefits for themselves
• Families have had to move far away. Some
still return to the neighborhood because
this is where they receive services and feel
like they most belong.
• Increased homelessness, especially
around 16th Street
• Increased drug use

Opportunities
...
• Educate public about meaning and history
of Día de los Muertos to avoid having the
tradition be treated as another Halloween
• Establish clear cultural goals for all Carnaval
activities to maintain focus on cul-
tural enrichment instead of on drinking
alcohol
• Organize outdoor event focused on
healthy eating and physical and spiritual
well-being
• Preserve colors of buildings
• Collect data on and study reasons for
...
Tenant Protections displacement
• Increase City support for families facing
displacement
• Coordinate with schools and organizations
that support the schools to address the
impact of displacement on students
• Have children create new murals – finger

Arts prints of the community
..
• Identify the factors leading to small busi-
ness closures and provide City assistance
to address small business needs early on
• Support Legacy businesses
• Provide City assistance to address barrier
of high commercial rents for new entre-
preneurs (e.g. help new entrepreneurs
rent vacant commercial spaces)

Opportunities (continued)
..
Land Use • Ensure new construction allows sun to
shine through
• Create and improve green public spaces,
which serve as cultural and community
gathering spaces.
• Increase investment and programming in
parks such as Garfield, 24th and York Mini
Park, and Parque Niños Unidos
Cultural Competency
Other • Clean and maintain streets and sidewalks

• Bring back Latino Honor Roll parade (or
ganized by the Latin American Teachers
Association) to recognize accomplish
ments of students
• Control smoke from cigarettes and mari-
juana in public spaces like bus stops and
parks

Yes and include the entire Mission District because assets mentioned during focus group (e.g. parks) are not
just along Mission Street
Focus Group 3: Youth – 03/08/2019
Unique and Special

• A place to connect with people and Latino culture
• Keeps traditions alive
• Art – murals, graffiti
• Diverse Latino heritages
• Family-run businesses
• “People make the Mission – they are nice, they have their moments, but they help each other”

• Street vendors
• Feels like home – “I always see someone I know”
• Food
• Parks (e.g. Dolores)
• Stronger connections between community • Gentrification and changing racial

groups demographics
• Opening of In Chan Kahaal Park (17th and • Increased discrimination
Folsom) • Construction of luxury housing that many
• Groundbreaking of affordable housing for people can’t afford
transitional-aged youth (17th and Folsom) • New construction lacks character (e.g. all
• More artwork on streets and alleys (e.g. mu- glass walls)
ral on 19th and Mission, Almicar mural on • Mission Street feels dead because of decrease
24th and Capp) in music and vibrant colors
• Remodeled storefronts • See more cultural appropriation
• HOMEY returned to space on Mission Street • Displacement of long-time residents
• Increased community unity to fight back • Increased racial profiling of black and
against gentrification and evictions (e.g. brown people by police, especially on 22nd
Plaza 16 Coalition) and 24th Streets
• Long-time businesses shutting down (e.g.
Mission Thrift, La Victoria Panaderia,
Galeria de la Raza)
• New, high-end coffee shops that only
attract white customers
• Existing businesses are having to assimilate
their products to the preferences of
new populations in the neighborhood
• Increased homelessness and poverty
• Red lanes preventing people from access-
ing the neighborhood
• Decreased parking as a result of Ford bikes
taking spots

Opportunities
....
Historic Preservation • Raise additional funds to keep Carnaval
running
• Organize more public events
• Put up cultural signs that share the history
of people in the Mission
.....
Tenant Protections • Construct new affordable housing
...
• Require new businesses to contribute to
Arts
the Cultural District by showcasing/support
ing community artists and performances
• Organize and raise funds to help small
...
Economic and Workforce Development businesses stay in place and pay rent
• Develop strategies that increase the num-
ber of Latino-owned businesses
...
Land Use • Ensure land is used for community needs
...
by asking community members what they
want
...
Cultural Competency • Increase community policing – build
...
long-term relationships between law
enforcement and local communities
• Get rid of low-rider ban

Yes, but suggest boundaries be 16th, Cesar Chavez, Dolores, Potrero because culture and community aren’t
isolated to Mission Street.

24th Street BART station. Photo: Vinicius Depizzol/ CC BY 2.0
Clarion Alley mural. Photo: Antonio Peretev

Focus Group 4: Small Business – 03/11/2019
Unique and Special

• Diverse foods and restaurants
• People from diverse Latin American countries
• Graffiti art
• Touristic and cultural points of interest
• A center nostalgic of Latin American countries
• Sells specialty cultural products
• A gathering place (e.g. 24th Street BART Plaza, where Orquesta 24 plays salsa music)
• A place where you see Latinos and street vendors working hard to get ahead
• Presence of community organizations that provide social services
• Has a community that keeps fighting for its rights
• As of 5-6 years ago, decrease in gangs • Agreement with survey comments by busi-
• Increase in community policing and access nesses along the corridor:
to officers o Decrease in sales
• Certain streets are cleaner o Loss of business/foot traffic as a
• Increased lighting result of red lanes and lack of parking
• Improved parks o Internet sales replacing local sales
• Less potholes in the streets o Increase in robberies
o Increase in homelessness
o Loss of clientele as a result of
displacement and evictions
• As a result of displacement, homeless
sleeping in front of storefronts and leaving
behind trash
• Losing Latino culture as new businesses
come in
• Increase in commercial vacancies city-wide.
• Property owners remodel and charge high
amounts for rent.
• Increase in groups of teenagers robbing
businesses

