MEETING OF THE CIVIC DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE
OF THE SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION

Monday,  February 10, 2020
2:30 p.m.
401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 125

Draft Minutes

Commissioner Stryker called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   Commissioners Present
   Kimberlee Stryker, Chair
   Dorka Keehn
   Abby Sadin Schnair
   Paul Woolford
   
   Commissioners Absent
   Linda Parker Pennington
   
   Staff Present
   Joanne Lee, Deputy Director of Programs
   Luna Izpisua Rodriguez, Program Associate, Civic Design & Special Initiatives
2. Public Comment
   There was no public comment.
3. 900 Innes Avenue Park at India Basin Project: Phase 1
   Azzurra Cox and Katherine Liss, Project Designers, GGN
   Charlene Angsuco, Project Manager, SF Recreation and Park
   Emily Gosack, Architect, Jensen Architects
   Shannon Nichol, Landscape Architect, GGN
   
   The project team described the 900 Innes Park Project as a project that is critical to the health and wellbeing of San Francisco’s India Basin and Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood. The project will be delivered with an equitable development plan that focuses on community equity, arts and culture, place-making, and entrepreneurship. Since the project’s last presentation before the Civic Design Review Committee in 2017, the team has completed their design reviews, environmental reviews, and are currently in the stage of completing their city permitting requirements. The team’s presentation focused on the first of the project’s two phases as they embark on the design development and schematic design. The team is aiming for a June 2021 construction beginning for Phase 1, and remediation of the site will be underway this summer of 2020. The landscape architect provided context regarding the area—India Basin has a diverse, and culturally rich community as well as a unique coastal ecosystem. The site used to be home to a wooden boat yard. A main focus of the project will be to address the lack of connectivity between the coastline and the residing community by creating an open framework of ecology and culture. The team also plans on instating welcoming, human-scale corridors that traverse the current vehicle corridor. Structures on the campus will include the Shipwright’s Cottage, the food pavilion, the shop building, and the maintenance building. The aesthetic of 900 Inness Avenue Park will reflect the history of the site as a boatyard in which boats would come and go, and would sometimes remain at the site in unfinished conditions. The team aims for the campus to resemble a trace of the past, and should feel like a site open to evolution over time.  It is also important to the team that the structures relate strongly to each other and to the coastline. The team went on to propose materials including painted aluminum and glass, perforated metal, a standing seam side, wood, and a planted concrete wall. Shipwright’s Cottage is a San Francisco Historic Landmark Building, so the team will focus on restoring and preserving the structure. The current exterior of the building is largely intact. The team will add three openings on the structure—a window at the street level, a door in the second floor, and a larger aperture in the lower level classroom space. A garden as well as an accessible ramp will weave throughout the campus, from Innes Avenue to the shoreline.
   
   Public Comment:
   
   Uriel Hernandez from the San Francisco Parks Alliance spoke in support of the project. He highlighted the benefits of the project for the community, primarily the connectivity between the community and the shoreline. He also commended the Equitable Development Plan and its robust community engagement process.

Alejandra Chiesa from the Trust for Public Land spoke in support of the project. She commented that not only would it foster recreational activity for the community, but it would also provide them with opportunities for housing security, economic and workforce development, and youth development.  

Jacqueline Flynn of the A Phillip Randolf Institute of San Francisco spoke in support of the project along with other community members. All are members on the project’s Equity Development Plan Leadership Committee.

Joyce Armstrong, President of the Public Housing Tenant Association, spoke in support of the project.  

Oscar James, resident of Bayview Hunter’s point, spoke of his childhood in the area and in support of the project. He recounted a story of buying shrimp from the Chinese American fisherman, and asked the project team to reflect the strong relationship between the African American, Chinese American, and the Italian American communities.

Viola Gans spoke in support of the project.

Kimberlee Brown, secretary of the Public Housing Tenant Association and resident of District 10 spoke in support of the project.

