Excerpt:

San Francisco's master plan for a showplace 21st century neighborhood on Treasure Island doesn't include room for a single church, synagogue or place of worship, an omission that at least one city official finds "inexplicable."

John Elberling, a director of the Treasure Island Development Authority, said when he asked if it would be possible for a religious group to buy a site for a church, he "was basically told 'no' ... I don't think it's right."

Elberling brought up the church issue during a joint public hearing Thursday before the authority and the Planning Commission on the environmental impact report for the project, which looks at the potential consequences of putting 18,000 people, offices, retail stores and entertainment facilities on the former Navy base.