Opportunities
....
Historic Preservation • Close down Mission Street and host public
events
• Increase funds to arts organizations so
that they may provide scholarships or free
classes to youth
• Expand La Fiesta de las Americas, which
celebrates Latino diversity
• Increase the number of murals with con-
tent relevant to the neighborhood
• Encourage students to research and write
history books about the area
....
Tenant Protections • Increase protections that allow tenants
to remain in apartment buildings after
they are sold to new owners (e.g. limit
rent increases)
• Government to build and rent out affordable
apartments like Mexico does
• Inform tenants about their options and
the impact of their decisions when presented
with a buy-out offer
Arts • Create opportunities for school-age children

to paint murals
....
Economic and Workforce Development • Increase free technical assistance to Latino
...
business owners to ensure their success and
stability. Examples: finding affordable commer-
cial space, loans, how to start a business, etc.
• Announce technical assistance opportunities
provided by local government and communi-
ty organizations via radio, television and
flyers
• Work with tourism industry to bring tourist
buses to Mission Street

Land Use • “Stop selling land to corporations that

only build luxury apartments”
Cultural Competency
• Add lighting throughout the neighborhood

Other
to increase safety
• Post signs that inform people how to dispose
of trash properly
• Improve quality of cleaning by City contrac-
ted employees that walk along corridors
picking up trash
• Address prostitution on Shotwell Street
• Address alcohol inebriation at Jose Coro-
nado Park

Yes, but expand the boundaries.
A couple of ideas:
1 – Geneva to 16th and Potrero to Guerrero (commercial perspective)
2 – Duboce to Cesar Chavez and Potrero to Guerrero (“heart of the Mission”)
Expanding the boundaries increases area of support for the effort.

Focus Group 5: SRO Residents and Organizers – 03/13/2019
Unique and Special

• Public gathering spaces like the BART plazas and flea market, especially for those living in closed
quarters like SROs
• Mix of people – youth, immigrants of mixed status, families, young children in parks
• Street vendors
• Palm trees lining the street
• Latinx flavor
• Its compact
• Taquerias
• Street musicians that go from restaurant to restaurant
• Musicians as 24th Street BART
• Art – murals, music
• For Latinx immigrants, reminds us of home – people, music, gathering and welcome people
• LGBTQ-friendly
• Has alternative culture
• Latino traditions that welcome everyone -- Festival of the Virigin of Guadalupe, Day of the Dead
• People take advantage of public transit – frequency of buses, always full
• Latino businesses that cater to Spanish-speaking clients and offer specialty goods that can’t get
anywhere else
• Abundance of social and community services ranging from mental health to music programs
(e.g. Community Music Center)

• Increased resources and organizations • Loss of affordable commercial spaces

(e.g. clinics, Mission Neighborhood Re- • Loss of affordable businesses (e.g. Burger
source Center) King -- one of the few restaurants accepting
• Relationship with police improving; less EBT for hot food, Thrift Town, Wal
has sling of residents by officers greens on 16th received a 2-month notice)
• Social service programs continue operating • New businesses cater to gentrifying white
and receiving funds people
• 1950 Mission Street was used as a Navigation • Increase in homeless people around 15th
Center and now will become 100% and 16th Streets – “It’s the Tenderloin #2”
affordable housing • Although the homeless are visible, the
• Existing community organizations have City’s HOT Team does not seem to be con-
gotten stronger (responding to increased ducting its outreach work
need) • Establishment of 15-20 high end ice-
• Resolution of the flea market situation -- creameries (~$9 per scoop)
vendors offered permits through pilot pro- • Increased traffic congestion because of
gram; demonstrates City’s willingness to Uber/Lyft
work with people trying to make a living • SROs being flipped – illegally evicting resi-
dents, keeping vacant, putting up for sale
(e.g. Star City, Eula)
• Multifamily buildings being turned into a
single large homes – reduces housing
stock
• Increase in Airbnbs – “Who was displaced
for this to become an Airbnb?”
• Fires at 22nd, 29th, and Mission that
burnt down businesses and homes, including
and SRO hotel
• New residents changing community spaces
like Manny’s café
• Tech workers pushing kids out of soccer
fields
• Children whose families have been displaced
to Contra Costa county having a hard time
staying in SF schools because competing for
slots with those that can afford to live in SF

Opportunities
Historic Preservation • Add Latinx history markers

• Preserve the Redstone building as an
affordable space for nonprofits
• Create larger cultural arts spaces
• Ask Gay Men’s Chorus, which has a new
rehearsal space in the Mission, to teach
kids stage craft, provide internships and
offer rehearsal space
...
Tenant Protections • Prioritize buying and maintaining as
affordable vulnerable buildings such as SROs
... •
•

Pass a vacancy tax
Create more “step up” housing opportunities
for residents that have moved
through homelessness and living in SROs.
Ensure “step up” is affordable and larger
in size than SROs.
• Increase volunteer community involvement
.
Arts
in Carnaval and Cesar Chavez Parade
to make the events as large as they once
were
• Contract with artists from the Mission
....
Economic and Workforce Development • Help small businesses find and maintain
affordable commercial space
• Educate small businesses about who they
can turn to for help when experiencing
financial pressure
• Create incentives such as tax breaks for
businesses that hire locally
• Require that organizations contracted to
recruit workers for City projects hire Mission
residents first.

Economic and Workforce Development • Repeal sugar tax and restaurant surcharges
....
(continued) that make it difficult for individuals to
budget
• Provide paper-based and multilingual job
applications, not just online and English ones
• Restrict liquor licenses to limit new restau
rants and bars that gentrify neighbohoods
• Advertise job opportunities at community
and job centers in the Mission
• Reintroduce and pass moratorium on luxury
...
Land Use development in the Mission
• Take out Ford bike and Zipcar parking
spaces to provide more parking for fami-
lies that shop on the corridor
• Ask community what activities, etc. it

Cultural Competency
wants
Other • Have San Francisco’s new professional

soccer team play in the Mission and support
kids’ involvement in soccer

• 6 Yeses, but:
o Want to know what the existing 24th Street Latino Cultural District has accomplished
o Want legislation and efforts to focus on local hiring of Mission residents
• 1 No – Make improvements within the existing boundaries before expanding
• Consider naming Latinx Multicultural District
• Acknowledge the LGBTQ history of the area

