Bayview Residents Mobilize Against AutoZone as City Certifies PG&E Grid Takeover

The San Francisco Planning Commission's July 9 hearing was defined by a clash over the future of the Bayview's Third Street corridor — and a milestone vote on the city's bid to take over PG&E's local electrical grid. With only four of seven commissioners seated, the short-staffed body moved quickly through its calendar but could not avoid the intensity of community frustration over a proposed AutoZone at the site of a shuttered Walgreens.

• Bayview residents flood hearing to oppose AutoZone at 5300 3rd Street, demanding a comprehensive economic development plan before any formula retail is approved

• Commission certifies final EIR for PG&E grid acquisition 4-0, clearing a key environmental hurdle for one of the largest municipal power takeovers in the country

• Westfield Mall sale collapses, extending downtown San Francisco's commercial vacancy crisis

• Four of seven commission seats remain vacant, forcing indefinite postponement of officer elections and raising quorum concerns

Even though the AutoZone conditional use authorization at 5300 3rd Street was on the continuance calendar — not up for a substantive vote — the item drew the hearing's most sustained public comment, with five community members delivering pointed opposition and only the property owner and an applicant representative supporting the project.