Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan

Plan Overview

Thanks for your interest in the Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan! This plan will help shape the future of Japantown.

The Japantown Better Neighborhood planning process is about developing the community's vision for this historic and culturally-rich neighborhood, with a focus on how physical improvements, historic and cultural preservation and new development can contribute to the vision.

The process will result in a neighborhood plan to guide the use and character of the neighborhood, as well as provide recommendations to improve the connections with the Fillmore District and the Geary Corridor Bus Rapid Transit project currently under study. What happens with the Japan Center properties will be a central part of this planning process.

The Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan will set forth a framework for new development, urban design, historic and cultural preservation strategies, economic development strategies, and transportation improvements within the Project Area (see below):

To download a copy of the map of the proposed project area, click here.

Get involved in the planning process!

We need each and every person who lives in, works in, shops in or cares about Japantown to get involved in the process.

Please keep watching this site for more information about how to get involved. In the meantime, please make sure we have your mailing address and email address so we can keep you informed. Contact Paul Lord by phone at (415) 558-6311 or email japantown@sfgov.org to get on the mailing list.

IMPORTANT! If you are part of a community organization in the Japantown area, we would like to get your group involved in the planning process for Japantown. Please get in touch with us to discuss.

The Japantown neighborhood is currently hosting a Draft Plan Review Process. They encourage all neighbors, business owners, and interested people to participate. Below is the timeline for the draft plan review process. If you have any questions, please contact Bob Hamaguchi with any questions you may have about this process.   Subcommittee Meetings (Open to the Public) Community Heritage (Paul Osaki and Kenneth Kaji, Co-Chairs) Second and Fourth Tuesday of each month 6:00 to 8:00 PM at JCCCNC Community and Economic Development / Japan Center (Bob Hamaguchi and Hiroshi Fukuda, Co-Chairs) First and Third Wednesday of each month 3:00 to 4:30 PM at Union Bank Community Room Land Use / Built Form (Karen Kai and Glynis Nakahara, Co-Chairs) First and Third Thursday of each month 6:00 - 8:00 PM at Union Bank Community Room Transportation / Public Realm (Diane Onizuka and Greg Johnson, Co-Chair) Weekly on Wednesday 6:00 to 7:00 PM at Union Bank Community Room

Securing Cultural Heritage Goals & Plans

What are the ongoing community planning efforts in Japantown trying to achieve?

There is broad based community consensus that the outcomes of any future plans or changes for the greater Japantown area should work to achieve the following four goals.

• Secure the Japantown future as the historical and cultural heart of Japanese and Japanese American Community.
• Secure the Japantown future as a thriving commercial and retail district.
• Secure the Japantown future as a home to residents and community-based institutions.
• Secure the Japantown future as a physically attractive and vibrant environment.

What has been done to achieve these goals since the turn of the 21st century?

• Senate Bill 307: Passed in September of 2001 allows for the creation of a California Japantown Preservation Pilot Project.
• Community based organizations began to formulating future concepts for San Francisco Japantown.
• A San Francisco Japantown Special Use District was established in 2006.
• Between 2006 and 2009 the San Francisco Planning Department help to guide an extensive series of studies and planning workshops en route to the creation of the DRAFT Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan (2009).
• In 2010, additional Planning Department staff joined the community review of the initial DRAFT Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan and envisioning a community supported new policy and program document.

What are the future actions needed to further the agreed upon goals for securing the future cultural heritage for the San Francisco Japantown?

Further and future actions are needed by the community leadership, institutions, businesses and City to secure the future heritage for the San Francisco Japantown. Revisions to previous plans as well as community consensus are needed for proposed future actions that can secure the cultural heritage for Japantown. Explicit direction from the community is needed for the Planning Department and the City to craft an appropriate set of Japantown policies and programs. Keeping the good work from past efforts and adding appropriate community visions for future opportunities needs to be articulated to City leadership. This re-crafting of Japantown policies and programs are the immediate needs. These policies and programs should included meeting the following set of community opportunities and needs.

• Japan Center
• Business Retention and Enhancement
• Seniors and Service Providers
• Urban Design Standards
• Open Space
• Public Safety
• Securing Cultural Heritage
• Cultural Institution Retention
• Youth and Young Adults
• Housing
• Transportation, Circulation and Wayfinding