Let's continue to get signatures so that when we force Safeway to meet with the community we will show a UNITED FRONT!!! 

RESOLUTION FILE NO. 240027 PASSED 01/23/2024:

[Urging Safeway to Reserve Plan to Close Safeway Store in the Fillmore in March 2024] - Sponsored by: Supervisors Preston, Walton, Safai, Peskin, Chan

A resolution urging Safeway incorporated to Reserve Plan to close the Safeway on 1335 Webster Street in March 2024:

WHEREAS, On January 4, 2024, Safeway Incorporated announced that the Safeway at 1335 Webster Street in San Francisco's Fillmore district would shutter "in or around early March" and that the 3.68-acre property would be sold to Align Real Estate; and

WHEREAS, The announcement of an abrupt closure of this grocery store has been met with outrage, fear, and questions from community members who rely on this store; and

WHEREAS, The subject site was part of the Redevelopment Area where Black and Japanese families were forced to move from the area, homes were demolished, businesses closed, and people displaced, as part of the highly damaging "urban renewal" redevelopment program in the Fillmore; and

WHEREAS, A defining characteristic of the redevelopment era was decisions forced on communities without their input, facilitated by claims that the communities were "blighted", and with promises that developers and real estate speculation which displaced thousands would somehow benefit communities, and

WHEREAS, Prior to the Safeway being built in 1983, the historic Booker T. Washington Hotel was there until it was torn down in 1968 without community support, just two years after the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency purchased the hotel with plans to use it as a temporary relocation center for displaced residents; and

WHEREAS, Safeway consists of a grocery store, pharmacy, and bank, and these services at this location were a purposeful post-redevelopment response to previous redlining and redevelopment policies that not only displaced residents and small businesses but prevented financing for  grocery stores and banking services.

WHEREAS, Safeway has operated for over forty years at this site; and

WHEREAS, The Safeway on Webster Street in the only full-service grocery store in the Fillmore, and residents of the neighborhood will have no nearby grocery options, potentially for years, and

WHEREAS, The Safeway is located on robust transit lines and many San Franciscans in surrounding neighborhoods travel to this grocery store by bus, car, bike, or on foot, to get basic necessities,

WHEREAS, Safeway has not held a single community meeting with Fillmore neighborhood residents regarding closure plans, mitigations, or planning for alternative grocery services in the event of closure;

WHEREAS, The pending closure of the Safeway will create food insecurity and a food desert in the heart of the Western Addition; and

WHEREAS, Food insecurity increases the risk of multiple chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension; and exacerbates existing physical and mental health conditions, can impair child development; and 

WHEREAS, Construction on any new development at 1335 Webster Street would not being for a significant period of time, raising questions about why the grocery store should not continue to operate for the benefit of the community until construction begins.

WHEREAS, Safeway has started that they have no immediate plans to be a part of the future development, and the development, and the developer, Align Real Estate, has no public commitment to a future grocery store on this site; and

RESOLVED, The Board of Supervisors urges Safeway Incorporated to reverse their plans to close the Safeway on 1335 Webster Street in March, 2024 and to work with the Western Addition community, city leaders, and Align Real Estate (or any other buyer to keep Safeway open until development begins, and to explore the inclusion of a grocery store in any future development.

FURTHER RESOLVED, The Board of Supervisors urges Align Real Estate (or any other buyer) on this site, to work with the City and County of San Francisco and the Western Addition community to keep Safeway open until development begins, and to explore the inclusion of a grocery store in any future development. 

FURTHER RESOLVED, The Board of Supervisors urges City departments, including but not limited to the Office of Economic Workforce Development, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, the Planning Department, the Human Rights Commission, the Department of Health, the Human Services Agency, and Department of Disability and Aging Services to work with Safeway, Align Real Estate (or any other buyer), and the community to ensure that the grocery store does not abruptly close, and to explore community benefits including a new grocery store as part of any development as this site in the heart of the Fillmore; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors hereby directs the clerk of the Board to send a copy of this Resolution to the Office of Economic Development, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, the Planning Department, the Human Rights Commission, the Department of Public Health, the Human Services Agency, and the Department of Disability and Aging Services, Safeway Northern California Headquarters, and Align Real Estate. 

WHEREAS, Sign the petition to support our efforts to appeal to Safeway to STOP or DELAY the CLOSURE of the SAFEWAY SUPERMARKET at 1335 Webster Street in San Francisco's Fillmore Western Addition District 5. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This video below summarizes why communities in America are becoming grocery food deserts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Board of Supervisors will be voting on a resolution next Tuesday, January 23, 2024, the meeting starts at 2:00 PM. This resolution will be seeking support from the BOSs to DEMAND Safeway MEET with the COMMUNITY and the City officials regarding this matter. 

You can also call or write Safeway headquarters to voice your opposition: 

Safeway Headquarters: 5918 Stoneridge Mall Rd. Pleasanton, CA              TELEPHONE: 1.925-467-3000 / 1.877.723.3929 Vivek Sankaran President      & Chief Exec. Officer

Align Real Estate: 255 California Street San Francisco, CA 94111 1.415.872.9005 

Thank you for your signature.

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