SAN FRANCISCO
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

 

Meeting Minutes
 

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

Wednesday, April 6, 2016
12:30 p.m.
Regular Hearing

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

THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY PRESIDENT WOLFRAM AT 12:51 PM

STAFF IN ATTENDANCE:  John Rahaim – Director of Planning, Marcelle Boudreaux, Shannon Ferguson, Rich Sucre, Justin Greving, Tim Frye – Historic Preservation Officer, Jonas 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.

SPEAKERS:          James Haas – Civic Center

B. DEPARTMENT MATTERS

1. Director’s Announcements

Director John Rahaim:
I have no particular announcement except to refer to you to the written Director's Report and some upcoming public meetings. I will point out that the Housing Balance Report came out this week; it's a report that we do every six months as a result of some legislation that was passed by the Board last week which looks at the percentage of affordable housing that is being planned or has been built over a ten year period. I would refer you to that, it's an interesting document; it comes out every six months on a kind of rolling basis. Looking back ten years that this very important issue of affordable housing and the Planning Commission is having a hearing on this item tomorrow and the Board is having a hearing at the Land Use Committee on this report on April 18th. With that, I'm happy to take any questions, thanks.

President Wolfram:
I have one question about the Tree Survey. In it, it says “in addition to identifying existing trees, we will be serving vacant sites to help determine location for new trees”; the term “vacant sites” is that a vacant along the sidewalk, is that a site where a tree could be planted but in front of a building that doesn't have a tree or is that a site with a vacant parcel?

Director John Rahaim:
That is a good question, I don't know, and I'll talk to staff and get back to you on that.

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

Tim Frye, Preservation Officer:
A few items to share with you in this week's staff report; the first is last week, the Land Use Committee of the Board of Supervisors, forwarded a positive recommendation to the full board for the proposed Filipino Cultural Heritage District. This was an ordinance that was introduced by Supervisor Kim, the Planning Department is actively involved with the community and the supervisor's office in providing technical support for the identification of a task force that will provide some solid recommendations, I believe within 60 days of adoption, on how to move forward some more meaningful efforts to support the cultural heritage district, so we'll report to you on our efforts in the future. The Board of Supervisors also passed the landmark designation for the Cowell House or it had its first reading yesterday at the Board of Supervisors. There will be a second reading next week and then it will be off to the mayor for signature. Then yesterday 35-45 Onondoga’s Article 10 Landmark Designation was also introduced, so that will be referred to the Land Use Committee shortly and we'll keep you posted on our presentation there. One item to just -- I forgot is Supervisor Peskin also sign on as a co-sponsor to the Cowell House Landmark Designation. The pilot program for Article 10 individual landmark plaques is underway. We sent out a notice to all Article 10 landmark property owners, received a very good response. We quickly filled up the first 25 applicants for the pilot program and we hope to -- and the deadline isn't until April 15th, so right now we're creating sort of an informal database so we know how to phase this first 25 and hopefully in the Fall we'll do the next 25 or even 50 after the budget is approved. What we’re going to do is prepare a list of all those first 25 landmarks for you with their addresses and a photograph and we’ll pass that out to the commissioners and let you know when the plaques are installed so if you want to go visit or drive by to see how they turned out you could do so at that time. That concludes my comments, no formal report from the Planning Commission; there was one approval last week regarding an addition to an automotive support structure that Justin will cover in the facade presentation, so I'm going to let him cover the outcome from the Commission last week when he talks about the pros and cons of that project and in relationship to the broader conversation you've been having about facade retention. So that concludes my comments unless you have any questions.

Commissioner Hyland:
I have a question for you, do you have any information on how many legacy business applications have been -- is there an update?

Tim Frye, Preservation Officer:
I do not, but I will reach out to the Office of Small Business and get you an update for your next hearing.

3. CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT (CLG) 2014-2015 ANNUAL REPORT – Review of the 2014-2015 CLG Annual Report prepared by Planning Department Staff. The Commission may direct staff to include additional information or make revisions to the report prior to forwarding to the California Office of Historic Preservation.

