Lennar has committed to providing $40 million for improvements, such as modernizing wastewater and utility facilities and infrastructure projects like constructing roads and transit routes.

In June, the San Francisco civil grand jury issued a report condemning a lack of coordination among the various agencies involved and gaps in the information made available to the public.

The grand jury's report says that community mistrust of the project has risen because of unexplained fires, missed deadlines, undetected radioactive contamination and toxic gas releases, and a failure to explain or investigate clustered illnesses of nearby long-term residents, among other problems.

However, Brown contends that the new Phase One plan would be a plus for both Bayview residents and the city as a whole. He notes that the shipyard's artist community is also guaranteed space under the plan's provisions.

Once remaining state and federal regulatory hurdles are cleared, San Francisco is expected to take possession of Parcel A in the spring and break ground by the end of the year. Parcel B should be turned over in 2005. There are five parcels altogether. Later phases depend on the U.S. Navy completing the required environmental cleanup, according to city officials. The overall cost of making the 500-acre plot safe has been placed at $100 million.

A community workshop to discuss the new Phase One Conceptual Framework has been scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Bayview Opera House.