Focus Group 6: Arts – 03/14/2019
Unique and Special

• Lively energy
• Families
• Rooted community
• Different from Valencia Street, which feels more privileged/entitled
• Music, street performances
• Diversity of languages – Spanish, English, Arabic, Mayan, Chinese
• Architecture – theaters
• Spanish signage
• Brown people
• Colorful buildings
• Street vendors – paletas (popsicles), elote (corn on the cob)
• Diversity – “everyone is here!”
• Blue tiles on sidewalk
• Place to get my things – clothes, shoes
• Family-owned buildings
• Sense of history, mix of people and time – similar to La Merced in Mexico City
• Markets
• Food
• Commercial spaces with multiple small vendors – colectivas (collectives)
• Increased diversity of music on Clarion • Vacant storefronts and their impact on

Alley other businesses
• Decrease in violence, safer • Longtime families gone from the neighbohood
• Community organizing to support those • Loss of El Balazo
that are housing insecure • Decrease in book stores
• Increased interagency organizing • Loss of 99 cent store, Thrift Town***,
• El Techo – provides a view Sub-mission, fabric store, Siegel’s
• Artillery Gallery • Fire at 22nd and Mission
• HOMEY’s new space • Construction of Vida building
• Drive is faster???? • Feelings of despair, fearful of evictions
• Increase in broken parking meters • Sweeps of street vendors
• Plaza 16 organizing to stabilize community
members

Positive Changes (continued) Negative Changes (continued)
• SRO Collaborative organizing Ladies Night • Displacement of artists (e.g. mariachis

on Capp Street moving to Antioch)
• Increase in people from the Caribbean • Sweeps of homeless people
• More murals • Increase of people without homes
• Establishment of The Hub • Increased tensions between people because
• Addition of street lighting of displacement
• La Taqueria workers getting back pay to ‘ • New homes have increased price points
address exploitation • Burger King closed
• Increased desire to improve physical space • Increased defacement of murals
• Medical cannabis dispensaries
• Hamilton Families providing services at
BART plazas
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. Photo: Antonio Peretev

Opportunities
.
Historic Preservation • Cultural tax on new residents; membership
program for long-time residents that
provides discounts at businesses
• Discount City permits for public, outdoor
events in cultural districts; bridge the
disconnect between City fees and City
efforts to support the arts
• Create state-of-the-art performance venue
with large amount of seating like SF Jazz
Center
• Create a historical record of how the
Mission has evolved (e.g. pictures, registry
of history)
• Preserve the Redstone Building, which
includes important organizations like
El/La Translatinas
• Protect Artists’ Television Access (ATA)
....
• Build affordable homes for artists
Tenant Protections
• Pass state laws to allow for commercial
...

•
rent control that provides for affordable
artistic venues
Recognize that staff at nonprofit arts or-
ganizations can only stay in their lowwage jobs
because of rent control; recognize that unaf-
fordable rents making it
harder for interns/work exchange opportunities
• Formalize approach to helping homeless
people – What does supporting and housing
the homeless look like?
....
Arts
• Support/protect murals from being
...
displaced
• Create affordable homes for artists

....
Arts (continued) • Change mindset from artist to cultural
...
entrepreneurs
• Acknowledge/Map existing cultural offerings
• Art groups can promote each other’s orga-
nizations
• Paseo Artistico on Mission Street – regular
events
• Establish more artists in residency
• Establish more galleries similar to Artillery
– accessible, interactive, diverse, gallery
and art spaces
• Provide subsidies
• Set up SF artist registry that targets support,
grants, and subsidies for artists at different
stages in their craft
....
Economic and Workforce Development • Create community intervention program
focused on harm reduction and de-escala-
tion; fund partnerships with organiza-
tions to create work opportunities
• Provide assistance for businesses to acquire
long-term leases
• Identify how to strengthen the Legacy
Business program
• More financial support for collaboration
and self-organization of cultural entrepre-
neurs; don’t centralize support within one
City agency
• Increase spaces for street vendors to sell
and train them on best way to go about it
• Establish a cap on the square foot cost of
commercial spaces

.
Land Use • Increase protections for Legacy businesses
within cultural districts
• Consider new zoning
• Like Navigation Centers, use vacant
storefronts for artist studios until leased
out again
• Pass vacancy tax
..
Cultural Competency
• Focus on bottom up approach; ask opinions
of neighbors and community when
considering programs
• Recognize interdependence of Cultural
District Program goals
• Identify how city departments will work
together in support of cultural districts
– What’s the vision? How are community
members part of that process?

Yes and:
• Include “islands of protection” for cultural assets outside Mission Street – Clarion Alley, Roxie, ATA,
Radio Havana
• Consider criteria/frame for boundary – culture, economy
• Double budget

Focus Group 7: Seniors – 03/19/2019
Unique and Special

• Plants*
• “I can find everything that I need”*
• Attracts many people, including tourists
• Business festivities
• Restaurants with outdoor seating
• New buildings
• Colors – murals
• Weather
• Tourists drawn to art, culture and events
• Fruit vendors
• Stores with products from different Latin American countries
• McDonald’s on 24th and Mission – gathering place
• Frequent bus service
• Improvements to BART stations • Tenants being displaced*

• Newly constructed buildings • High rents*
• Murals continue to be present • Reduced bus stops
• Improved bus stops • Trash and dumping of furniture in the street
• Cleaner • Between 14th and 18th Streets, see nude
• Dedicated bus and taxi lanes people jumping around and obstructing
walkway
• Spanish spoken everywhere you go
• Increased drug use
• Increased street lighting
• Increased car break ins
• Bank ATMs located both inside and outside
• Increased number of people on the bus
• Stores open early
that are inebriated or have dogs with them
• Increased multiculturalism – people from
• Lack of parking, high cost of parking meters/
all over the world, diverse languages spoken garages, high cost of parking tickets