SPEAKERS:	None
ACTION:	Reviewed and Commented

C. COMMISSION MATTERS

4. President’s Report and Announcements

President Wolfram:
The only report I have is that I attended the Rec and Park Commission hearing to speak on behalf of the Mother's Building. That was a very interesting hearing, there was a lot of support for doing something with the Mother's Building, identifying funding possibilities, so it was kind of the first step in that process.

5. Consideration of Adoption:

• Draft Minutes for ARC March 16, 2016
• Draft Minutes for HPC March 16, 2016

SPEAKERS:	None
ACTION:	Adopted
AYES:	Wolfram, Hyland, Hasz, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman

6. Commission Comments & Questions

Commissioner Hyland:
I want to update the Commission on the Waterfront Long Range Update Plan, hope I got that correct, for which Commissioner Johnck is on the working group along with me. We had our meeting, week before last I think it was; the Planning Department was presenting the city's plan for the -- response to the sea level rise and it was a lively discussion, very informative. The one thing that I took away from that meeting was a -- and I cautioned or I challenged the working group to think a little broader and more positive about existing and historic resources and cultural assets. I got the sense that the idea of keeping everything was kind of a negative approach to trying to think about how to preserve these -- the piers and the important buildings that some fall on the line of whether they're actually going to be economically feasible to save or not. So I did speak up on that, but it’s moving forward. We do have another meeting either the next one or the one after where the historic preservation is the topic for that meeting, so if you want to attend, that -- we can get the information for you when that is, we'll report back as well.

Commissioner Johnck:
Yes and it's open to the public. San Francisco Port Commission, if you go to the Port’s website, there's a whole webpage for the waterfront working group and historic preservation will be the meeting in May.

7. New Mission Theater Rehabilitation Project and Compliance

SPEAKERS:	Naomi Miroglio – Encourage support Katherine Petrin – Tax credits
ACTION:	Accepted Draft Letter
AYES:	Wolfram, Hasz, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman
RECUSED:	Hyland

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.

8. 2013.0384U                                        (S. PARKS: (415) 575-9101)              
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT – Consideration to adopt, modify, or disapprove the African American Citywide Historic Context Statement. Partially funded by the Historic Preservation Fund Committee, the context statement documents the history of African Americans in San Francisco from the City’s earliest development to the present day. It outlines significance, integrity considerations, registration requirements, and further recommendations.
Preliminary Recommendation: Adopt the Historic Context Statement
(Continued from Regular hearing February 17, 2016)
(Continue to Regular hearing May 4, 2016)

SPEAKERS:	None
ACTION:	Continued to May 4, 2016
AYES:	Wolfram, Hyland, Hasz, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman

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.

9. 2016-001903COA                                                 (E. TUFFY: (415) 575-9191)
950 MASON STREET – located on the east side of Mason Street between Sacramento and California Streets, Assessor’s Block 0244, Lot 001 (District 3).  Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the installation of a freestanding figurative bronze statue on the southwest corner of the Mason Street lawn. The round, granite-clad base will measure 3’-7” in diameter, will occupy 10 square feet of lawn, and will be secured on a concrete footing. The overall height of the statue is proposed to be 8’-9” above the immediately adjacent grade. The subject property, the Fairmont Hotel, is designated City Landmark No. 185 within Article 10 of the Planning Code. Initially designed in 1902 by architects Reid & Reid and Stanford White, the 1907 post-earthquake and fire reconstruction was overseen by architect Julia Morgan. The proposed area of work is located within the RM-4 (Residential - Mixed, High Density) Zoning District, Nob Hill Special Use District, and a 320-E Height and Bulk Limit. This action constitutes the Approval Action for the project for the purposes of CEQA, pursuant to Section 31.04(h) of the San Francisco Administrative Code.
Preliminary Recommendation: Approve

