Target: Supervisor Stephen Sherrill (D2), SF Planning Department, DBI, DPH      

The Situation   

In mid-2025, Tesla opened a 16-stall, 24/7 Supercharger at 1965 Lombard Street, in the heart of a San Francisco residential neighborhood, 30 feet from apartment windows, on a narrow side street with no on-site staff, no traffic plan, and no mitigation of any kind.

Every other Tesla Supercharger in San Francisco is in a commercial parking lot. This one is not.

What's happening to neighbors:

•   Garages blocked for 10+ minutes at all hours
•   Vehicle queues spilling onto Moulton Street, a residential side street
•   Charging equipment noise and 24/7 LED lighting invading nearby homes
•   Ongoing PG&E power shutoffs affecting the entire block - no bill credits offered to residents
•   Public urination reported by multiple residents
•   A similar BESS-powered Supercharger caught fire in San Marcos, CA in January 2026

What we're asking:

1.   Convene a stakeholder meeting - Tesla, Plantation Associates, neighbors, and city agencies
2.   Commission an independent noise study — SF Article 29 nighttime limits appear to be violated, including by amplified music and bass from queuing vehicles. 
3.   SF Planning: determine whether converting private hotel parking to a public commercial charging station required Conditional Use authorization
4.   Require on-site traffic management during operating hours
5.   Require nighttime lighting controls (10 PM–7 AM)
6.   Require app-based queue limiting tied to lot capacity
7.   Require structural remedies proportionate to the permanent harm caused to adjacent residential properties.
   1. Behavioral mitigations alone e.g. signage, routing changes, lighting adjustments — do not restore residential character or property values.
   2. A sound- and light-attenuating barrier wall along the Moulton Street frontage is one example.
   3. Tesla and Plantation Associates must propose and fund a durable structural solution. 
8.   If Tesla and Plantation Associates refuse to engage: pursue enforcement

Precedent exists.

1. San Bernardino County shut down a 64-stall Tesla Supercharger in Upland for code violations in 2025.
2. Santa Monica's City Council unanimously declared a Waymo charging depot a public nuisance after 40+ neighbor complaints.

Cities have authority to act. We are asking San Francisco to use it. 

The City has the tools. We need them to use them.