Opportunities
.
Historic Preservation • Organize parade of roses
• Organize Children’s Day activities
• Teach children about the cultures of other
countries
....
Tenant Protections
• Construct affordable senior housing
.... •

Design apartments with balconies or win-
dowsills that hold flower planters
Arts • Create new murals

• Beautify the street with sculptures
...
Economic and Workforce Development • Decrease BART and Amtrak prices
..
• Build marketplaces inside of buildings
with multiple vendors, art and classes –
similar to Moscone
• Ask stores that blast their music to lower
it a bit
• Add new businesses (e.g. shoe store)
• Increase worker salaries
• Increase the number of workers cleaning
Mission Street
• Bring back El Mercadito that burnt down
• Sell more wares outside as is done in Latin
America
Land Use
..
Cultural Competency • Ensure that City agencies follow through
on these ideas
• That City agencies be open to have more
dialogues with community members

..
Other: Quality of Life • Add and maintain palm trees and flowers
• Add benches along corridor to sit down
• Increase daily cleaning

Yes
Focus Group 8: Immigrants – 03/19/2019
Unique and Special

• Racial diversity (e.g. Latino, Asian, Arab) – place of convergence for many cultures
• Stores – fruterias (fruit vendors)
• Restaurants – cuisine from various countries
• Street vendors like those seen in Latin America
• Everybody, even non-Latinos, speak Spanish
• Music – 24th Street BART plaza as a gathering place
• Latino commerce
• Brilliant colors
• You see families and babies
• Schools located nearby
• Many Latinos
• A great deal of support from nearby community organizations
• Accessible public transportation
• BART and MUNI announcements in Spanish and English
• Events – Carnaval, Día de los Muertos, 5 de mayo, etc.
• Parks with wide-ranging activities
• Places with grain mills – La Palma and La Espiga de Oro
• Churches that people attend even after being displaced from neighborhood
• Shelter for families at Buena Vista Horace Mann School
• Sense of community in the stores – everyone knows each other
• Artisans that set up booths at 24th Street BART plaza

• Workforce organizations (e.g. Women’s • Increased rents* -- landlords don’t want to

Collective) helps women to gain more rent to families with children
work experience • Lack of parking for residents and to run er-
• Increased number of parks (e.g. In Chan rands*
Kahaal, Garfield) – improved ongoing care • Many of the improvements made in the
of the parks, inclusion of exercise equipment past few years were done for technology
• More greenery, plants – eco-friendly workers, not Latino community members
• Strollers permitted on buses –Latino families have been displaced by
• Slight increase in transportation routes increased rents and fires
• More accessible methods of paying for • Missing the celebration of significant cul-
transportation (e.g. Clipper) tural events (e.g. Mexican Independence
• A legacy of legislation that supports Latino Day on Sept 16, 5 de mayo)
community under Supervisors Campos, • Replacement of Latino businesses with
Daly and Ronen Internet cafes
• Change in structure of the Board of • Loss of programs to support educational
Supervisors?? transitions in the educational system
• Carnaval – more organizations are involved, • The federal poverty line hasn’t changed to
more multiculturalism address the high cost of living in the Bay
• Increased cleaning of streets and 16th Area – can’t qualify for Medical, etc.
Street BART plaza • High prices at new restaurants
• Community • While there is more work for domestic
• Cleaned up 24th Street workers because of the increase in high
• Added trash receptacles income technology households and salaries
• City Hall listening more to our community have increased salaries (upwards of
these last few years – our needs, our histories $20/hour), salaries still do not cover high
• Establishment of Mission Community cost of living
Market on 22nd – access to organic produce, • Construction of new buildings are chang-
community programming ing the Mission and failing to provide
• Increased access to bilingual programs affordable homes
• Fighting spirit despite all the challenges • Displacement of people
• Poor management of community gardens
– lack of community access, closed or limited
operating hours
• Required below market rate apartments
are configured in the least favorable part
of the building

Opportunities
.....
Historic Preservation • More, large scale artisan booths and dancing
.....
at existing community events
• Make Aztec symbols more visible
• Add murals
• City departments to Increase their trans-
....
Tenant Protections parency, accuracy of information and hon-
....
esty to protect tenants
• Stop raising rents
... •
•

Provide more affordable homes
Add tenant voices to housing governing
bodies to ensure vigilance and protection
of tenants – 50% tenants, 50% organizations,
landlords
• Provide help to residents looking for
affordable housing
• Raise awareness about the importance of
respecting children, not just pets
• Continue with rent control
• Change laws to allow for more people to
live in one room
..
Arts • Increase affordable art programs for youth
• Increase art programs for seniors (e.g.
music) – aging with dignity
...
Economic and Workforce Development • City to create programs to help entrepreneurs
start their own businesses – announce opportu-
..
•

nities via television and radio
Work with students and other to develop
tourism projects
Land Use

Cultural Competency • Teach new residents how to have a little

humility and understand displacement
and the impact it has on culture (disap-
pearing). Teach those in technology how
to respect the value of tradition.
.
Other • Increase educational access
• Increase health access

Yes and recognize that doing so increases opportunities and attracts tourism
Day of the Dead. Photo: Antonio Peretev

Appendix L:
Community Meeting Break Out Group Questions
Question 1: As you look around, what do you think makes Mission Street unique and special? What do you like
about it?
Question 2: What opportunities and activities would you like to see developed along Mission Street that support
this goal?
Question 3: As we’ve talked to people, we’ve heard them say, “One of the things that makes Mission Street spe-
cial is that its diverse and multicultural.” How could a Latino Cultural District on Mission Street reflect this?
Question 4: Based on the Cultural District goals we reviewed, Do you see value Mission Street as a Latino Cultural
District? What would excite you about it?
Appendix M:
Community Meeting Break Out Group Results
April 9, 2019 | The Women’s Building | 6-8pm
Question 1: As you look around, what do you think makes Mission Street unique and special? What do you
like about it?
FOCUS AREA: Tenant Protections