SPEAKERS:	None
ACTION:	Approved
AYES:	Wolfram, Hyland, Hasz, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman
MOTION:	0277

F. REGULAR CALENDAR 

10. 2014.0462CWP                                                (P. CHASAN: (415) 575-9065)
UN PLAZA LIVING INNOVATION ZONE – located on Assessor’s Block 0351 in the public right of way, bounded by Market, Hyde and McAllister Streets (District 6). Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the installation of a temporary (2-year) Living Innovation Zone (LIZ) in the four raised planter beds that line the pedestrian thoroughfare in the plaza. Work is to include self-supporting wooden pathways and interactive ‘acoustic phenomena’ in the raised planter beds. The subject property is a contributing site within the Civic Center Landmark District, and is located within a P (Public) Zoning District and OS (Open Space) Height and Bulk Limit. 
Recommendation: Approve

SPEAKERS:	= Cassie – Staff presentation + Josh Baccagallyspi – Project presentation
ACTION:	Approved
AYES:	Wolfram, Hyland, Hasz, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda, Pearlman
MOTION:	0278

11. 2015-004228DES                                              (S. FERGUSON: (415) 575-9074)
235 VALENCIA STREET – Consideration of a Community-Sponsored Article 10 Landmark Application for the former Hap Jones Motorcycle Dealership, Assessor's Block 3532, Lot 019B (District 8). The subject property is associated with Loren “Hap” Jones, a pioneer in motorcycling who played a significant role in the development of motorcycle culture in the Bay Area and nationally, and created the first Motorcycle Blue Book, a pricing guideline for new and used motorcycles. The subject property is located within a NCT-3 (Moderate Scale Neighborhood Commercial Transit) Zoning District and a 50-X Height and Bulk District.
Preliminary Recommendation: Not to Initiate
(Continued from Regular hearing March 2, 2016)

SPEAKERS:	= Shannon Ferguson – Staff presentation + Larissa Pedroncelli – Applicant presentation + Lauren Jones – Applicant presention continued - Craig Hamberg – Owner presentation - Chris McMorris – Historic evaluation + Kelly Hill – Support + Sven Eberlyne – Motorcycle history
ACTION:	Adopted a Motion of Intent to not initiate, but change the status code under CEQA, and Continued the item to May 4, 2016
AYES:	Wolfram, Hyland, Hasz, Johnck, Johns, Matsuda
NAYES:	Pearlman

12. 2013.0225U                                                      (R. SUCRE: (415) 575-9108)
UCSF RESEARCH BUILDING AND CITY PARKING GARAGE EXPANSION – located on the northwest corner of Vermont and 23rd Streets, Assessor’s Block 4154, Lot 001 and Assessor’s Block 4213/001 (District 10).  Request for Review and Comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Research Building and City Parking Garage Expansion at the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center Campus. The proposed project includes new construction of a five-story (up to 80-ft tall) research facility with approximately 175,000 gross square feet within the San Francisco General Hospital Historic District, which has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The project site is located within the P (Public) Zoning District and a 105-E Height/Bulk Limit. 
Recommendation: Review and Comment

SPEAKERS:	= Rich Sucre – Staff presentation + Sue Carlisle – UCSF presentation + Diane Wong – UCSF presentation + Erika Schultz – UCSF presentation
ACTION:	Accepted Draft Letter
RECUSED:	Hyland
LETTER:	L-0061

13.                                                                                   (J. GREVING: (415) 575-9169)
FAÇADE RETENTION POLICY DISCUSSION – On December 8, 2015 The Historic Preservation Commission discussed the issue of façade retention and explored a range of projects that featured some form of façade retention. This is a follow up on the topic. Planning Staff will provide a brief presentation on various examples of façade retention projects in San Francisco.
Preliminary Recommendation: Review and Comment

SPEAKERS:	= Justin Greving – Staff presentation = Mike Bhuler
ACTION:	Reviewed and Commented

ADJOURNMENT - 3:52 PM
ADOPTED APRIL 20, 2016