SAN FRANCISCO
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

Meeting Minutes

Commission Chambers Room 400,
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689

Wednesday, December 16, 2015
12:00 p.m.
Regular Hearing

COMMISSIONERS PRESENT:   Wolfram, Hyland, Johnck, Matsuda, Pearlman, Johns
ABSENT:                                     Hasz

THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY PRESIDENT WOLFRAM AT 12:33 PM

STAFF IN ATTENDANCE:   Jeff Joslin - Director of Current Planning, Tina Tam - Senior Preservation Planner, Menaka Mohan, Paolo Ikezoe, Kearstin Dischinger, Shelley Caltagirone, Pilar LaValley, Jonas P. Ionin – Commission Secretary

SPEAKER KEY:
+ indicates a speaker in support of an item;

indicates a speaker in opposition to an item; and

= indicates a neutral speaker or a speaker who did not indicate support or opposition.

Hearing Materials are available at: Website: http://www.sfplanning.org Planning Department, 1650 Mission Street, 4th Floor, Suite 400 Planning Information Center, 1660 Mission Street, 1st Floor Voice recorded Agenda, only: (415) 558-6320 Commission Hearing Broadcasts: Live stream: http://www.sfgovtv.org Ordinances and Accessibility Hearing Procedures

A.         GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

At this time, members of the public may address the Commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Commission except agenda items. With respect to agenda items, your opportunity to address the Commission will be afforded when the item is reached in the meeting.  Each member of the public may address the Commission for up to three minutes.

SPEAKER:     Eileen Boken – Palace of Fine Arts
                       (M) Speaker – Pier 70

B.         DEPARTMENT MATTERS

1.      Director’s Announcements

Jeff Joslin, Director of Current Planning:
Good afternoon, Commissioners. You have a copy of the Director’s Report in front of you; be happy to answer any questions about that report. I did, of course, also want to acknowledge at this time of the loss of a member of our planning and preservation family, Mary Brown who was with the Department since 2008 and a remarkable prolific, profound contributor to our efforts.

2.     Review of Past Events at the Planning Commission, Staff Report and Announcements

Tina Tam, Senior Preservation Planner:
I do have a couple of announcements: the first one is a brief update on past events of the Board of Supervisors. Last Tuesday, on December the 8th, the Board of Supervisors heard a number of Mills Act contracts, including ones for 722 Steiner, 761 Post and 807 Montgomery. While the Board voted to approve contracts for Steiner and Post, they did not for 807 Montgomery. Instead, they continued that item for yesterday and at that hearing the board did unanimously approve it. The only other item I have is further remarks about Ms. Mary Brown. On behalf of Tim Frye, Preservation Coordinator who can’t be here today, and the entire Planning Department we are beyond sad about the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Ms. Mary Brown. Mary joined the Department in 2008; before that she worked for the San Francisco Bike Coalition, where she served as the Membership Director and later a Bicycle Network Director. It was her return to graduate school following an earlier BA in Journalism with a minor in Art from Humboldt State University that led to her to preservation and planning. She received an MA in Geography from San Francisco State University with an emphasis in Historical Geography. Mary’s accomplishments with the Planning Department were enormous. She served as the manager for the city’s Landmark Designation and Work Program. She authored and was the lead planner on a number of city landmarks, including Sam Jordan’s Bar in the Bayview, landmark #263; Doelger Home Sales Office in the Inner Sunset, landmark #265; Marcus Books and Jimbo’s Bop City in the Fillmore, landmark #266; Duboce Park Historic District, landmark #12 and the recently nominated Cowell House in Forest Hill. Mary was an excellent writer. She was revered for work on a number of different historic context statements and surveys including The Modern Architecture and Landscape Designs Historic Context Statement, the Sunset District Historic Context Statement and Sunset Residential Tracts Historic Resources Survey; the Draft Neighborhood-Commercial Store Front Historic Context Statement and Historic Resources Survey. Mary also received a number of awards including the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation and the California Preservation Foundation award for work on the Modern Context Statement. It is not every day you get to meet, let alone work alongside with someone as dedicated and gifted as Mary Brown. It was my honor to do so for the past 7 years. We are truly grateful for Mary’s calm, beautiful, and thoughtful demeanor; her major work and contributions while at the Planning Department will undoubtedly live on. She will be sincerely remembered and deeply missed. Thank you.