• Outdoor activities
• BART – gathering spaces
• History
• Real people: working class
• Parks
• Transportation
• Weather
• Immigrant
• Families
• Family serving
• Quinceañeara and dollar stores
• Vibrancy and people
• Food
• Community based organizations

• Cultural diversity
• Markets – meat, produce, fruit
• Small businesses
• Activities – Carnaval, Día de los Muertos, Cesar Chavez, las posadas navideñas
• Street vendors – hot dogs, paletas (popsicles)
• Murals and art
• Mariachis, street music
FOCUS AREA: Art

• Family friendly
• Live music
• Murals
• Socially conscious
• Diverse – different cuisine
• Food/produce markets
• Many ethnicities and languages
• Public transit
• Night life – clubs, bars, music
• Historic
- Cultural significance
- Past and recent past
• Conversations that are global ground zeros for activism
• Activism and art
• Grassroots arts scene
• Opportunity for entrepreneurship
- Street vendors
- Mom and pop shops
• Don’t have to leave! Everything you need is right there.
• Open to share culture – expand on “Latinidad” (Latin identity)
• Carnaval
• Cesar Chavez Day
• Paseo
• Low riders
• Flor y canto
• MAPP
FOCUS AREA: Land Use

• Bustle
• Diversity

• Pride and ownership in business
• Colorful
• Historical signage – old tile, unique public real aspects
• Affordable businesses
• First floor and second floor businesses – small, community-serving
• Small mom and pop businesses
- History
- Colorful displays in markets
• Murals
• Different businesses/building typologies
• Self-organized street performances
• Non-pretentiousness
• Accessible
• Life-essential stores
• Real American sense of place, where people follow their dreams
• Street vendors
• Community speaks out and defends itself
• Residential clusters
• Historic theaters
• Community-oriented, free and open
• Single residential occupancy hotels
• Multi-modal transportation
• Small art spaces and small churches
• Still some freaks (i.e. people that don’t conform to society’s norms)
• Homeless community
FOCUS AREA: Economic and Workforce Development

• Street vendors***
• Murals*
• Inclusive*, authentic experience; feel at home and part of community; diverse people and businesses
• Protesters/activism
• Urban noise
• El Capitan
• Large size of commercial storefronts
• Community-serving businesses
• Latino foods
• Produce stores
• Kids
• Seniors

• Tiles
• Cultural events
• Activation of BART stations
FOCUS AREA: All (In Spanish)

• BART and specifically its design are attention-grabbing
• The people
• The food
• The diversity (all races)
• Businesses are accessible and diverse – bakeries, restaurants, etc.
• People are friendly: they know one other and show concern for their neighbors
• It’s an area with working class people
• Public transportation is good
• The culture
• It reminds me of home and makes me feel at home
• The library is nice
• There are organizations that provide support (agencies, services) like La Raza Community Resource
Center, Mission Cultural Center, Mission Economic Development Agency, etc.
• Murals
• Cultural events that are meaningful to us, that we appreciate (mariachis, etc.)
• In the last 5 years, there have been many changes that have changed the structure of the Mission – such
as different architecture, taller buildings and other changes
• The neighborhood reminds me of the cities in our home countries because it maintains various tradi-
tions (similar to the experience of Chinatown)
• Diversity of activities (such as religious activities, festivals, etc.)
Question 2: What opportunities and activities would you like to see developed along Mission Street that
support this goal?

• +++++ Help tenants address unsafe/dilapidated housing conditions with assistance (e.g. fire prevention,
mold remediation) without jeopardizing tenant’s housing security
• +++ More support for/strengthen legacy businesses; assist businesses to remodel so they can compete;
incentives to retain long-term mom and pop shops
• ++ Higher percentage of inclusionary housing
• ++ Help renters purchase properties
• + Protect all renters – low income support
• + Remove red lanes – having opposite impact
• + Commercial rent control

• No chain stores
• Bus stops at every corner (benefit businesses, seniors, etc.)
• New buildings don’t include parking
• Traffic congestion from ride share
• Add parking spaces
• More mom and pop stores and more markets
• Centralized place for small businesses to get support
• Vacancy tax
• City follow up and help/subsidize to maintain sidewalks, graffiti, clean up. Stop penalizing local owners
and provide more support. Like trees.
• Organized “days” – community development activities
• Community develop plan for 16th
• Free bus days on Mission Street
• Sub police stations
• Proactively support residents along Mission Street – meet their needs, prevent fires
• Assist with landowners getting up to code
• Support services for immigrant communities
• Support services for homeless
• City money to assist with funding support
• Bilingual classes for schools
• Protect murals and strengthen historic preservation
• Collective documenting/observance on behalf of community – Airbnb, immigration enforcement
• Walk of fame – Santana, music
FOCUS AREA: Art

• +++++ How can expansion help preserve anchor institutions
• ++++ Space for danzantes (dancers, referring to those who are part of indigenous traditions) – more per-
manent space to preserve these groups, they need space
• ++ Investment into BART plazas – 16th & 24th
- Use it more creatively
• ++ Funding for arts organizations and activities
• ++ Preserve historic buildings on Mission St
- Documenting buildings, murals that have cultural significance
- Catalyze them and also invest in them and their maintenance – facades, murals
- Define what is historic in our own way
• ++ More spaces to learn the music
• + Paseo Artístico – expand it/add it to Mission Street
• + Preserve indigenous cultural, spiritual practices and empower cultural groups
• Clarion Alley events – more

• Places like Cine Latino & Siegel’s – vacant building to be reused
• More murals actually on Mission Street
• Have banners on Mission Street reflect activities on Mission; also bus stop displays that reflect
• Bilingual signage
• Who can we call instead of police to de-escalate?
• Large cultural festivals should be considered as historic – help support them
• Educate new owners, techies
• Significant Asian presence, Arab, ethnically-diverse
• Working class, immigrant experience, landing point

