By Cassi Feldman

It's been more than a decade since Hastings College of the Law razed 85 units of affordable housing in the Tenderloin to expand its campus. Since then the school has considered several plans for the site, most of which were shot down by the community. But critics say its latest proposal, a seven-story, 885-spot parking garage, is one of the worst ones yet – and they aren't sure they can stop it.

"They've been planning this for two years, and we didn't know about it till November," said Randy Shaw of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, who is also a Hastings alum. "They told [state senator John] Burton's office that they worked everything out with the community, but I haven't come across anybody who thinks a parking garage makes sense."

The site in question, 33,825 square feet at the corner of Golden Gate and Larkin Streets, was home to two single-room-occupancy hotels when it was purchased by Hastings in the 1970s. But Hastings considered the buildings run-down and in 1978 evicted the tenants, many of whom were elderly or disabled, relocating them to other nearby housing.

The buildings sat empty until 1989, when the school decided they were irreparably damaged by the Loma Prieta earthquake and needed to be demolished. City inspectors disagreed, as did housing advocates who suspected that Hastings just wanted an excuse to clear the land for development. Backed by the City Attorney's Office, they demanded that Hastings first obtain demolition permits (see "The Tenderloin's I-Hotel," 12/6/89).

In December 1989, San Francisco Superior Court ruled that the school did not have to abide by city law because it is part of the University of California, a state institution. By the same logic, Hastings was also able to skirt a local zoning requirement that every unit of demolished affordable housing be replaced.

Now, along with its garage plan, Hastings has promised to add 80 new apartments to a building at 100 McAllister. That's great, Shaw said, but since they would only be available to students, it wouldn't make up for the city housing the school destroyed.

Shaw and others also have major concerns about the garage. Although Hastings's report on the project states that area lots are already full, it doesn't explain why so much parking is necessary when the site is just minutes from Muni and BART.

"The policy of the city is to try to do everything possible to promote transportation alternatives," said Gabriel Metcalf, deputy director of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, which opposes the plan. "Every time you build a garage, it blights the street that it's on."

Dave Seward, chief financial officer of Hastings, doesn't see it that way. Half of the garage would provide parking for other buildings in the vicinity, he said, generating much-needed funds for student housing. While Hastings is open to other options, he said, its first priority is serving its students.

A recent critique by a nonprofit planning group called California Futures Network found that leasing part of the garage site for housing would actually generate more revenue than a garage alone. And if the current plan does move forward, the report states, the garage will likely lure parkers from the city-owned Civic Center garage, which helps finance the General Fund. On behalf of several local housing groups, CFN drafted an alternative plan that gives Hastings nearly all the parking it wants for itself (285 spots) but also includes 185 apartments.

The coalition plans to unveil its plan at a March 6 public hearing on the project. According to Brother Kelly Cullen, executive director of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, it all comes down to a simple question: "We need to ask ourselves, what does the city need? Parking or housing?"

A public hearing on the draft environmental impact report will be held Wed/6, 2 p.m., State Building, 455 Golden Gate, Hearing Room 9, S.F. (415) 565-4710.