The Project
The San Francisco Planning Department has proposed a re-zoning plan for the city’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood to address problems such as underutilized buildings and lots, narrow sidewalks, unsafe streets, and lack of open space. With the plan projected to create $2 billion in public benefits, San Francisco has hired SmartComment to help manage comments for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that must be completed before the project can be approved.
What We Did
- Work with planning officials to identify a list of common comment topics in anticipation of the upcoming comment period
- Establish a project website that will allow members of the public to submit electronic comments on the proposal
- Create a secure database to hold all comments, whether submitted electronically or via traditional means, such as emails, letters, written comments and public hearing transcripts
- Put members of the project team in a real-time environment for organizing, analyzing and responding to all submitted comments. Tools include charts, graphs and maps, as well as in-team communication tools to ensure the most effective comment response campaign possible
- Remain available to the project team on a no-cost basis throughout the EIR process, providing additional training, support assistance, and making available any software upgrades or requests
- Provide assistance at planned public hearings, including hosting a comment-submission station complete with laptops and SmartComment personnel