• +++++ Affordable rental space for businesses and cultural uses
• +++Policies that promote small businesses
- Ownership of business
• +++ Prioritizing affordable housing
- Mission residents and those who are displaced get priority
• ++ Give residents equity and standing
- Split between residents and developers to determine what gets built/decisions on land use
- Enforcement of Mission Area Plan and include community input on new projects
• Supporting the homeless and the murals by creating respectful community ambassador program
• Central plaza
• Pipeline of businesses (from Hispanic Chambers of Commerce)
• Open up Cesar Chavez wall, more connected street
• Spaces (cultural, artistic) that have been displaced invited back. A right of return
• Right of first refusal
• Seating spaces on Mission, public gathering areas
• Set up opportunities for street vending, but don’t lose sight of protecting brick and mortar businesses –
they should be mutually-supportive

• +++++ For tourism: Something visually that makes Mission cohesive (branding), invokes image in your
mind* (like Chinatown, Japantown)
• +++ Business leases for stabilization
• ++ Less bureaucracy, red tape, fees for small businesses
- Need more communication between government agencies >> improve City communication on
programs (and coordination)
- Avenues to navigate bureaucracy
• + For tourism: Info for tourists about Mission Latino District

Corner of Mission St and 22nd St, where a 2015 blaze took the
life of one person, displaced more than 60 residents and com-
mercial tenants, and left the site an empty lot.
Photo: Dale Cruse/CC BY 2.0

• + Maximize resources, accessibility to programs for small businesses
• Grant program for mom and pop businesses
• Dollar Days – buy things for a dollar from all businesses (community-oriented)
• Below Market Rate rentals for businesses
• Assistance to those starting businesses
• Support for hiring
• For tourism:
- What does district do?
- Festivities
- Lists for different purposes, makes it more manageable
FOCUS AREA: All (In Spanish)

• +++++++++ More affordable housing (having 2 jobs is no longer sufficient to pay rent. Those that work
in tech make more. It’s not that we don’t welcome them, but there should also be housing for those of
us that make less.)
• +++ Stop displacement/a great deal of displacement continues
• ++ Youth programs; allow them to feel safe (assistance, incentives and resources, educational models)
• + Safe recreational spaces for families (recreation centers), not only restaurants
• There are many liquor stores and cannabis stores (there should be more restrictions)
• Programs for those with disabilities
• Educational system is somewhat bad. We’d like to see:
- Programs in locations with outdoor space (such as tutoring programs instead of kids being
on the street)
• Resources are being invested in juvenile detention centers instead of youth programs
• Housing
• Also provide programs for adults
• Families are our foundations so there should be affordable homes and education to support families
• Truly affordable housing
• More expansive recreational areas
• Perhaps convert spaces and street corners that are not being utilized into parks or open space
• More art, more natural and affordable spaces (make free or low-cost to enter those spaces)
Question 3: As we’ve talked to people, we’ve heard them say, “One of the things that makes Mission
Street special is that its diverse and multicultural.” How could a Latino Cultural District on Mission Street
reflect this?

• History of a “landing space”/sanctuary for immigrant community

• History/Legacy – landmarks, memories even with changes; we can honor Latino cultural heritage
• Aesthetics*
• Change the narrative – diversity doesn’t contradict history of immigrant/Latino experience/evolution
FOCUS AREA: Arts

• Board would reflect the diversity of the district
• Clarion Alley model reflecting diverse perspectives
• Culture/language diversity can be reflected in goals of the district
• Trilingual signs
• Use historic lens: who has been here before
- Education/tours
• Promotion of events should include other cultural groups
• Social justice lens includes diverse perspectives
- Climate refugees
- Immigration
• Signage reflects diversity (with photos)
• Map/Directory of neighborhood assets/resources
• Anchor organizations have information about resources and information about services
• Maybe it shouldn’t be a Latino cultural district but something that reflects values
- Art activism
- Legacy resistance
- Affordability
• Red Stone Building
• YES should be a Latino cultural district
- It’s a Latino hub for many years – share this!
- That’s what makes it inclusive
- Honor the significance of the Latino community
• Partners with other districts

• Multicultural signage
• Working class heritage created connections so strengthen this
• Sunday Streets on Mission Street (street closure)
• Lowriders don’t need permits to hold events
• Preservation of existing events/character
- Murals, alleys, Mission Street has a lot of existing cultural assets
• Preserving current cultural assets/what it is now
- Vendors, events, lowriders, Latino businesses
• Arrest the decline, but not “Disney-fy” it

- Connecting people with resources
- Informing new businesses about the culture
• District boundaries – be wary of what’s going on in surrounding areas
- Extend beyond Mission Street
- But Mission Street = “downtown” of the area
- Defining boundaries by the type of business, not just Mission District
• Protecting residents as well, since they are customers
- Business is part of culture
• Special Use District is changing commercial regulations. Cultural District is different – includes more as
sets. Can still use SUDs, even for areas outside Cultural District boundaries.

