How HVNA Skirts Democracy to Push Its Agenda
The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA) has been around for over 30 years. But today, what once billed itself as a neighborhood voice now acts more like a gatekeeping institution…one that leverages its nonprofit status and cozy ties to City Hall to push policies most residents never agreed to. Locals have a nickname for it: the country club. And it fits.
A Nonprofit Acting Like a Shadow Government
HVNA is not a public agency. It has no obligation to consult the full community or accurately reflect the diversity of views in the neighborhood. Yet it holds sway over public space, permits, planning priorities, and City Hall access all while operating behind closed doors. It functions as a proxy for consensus, but in reality, it filters out the majority view. The result? A small, unelected group with a direct line to power and a pattern of pushing their agenda regardless of community will or broader consensus.
Skipping Consensus. Claiming Mandate.
Take the Hayes Street closure. HVNA continues to promote it as a neighborhood win even as merchants report massive losses, residents cite worsening safety, and neighbors across Hayes Valley speak out in opposition. There was no inclusive process — just selective surveys, carefully curated messaging, and calculated silence about other positions. HVNA didn’t reflect the neighborhood. It overrode it.
The pattern is repeating itself with the so-called Hayes Valley Entertainment Zone. The legislation to codify this zone and fold in the 400 block closure as a permanent feature was quietly crafted behind closed doors, with no notice to most residents or businesses. HVNA and its allies were looped in early and often, while the broader neighborhood was kept in the dark until after the legislation was introduced. These are not isolated decisions. They’re part of a larger playbook: present a private agenda as public consensus, then fast-track it through City Hall before people even know what’s happening.
In Bed With City Hall
The problem isn’t just influence it’s collusion. HVNA has become the go-to “community partner” for agencies like SFMTA, SFCTA, and Planning. City departments cite HVNA as the neighborhood voice, while ignoring the fact that other organizations, residents, and business owners have raised serious concerns. This creates a dangerous feedback loop: HVNA promotes a policy, the City points to HVNA as evidence of support, and HVNA claims success all while actual neighborhood input is bypassed.
Silencing the Majority
Let’s be clear: people who hold different views from HVNA are not outliers. In many cases, they represent the majority of residents, small businesses, and stakeholders in Hayes Valley. But HVNA leadership isn’t interested in debate. It’s interested in control. Public comment is limited, meetings are tightly managed, and voices that don’t align with the board’s agenda are quietly pushed aside.
Why“The Country Club” Sticks
The nickname is about power and exclusivity. HVNA operates like a private club with public authority making decisions in small rooms, then packaging them as neighborhood consensus. It’s not just unrepresentative. It’s corrosive to democracy.
Time’s Up for False Consensus
San Francisco must stop outsourcing community legitimacy to nonprofits that operate without transparency, accountability, or consent. If the City wants to claim support, it needs to show real engagement not just point to a single group with City Hall connections.
Hayes Valley deserves better. So does every neighborhood being reshaped by the same playbook.
As a founding member of HVNA, and current member this is spot on in description. Once again the curtain is being drawn on the shenanigans of and how it bamboozles both city hall & the greater HV community. Democracy requires one to listen to constituents in order to both advocate & represent all voices.