Does that sound fair? One community leader has his finger on the big WTF button. In a letter published on Akit's Complaint Department, he writes:
The plan also calls for increasing the building height of the properties on the Buchanan Mall and the North side of Post Street to 55 feet. This more than doubles the current height of the existing buildings. What this means is that once the Nisei/Sansei property owners pass on or leave the property to their kids, once they sell it, a new developer will tear down the property so that they can build up to 55 feet. We would entirely lose the character and feeling of Japantown. ... The original intent of this plan was to preserve Japantown. If this plan passes, we all will be responsible for the lost [sic] of not just one building this time but an entire community.
Akit agrees, referring to the "urban renewal" clusterf**k of the Fillmore that kicked out scads of African- and Japanese Americans: "Didn't the city learn a lesson from redevelopment 40 years ago?" Seriously, guys, will Sophie's Crepes make it out alive? But more seriously: how does this all end (or begin, as it were) on Akit's blog? Two words, all caps: "SAVE JAPANTOWN!"