• Acknowledge that it’s always been diverse, always been multicultural* neighborhood for working-class*,
hub for immigrants*, inclusive
• Focus should not just be on Mission Street, lots happening throughout Mission district
• Diversity isn’t just about race
• Strong history of women, women of color
• Diversity in economic class
• Lots of different narratives
• Sexual orientation
• Mexican history in SF overall and in Mission
• Latino Cultural District should reflect that
• Cross-cultural, food, evolution for next generation
• Arts and music
• Cross-generational, multicultural (black, Cuban, etc.)
• Want to preserve studios, live music venues*
• Makes Mission a destination
• Need to keep artists, people of color, women >> move support
FOCUS AREA: All (In Spanish) – Responses to questions 3 and 4

• Who is going to build the housing? Private developers that rent homes at a price we can’t pay?
• Cultural district boundaries: Can the boundaries run from 16th Street to 24th Street or Geneva?
• In order to reflect the multicultural aspect, it can focus on:
- Affordability of businesses
- Paint murals representing diverse cultures (for instance, if there is an area with a concentration
of Chinese businesses, a mural can reflect that)
- Events/festivals that reflect many cultures
- Information about accessing organizations that provide services for all
- Christmas lights and wreaths

- Support for mobile street vendors and tourism, mobile street vendors should have more
opportunities
- More diversity of food and product styles
- Youth programs (music, etc.)
- Cultural programs for our children
Question 4: Based on the Cultural District goals we reviewed, Do you see value in Mission Street as a Lati-
no Cultural District? What would excite you about it?

• Help increase tourism
• Create publicly-accessible maps of the neighborhood – highlights stores, murals, sites to check out
FOCUS AREA: Arts

• Music and dance
• Opportunities to invest in the cultural assets
• A way to combat erasure, to say as a city this is what we value
• Community building and brainstorming
• Existing cultural district is restricting Latino cultural designation to one street
• Preservation excites – housing, spaces
• A vehicle and a tool to preserve important institutions and fight against further gentrification
• To create spaces for danzantes
• An opportunity to invite people to engage, expand invitation
• Avoid tourism approach
• Inspires other cultures
• Encourages public-private partnerships
• A recognition from government that this place, people, culture matters
• Self-determination aspect → defining itself
• Encourages involvement, civic engagement, increased commitment to community and neighborhood
• Gives populations marginalized a voice
• Encourages immigrants and newcomers to get involved, that they have a place

• See the people that currently live in the neighborhood as part of cultural assets
• Implementing Mission Action Plan (MAP) 2020
- Turn promises into land use controls
• Expansion from Potrero to Valencia, and to 14th
• Making it easier to open businesses for artists
• Affordable housing

• Real protections for art spaces and right of return
• Real protections beyond what MAP 2020 has done so far

• Stop displacement/keep people here
• Cultural place-keeping
• More Below Market Rate units
• Acknowledge landmarks end cultural resources >> cultural protection of assets
• Architectural restoration
• Opportunity for small businesses to be more community oriented, less profit driven
• Able to get money and grants to do projects – for events, projects, arts restoration
• Create guidelines to prevent displacement
• Sustaining generations to be able to live here – build generational wealth
• More families in the Mission
• Guidelines for development
• Valuation of cultural events, traditions, celebrating culture
• City should help regulate and prevent displacement, develop policies
• Juxtaposition of Latino Cultural District and being multicultural
Community meeting on April 9, 2019 to discuss possible expansion of the Latino

Cultural District. Photo: Antonio Peretev

Appendix N:
Business Interview Script
A few months ago, MEDA surveyed you and 200 other businesses along Mission Street to learn about your
needs and concerns so that the City and MEDA can better support your business. I stopped by today to share
with you the top results, new opportunities and to get your thoughts on a new effort with 5 questions.
The main concerns we heard from the 200 businesses that responded were:
- Decrease in sales
- Lack of parking spaces in the Mission and the red lines imposed by the SFMTA
- More people buying on the Internet
- Increase of crime
- Increase of people living on the streets
- Loss of clientele because evictions and displacement
As a result, the city and MEDA are coordinating services that you may find helpful for your business.
• The City is launching a Mission Marketing Campaign to highlight businesses and host events to
attract customers to the corridor
• The Board of Supervisors passed legislation to limit new restaurants and bars in the Mission and
prevent the merger of small storefronts to keep small businesses
• We offer free services for social media (Facebook, Instagram etc.) to market your business
• We have low interest small business loans – Fondo Adelante
• Merchants associations are hosting more networking events and mixers to connect businesses
with each other and with city officials to get more attention from the City
If you’re interested in any of these resources, I’m happy to send you additional information.
The City is also exploring expanding the Latino Cultural District onto Mission Street, which would bring more
resources to stabilize and support businesses, workers, the arts, and tenants.
We’ve interviewed people asking what makes the Mission Street unique. We’ve heard that it’s:
• The neighborhood’s Main Street

• An ethnically-diverse corridor with a rich Latino history
• A mix of businesses with something to offer people of all income levels.
• A cultural hub for Latinos in the region, who continue to come here for cultural events and specialty
goods and services.

In other words, the corridor is diverse, offers everything you need, it’s an important place for Latino heritage
and community, and it’s affordable.
Do you agree with these descriptions or is there something else about this corridor that you think
makes it special?
Some of the positive changes people have noticed in the past few years include:
• Improvements to the face of the BART plazas,
• Decreased gang violence,
• More street cleaning along some parts of the corridor
• Affordable goods and services
Are these the positive changes that you’ve seen or are there others that you would point to?
The City’s Cultural Districts Program is a city program that works to stabilize and grow unique cultural areas hit
hard by displacement.
The program’s goals focus on

1) historic preservation,
2) tenant protections,
3) the arts,
4) economic and workforce development,
5) land use and
6) cultural competency.
The program brings new resources and attention to cultural districts. For instance, the City provided new funds
to help SOMA Pilipinas launch its successful night market for Filipino businesses.
What are 1 or 2 key opportunities you’d like to see developed along Mission Street that support these
goals?
Based on the goals we reviewed, do you see value in expanding the Latino Cultural District along Mis-
sion Street?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. If you’d like, I’m happy to keep you informed about what we learn from
these and other community conversations, as well as the City’s next steps. Also, if you’d like to share more of
your thoughts on this topic, we’ll be hosting a community-wide meeting on April 9 from 6-8pm at the Women’s
Building. I welcome you to join us, if you can.