Jill Fox, a resident of Innes Avenue since 1992 and chair of the India Basin Neighborhood Association, spoke in opposition of a few aspects of the project. She is not in favor of the proposed food pavilion on Innes Avenue, since it will block the view corridor from the street to the water.

The Committee expressed concern regarding the asymmetry of the windows on the upper level of the Shipwright’s Cottage. The Committee also advised the project team to present their restoration plans to the Historic Preservation Committee. They also asked for SF Rec and Park to clarify the contention around the Food Pavilion that will be built on Innes Avenue. In response, a representative from Rec and Park commented that this is the only building that would be added to the site that does not already have an existing building in that blueprint and that their research with the community informed them that local residents hoped for food concessions in the park. The Committee noted that they were not in opposition of the food pavilion being built. The Committee also asked the project team to address their plans regarding sea level rise, to which the team responded that the elevation of the shop building is designed to be above the King Tide in 50 years, and that they are working with engineers to mitigate other effects of sea level rise. Finally, the Committee asked the project team to please show handrails, topography, elevation numbers, and choice of materials in their Phase 2 presentation. The motion was unanimously approved as follows.

Motion to approve Phase 1 of the 900 Innes Avenue Park at India Basin Project.

4. S.F. Botanical Garden Nursery Replacement Project: Phase 1
   Susi Marzuola, Architect and Project Designer, Siegel & Strain Architects
   Ben Golvin, Project Manager, Equity Community Builders
   Lisa Howard, Landscape Architect, Bay Tree Design
   
   The project team first gave an overview of the current conditions of the Botanical Garden’s nursery. The current nursery is and will remain in the eastern third of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The current nursery has three components—a greenhouse, growing grounds, and storage space. It covers approximately 33,000 square feet.  Goals for the renovation project are to design a nursery that is efficient, functional, and safe, to create a consolidated growing space, to define a clear delineation between public and staff/volunteer spaces, to promote sustainability, and to be on time and on budget. The team commented that a benefit of consolidating the grounds would be both to open the west side of the site to the public and to help visitors orient themselves. The site lies in one of the lower elevation points of Golden Gate Park, and is bordered by a 35-foot rising incline to Lincoln Way. The team commented that they will remove the lathhouse to increase available space for growing grounds and for a new headhouse that will be used for storage and office functions. The headhouse will directly face the work yard that is secure and exclusive to SF Botanical Garden staff and volunteers and that is out of the path of the public realm. Other new structures include a greenhouse and pumphouse. A new pumphouse will also be built on the site. The new structures will be engineered and built through an external general contractor. The greenhouse will be engineered by Nexus Greenhouse Systems- a premier greenhouse design firm that designs these structures specifically for the site’s microclimate. It will include fog systems, irrigation, and thermal control.
   
   Public Comment
   Delle Maxwell, volunteer and chair on the Board of Directors of the SF Botanical Garden, spoke in support of the project. She has been volunteering in the nursery for twenty years. She and her husband are fundraising a matching gift for the project.
   
   Ruth Wilcox has been involved with the garden for ten years as a volunteer, children’s walk guide, and member of the Board of Directors. She supports this project because it is the production center and “backstage” for what the public experiences when they visit the SF Botanical Garden.
   
   Monica Martin, a current docent, volunteer of twelve years, and former Board member, spoke in support of the project. She commented that it would improve operations and provide for the capabilities needed to create a world-class botanical garden.
   
   The Committee asked the team to describe their proposed color palette. The team intends to use cool and dark green tones for the roof of the metal building. The Committee also asked the architect to abstract the building so that is more reductive in orientation, in fenestration, and in overall design. The Committee also asked the team to comment on their processes for rainwater capture. The team responded that the project currently navigates runoff water through a bio-retention soil that cleanses it before emptying it into the reservoir.
   