Commissioner Johnck:
I want to thank you for those wonderful words and I think many of you saw my e-mail. I was blessed with working with Mary when I was leading and still do a course in emphasizing cultural landscape with the University of California Berkeley extension Landscape Architecture Program and Mary was an absolutely sterling member of the class. She could have taught it and I could have worked in front of her, so to speak. One of her great achievement for the class was the acknowledgment of the Sunset demonstration of gardens in Golden Gate Park and she made a number of wonderful recommendations and I would really like to investigate how some of those recommendations could be implemented to improve and call the public attention to that particular cultural landscape within Golden Gate Park. When you think what she accomplished in the last 8 years, absolutely, absolutely amazing. I would be welcome any news about a memorial service or whatever kind of tribute the Planning Department is planning to have. Thank you.

President Wolfram:
I knew Mary for many years starting from when she was on the board of Docomomo and her involvement in modern architecture. She was incredibly passionate about her work and her research and it was somebody who was interested and cared about buildings that other people didn't even think about; was interested in not only the buildings and architecture and the sites but also the people that created them and think about the great work she did for the Cowell House and how she really brought the Cowell family to life. The way she could bring the past to life was an extraordinary gift. I would like a brief moment of silence in honor of Mary. We will also adjourn the hearing in her honor. Thank you.

C.         COMMISSION MATTERS

3.     President’s Report and Announcements

President Wolfram:
The only announcement I have is that we are having a holiday gathering today at 5 o'clock at Don Ramon’s at 225 11th Street.

4.     Consideration of Adoption:

• Draft Minutes for HPC December 2, 2015
• Draft Minutes for CHA December 2, 2015

SPEAKERS:   None
ACTION:         Adopted as to both minutes
AYES:             Wolfram, Hyland, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman
ABSENT:        Hasz

5.    Commission Comments & Questions

None

D.         CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS PROPOSED FOR CONTINUANCE

The Commission will consider a request for continuance to a later date.  The Commission may choose to continue the item to the date proposed below, to continue the item to another date, or to hear the item on this calendar.

None

E.         CONSENT CALENDAR

All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Calendar, are considered to be routine by the Historic Preservation Commission, and will be acted upon by a single roll call vote of the Commission.  There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission, the public, or staff so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Calendar and considered as a separate item at this or a future hearing.

6. 2013.0829A                                              (B. BENDIX: (415) 575-9114)
2476-2478 THIRD STREET – west side, between 22nd and 20th Streets, Assessor’s Block 4108, Lot 003D.  Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness for (1) construction of a roof deck with a 42-inch tall cable rail and setback 25.5 feet from the face of the building; (2) construction of a wood three story deck and stairwell system at the rear of the building; (3) removal of non-historic vinyl windows on the rear façade and side elevations; (4) installation of wood doors and double hung wood windows on the rear façade and side elevations; and, (5) infill below a raised two-story rear addition. The subject property is a contributing resource to the Dogpatch Landmark District, and is located within an NCT-2 (Small-Scale Neighborhood Commercial Transit) Zoning District and 45-X Height and Bulk Limit. 
Preliminary Recommendation:  Approve

SPEAKERS:    (M) Speaker - Concerns
ACTION:          After being pulled off Consent; Approved with Conditions as amended to include a Finding that                         the Commission encourages the neighbors work together regarding the property line windows.
AYES:             Wolfram, Hyland, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman
ABSENT:        Hasz
MOTION:       0270