Appendix O:
Business Interview Results
Small Business Interview Results
Interviews conducted in Cantonese by Francis Chan, Office of Economic and Workforce Development with
owners of King’s Bakery, E&E Electrical Supply, Mona’s Apparel, New Union Quality Cleaners, Dragon City
Bakery & Café in March 2019.
• Increased regional visitors but decreased neighborhood customers (reduced local/Hispanic

residents)
• Improved walkability (improved public safety and cleanliness)
• New businesses lead to increasing rent
• Would like to have more diversified business types and ownership
• Homeless/mental health/substance use people are bothering/discouraging their clients to
return
• More affordable and quality eating places for workers nearby
• Allow locations to merge or divide base on its location, history, and reality…not a standardize
measure
• Should encourage shoppers and eaters with “value-added” programs
• Rent stabilization/control for small businesses
• Diversified cultural aspects (e.g. encourage clothing stores with different ethnic/historical back-
ground - middle-east, Tibet, African, Ethiopian, India, Thai, south America, etc.)
• The new mural has reduced graffiti and drawn visitors, despite no help on business.
• Need white/green zone to encourage customer pick-up / to-go
• Need to improve public safety, especially local drug dealers and substance users
• Helpful to have network that merchants can communicate / address issues
• Need to education people stop vandalizing non-Hispanic merchants’ storefront
• Security cameras can improve public safety and public health
• Helpful to have a chat group (like WeChat in Chinatown) to report complaints/cases
• Street/cultural events are good, but need to conduct outreach in advance (the hosts mostly
contact “local/Hispanic” merchants only)
Interviews conducted in English/Spanish by Dairo Romero of Mission Economic Development Agency with
owners of Jaime’s Jewelry, LIMBER, 502 Express, Discount Auto Performance, Florería de la Rosa, Kany’s Travel,
Qosqo Maky in February and March 2019.
• Increase street cleaning

• Establish rent control for businesses to avoid rents becoming too high

• Establish leases of 3-5 years or longer
• Create incentives so that new building owners keep existing small businesses
• We need more police supervision on our streets, especially in zones where there are illegal
drugs such as Mission and 16th Streets
• Yes, I’m interested in expanding the Latino Cultural District and would like to see events orga-
nized that promote our culture
• Set up a parking validation program for our clients
• Help promote our business to new Mission residents
• Encourage restaurants where tourists and new Mission residents go to promote small Latino
cultural businesses
• Provide administrative technical assistance
• Attract more Latinos to the corridor to increase and maintain sales
• Create more manageable and stable rents for businesses
• Decrease apartment rents
• Increase vigilance by police
• The public events that are organized are only for drinking and eating and new Mission residents
– they don’t send anything to Guatemala
• Rents are too high and businesses are not making enough
• I agree that a Latino Cultural District from Division to Cesar Chavez is a good thing to protect
businesses and long-time residents
• Less vacant spaces on the corridor
• Rents are high
• It’s not easy to pay employees
• More support from the City
• Remove people that are selling on the sidewalk in front of my store
• Help with online marketing
• Homelessness has increased
• Need more help to move homeless people off the streets
• Validate parking now that it’s harder for clients to park
• Help with marketing to increase sales
• See many gyms that are not attracting people to shop at local businesses
• More police officers patrolling Mission Street
• Improve public parking in the area
• Validate parking at the Bartlett Street parking lot
• Provide assistance to help businesses establish a strong online presence

Appendix P:
Glossary of Terms
AMI – Area Median Income

BART – Bay Area Rapid Transit
Calle 24 LCD – Calle 24 (24th Street) Latino Cultural District
Carnaval – Carnival
Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead
MAP2020 – Mission Action Plan 2020
OEWD – Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development
PDR – Production, distribution, repair
Posadas navideñas – (Literally “Christmas lodging”) A Christmas tradition that commemorates the story of the
nativity of Jesus
SRO – Single Residential Occupancy hotel
Quinceañeara – 15th birthday celebration
Photo: Roberto Hernandez

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Exploring an

Photo: Antonio Peretev

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................. 3

SCOPE AND PURPOSE .......................................................................................................................................... 10

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 11

OTHER KEY THEMES ............................................................................................................................................. 24

Appendix A: Community Engagement Advisory Group ..................................................................... 25

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 2

1) What makes the Mission Street corridor special and unique?

3) Is there value in expanding the Latino Cultural District?

1 See Mission neighborhood map in MAP2020 Plan:

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 3

1) What makes the Mission Street corridor special and unique?

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 4

Economic & Workforce Development

3) Is there value in expanding the Latino Cultural District?

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 5

San Francisco’s Cultural Districts Program seeks to:

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 6

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 7

Hispanic Population in the Mission

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 8

Nonprofits and Artists

their income on rent.

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 9

SCOPE AND PURPOSE

• Understanding community perceptions of Mission Street,

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 10

Mission Street. Photo: Antonio Peretev

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 11

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 12

Perceptions of Mission Street

Deep Latino heritage

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 13

Purpose and “pasear”

Affordable and accessible

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 14

Positive Changes Negative Changes

• Pipeline of affordable housing – construc- • Skyrocketing rents for residents and

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 15

• Tension between long-time and new resi-

Cultural District Opportunities

• Revitalize and preserve historic buildings

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 16

• Educate public about the history and significance of cultural events

• Strengthen tenant protections

• Create more homeless shelters

• Enhance social services for the housing insecure

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 17

• Increase affordable arts programming for youth and seniors

• Protect existing and create new murals

• Showcase diverse Latin American culture and celebrate Latinx unity

• Support, train and hire local artists

ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

• Maintain cultural ecosystem of businesses

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 19

• Make it easier to open a new business along the corridor

• Study customer patterns and success of long-time businesses on the corridor

• Market and promote small businesses to drive up sales

• Increase public safety to address vandalism and open drug use

• Increase economic investment along the corridor

• Improve support and work opportunities for job-seekers

Exploring an Expansion of the Latino Cultural District - June 2019 Page 20

• Support residents and businesses that have been displaced