Court rejects appeal of 5M project

A lawsuit challenging the approval of the 5M project, a large mixed-use development in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, has been rejected, community advocates said Wednesday.

Community groups had filed a lawsuit challenging the environmental impact report for the project, which includes 1.6 million square feet of office and housing space on a 4-acre site at Fifth and Mission streets, in December of 2015 following its approval by the Board of Supervisors.

Groups including the South of Market Community Action Network, the resident group Save Our SoMa and the Friends of Boeddeker Park fought the project’s approval, arguing that it would contribute to displacement among area residents.

The suit argued that the city failed to consider traffic and shadow impacts, and created a special district for the project that violates local zoning laws, among other issues.

Advocates Wednesday said they were “extremely upset” by the decision and considering an appeal.

Before its approval, 5M project developers agreed to increase the number of affordable units it includes to 40 percent. That total includes some units affordable to households earning as much as 150 percent of the area median income, as well as off-site construction of low-income senior housing and a financial contribution toward affordable units being built at another site.