F.         REGULAR CALENDAR 

7. 2014-001503PCA                               (M. MOHAN: (415) 575-9141)
AFFORDABLE HOUSING BONUS PROGRAM – Informational Presentation regarding a Planning Code Amendment to create the Affordable Housing Bonus Programs, consisting of the Local Affordable Housing Bonus Program, the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Program, the Analyzed State Density Bonus Program and the Individually Requested State Density Bonus Program, to provide for development bonuses and zoning modifications for affordable housing, in compliance with, and above those required by the State Density Bonus Law, Government Code, Section 65915, et seq.; to establish the procedures in which the Local Affordable Housing Bonus Program and the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Program shall be reviewed and approved; and amending the Planning Code to exempt projects from the height limits specified in the Planning Code and the Zoning Maps; and affirming the Planning Department’s determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; and making findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1.
(Continued from December 2, 2015 hearing)
Preliminary Recommendation: None - Informational

SPEAKERS:    Menaka Mohan – Staff presentation
                        Paolo Ikezoe – Staff presentation
                        = Eileen Boken – Upzoning concerns
                        Kearstin Dischinger – Response to questions
ACTION:         None - Informational

8. 2004.0773E!CMTR / 2012.0033ACEF                 (S. CALTAGIRONE: (415) 558-6625)
55 LAGUNA STREET MIXED USE PROJECT, San Francisco Normal School/San Francisco State Teacher’s College, is located on two blocks bound by Laguna, Haight, Buchanan, and Hermann Streets. Assessor’s Block 0857, Lots 001 and 001a and Assessor’s Block 0870, Lots 001, 002, and 003. The property contains San Francisco Landmark Nos. 257, 258, and 259 - Burke-Richardson Hall (a.k.a. Richardson Hall), Anderson-Woods Hall (a.k.a. Woods Hall), and Anderson-Woods Hall Annex (a.k.a. Woods Hall Annex). The buildings contribute to the National Register-listed San Francisco Normal School/State Teacher’s College campus. Request for Review and Comment of the Draft Interpretive Display developed in compliance with Mitigation Measure HR-2 of the 55 Laguna Street Mixed Use Project Final Environmental Impact Report, certified April 2008. The subject property is located within the RM-3 (Residential, Mixed, Medium Density), NC-3 (Moderate-Scale Neighborhood Commercial), and Laguna-Haight-Buchanan-Hermann Streets SUD (Special Use District) Zoning Districts and 40-X, 50-X, and 85-X Height and Bulk Districts.
Preliminary Recommendation: The Commission may direct staff to draft written comments about the adequacy of the draft Interpretive Display.

SPEAKERS:   Shelley Caltagirone – Staff presentation
                       Elisa Skaags – Consultant presentation
                       Sharon Kristen – Response to mural restoration
ACTION:         Reviewed and Commented

9. 2015-008484PTA                                                  (P. LAVALLEY: (415) 575-9084)
856 MARKET STREET – north side of Market Street between Hallidie Plaza and Ellis Street; Assessor’s Block 0329, Lots 004. Request for a Major Permit to Alter to replace the non-historic Market Street façade and install new cladding, fenestration, and internally illuminated projecting and wall signs. Constructed in 1915, with substantial alterations to the façade in 2000, the subject building is a Category V (Unrated) Building within the Kearny-Market-Mason Conservation District, the Market Street Special Sign District, the C-3-R (Downtown Retail) Zoning District, and 80-130-F Height and Bulk District.
Preliminary Recommendation: Approve with Conditions

SPEAKERS:    Pilar LaValley – Staff presentation
                        + Russel Shirley – Conditions of Approval
ACTION:          Approved with Conditions
AYES:             Wolfram, Hyland, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman
ABSENT:        Hasz
MOTION:        0271

ADJOURNMENT IN MEMORY OF MARY BROWN – 1:42 pm
ADOPTED AS CORRECT JANUARY 6, 2016