   Motion to approve Phase 1 of the San Francisco Botanical Garden Nursery Project contingent upon 1) the headhouse and the greenhouse not being identical in roof design and 2) the headhouse having a more modern appearance.
5. Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island Utility Enclosures: Phase 1 and 2
   Levi Conover, Project Manager, Treasure Island Development Group
   Lauren Stahl, Landscape Architect, CMG Landscape
   
   The project team introduced themselves and noted that the project is City led. The team also commented that they had made significant revisions in response to the previously poorly received structures that they presented in August of 2019 and that most of these changes had already been revised by the Commissioners during an informal meeting. The team is currently building the pump station enclosures for Phase 1 of the Treasure Island Master Plan. The location of the structures is based on the location of the sewer mains and the proximity to other utility systems. Due to these factors, the location of the structures on the island is not flexible. One considerable change since the team’s previous presentation before the Civic Design Review Committee is that the supplemental firewater system utility station will be moved to the east of the island and will be structured as a different type of facility. The team proceeded to describe the design requirements and intents of the utility enclosures. The structures must be a minimum of ten feet tall, be non- scalable, be non-cuttable, be durable in a marine environment, and have night lighting for security. There are no longer transparency requirements imposed on the structures provided that security cameras and door contacts are in place. The teams design intention is to screen the equipment inside the enclosures, recede the structures into the landscape, utilize a simple material palette, and create simple and minimalistic volumes. The proposed materials for the pump stations are site-cast concrete with quarter inch perforation, allowing for 15% transparency. The team also noted the proposed planting palette on the enclosures, which includes coastal sage scrub, coyote bush, ficus pumila, and other species.
   
   The Committee wondered if the spacing of the vertical on the 4^th and 5^th St enclosures can be more consistently rhythmic. The team answered that the verticals are aligned with the equipment that they enclose, but that they will examine the possibility of a more uniform spacing. The Committee also asked if noise or odor will be an issue for the pump station beside the Chapel. The team confirmed that the enclosures will have odor control systems implemented, and that the only time that noise would be significant would be in the case that there is a power outage and the emergency generator would need to operate the pump system.
   
   Motion to approve Phase 1 and 2 of the Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island Utility Enclosures contingent upon 1) examining more regular spacing of the vertical on the north elevations of the 4^th and 5^th St enclosures.
    
6. Visual Arts Committee Report
   
   Commissioner Keehn shared that Ron Saunders will do a series of glass work inside of the Southeast Health Center. Mildred Howard was selected to create a bronze sculpture for the Southeast Community Center. At 1064 Mission Street, artists Michael Arcega and Leah Rosenberg will display their work. Emory Douglas will create a mural for the Margaret Hayward Playground. Meghann Riepenhoff’s artwork will be displayed in the lobby of 49 South Van Ness. Commissioner Keehn also reported that a new location for artwork was chosen in SFO’s Harvey Milk Terminal.
7. Staff Report
   The Southeast Community Center will be highlighted at the March Full Commission Meeting. Commissioner Sadin Schnair inquired about the action needed to change Committee structures since the Civic Design Review Committee now consists of only four members. Commissioner Stryker and Joanne Lee noted that this process is currently being considered by President of the SF Arts Commission, Roberto Ordenana.
8. New Business and Announcements
   N/A
    
9. Adjournment 
   There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m.
   
   
   posted 2/19/20, 4:00 p.m., LIR
   
    

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Special Projects and Civic Design Review Program Associate Luna Izpisua Rodriguez, 415-252-2252, luna.izpisua@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。如需協助，Special Projects and Civic Design Review Program Associate Luna Izpisua Rodriguez, 415-252-2252, luna.izpisua@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Special Projects and Civic Design Review Program Associate Luna Izpisua Rodriguez, 415-252-2252, luna.izpisua@sfgov.org.

Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Special Projects and Civic Design Review Program Associate Luna Izpisua Rodriguez, 415-252-2252, luna.izpisua@sfgov.org.