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City and County of San Francisco

January 8, 2009

January 8, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO

PLANNING COMMISSION

Meeting Minutes

Commission Chambers - Room 400

City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

Thursday, January 8, 2009

1:30 PM

Regular Meeting

COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Olague, Antonini, Borden, Lee, Miguel, Moore and Sugaya

THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY PRESIDENT OLAGUE AT 1:45 P.M.

STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: John Rahaim – Director of Planning, Larry Badiner – Zoning Administrator, Tim Frye, Kevin Guy, Christine Lamorena, Debra Dwyer, and Linda Avery – Commission Secretary.

  • 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.

  1. 2008.1179Z (E. Watty: (415) 558-6620)

2400 IRVING STREET - northwest corner of 25th Avenue, Lot 053 in Assessor's Block 1725 - An Ordinance to amend Map Sheets ZN05 and SU05 the Planning Code in order to reclassify the northern half of the Subject Property from RH-2 (Residential House, Two-Family) to NC-2 (Neighborhood Commercial, Small-Scale), pursuant to Planning Code Section 302. The proposed Ordinance is before the Commission so that it may recommend adoption, rejection, or adoption with modifications to the Board of Supervisors, and adopt findings, including environmental findings and findings of consistency with the General Plan and the Priority Policies of Planning Code Section 101.1.

Preliminary Recommendation: Recommend adoption to the Board of Supervisors.

(Continued from Regular Meeting of December 11, 2008)

(Proposed for continuance to February 5, 2009)

SPEAKERS: None

ACTION: Continued as proposed

AYES: Olague, Miguel, Antonini, Borden, Lee, Moore and Sugaya

  1. (T. SULLIVAN-LENANE: (415) 558-6257)

Amendments to Articles 10 and 11 and adding a new Section 309.3 of the Planning Code- Ordinance introduced by Mayor Newsom amending Articles 10 and 11 and adding a new Section 309.3 of the Planning Code, contingent on voter approval in the November 4, 2008 general election of the proposed Charter amendment creating an Historic Preservation Commission, to provide additional criteria for Planning Commission review of Historic Preservation Commission decisions, to provide for Section 309 review at the discretion of the Planning Department Director of certain projects requiring Certificates of Appropriateness under Article 10 of the Planning Code, and to create a rebuttable presumption of compatibility for certain projects requiring Certificates of Appropriateness under Article 10 of the Planning Code; adopting findings, including environmental findings and findings required by Section 101.1 of the Planning Code.

Preliminary Recommendation: Approval

(Continued from Regular Meeting of November 20, 2008)

(Proposed for continuance to January 22, 2009)

SPEAKERS: None

ACTION: Continued as proposed

AYES: Olague, Miguel, Antonini, Borden, Lee, Moore and Sugaya

B. COMMISSIONERS' QUESTIONS AND MATTERS

  1. 2009.

SPEAKER(S): None

ACTION: From the draft, the Commission approved a schedule that did not include canceling July 2, 2009 and October 8, 2009. All other proposed hearing dates and cancellations were approved by voice vote.

AYES: Olague, Miguel, Antonini, Borden, Lee, Moore and Sugaya

  1. Commission Comments/Questions
  • Inquiries/Announcements. Without discussion, at this time Commissioners may make announcements or inquiries of staff regarding various matters of interest to the Commissioner(s).
  • Future Meetings/Agendas. At this time, the Commission may discuss and take action to set the date of a Special Meeting and/or determine those items that could be placed on the agenda of the next meeting and other future meetings of the Planning Commission.

Commissioner Antonini:

- He mentioned an article in the Chronicle on the concept of fees for cars entering various parts of the city. I believe we have this scheduled for future discussion because I think it is important that we listen to comments from the public and have an ability to weigh in.

Commissioner Miguel:

  1. He mentioned a December 19th article in the Business Times on 1314 Polk Street that is a 100% affordable project that in the re-sale of units the concept of low income and over/under 55 problems have occurred. This is a disturbing thing. We make the presumption that our decisions are in perpetuity, or at least for the time limit that the code allows. If we could get an idea from the Department of how prevalent this problem is; of how it may have been resolved in the past; of what is happening presently; and if there is any action that we (the Commission) might take to encourage this going forward in a more judicial manner.

Zoning Administrator Badiner responded:

  1. I would be happy to. We take this very seriously and this is an item we are pursuing at the same time trying to figure out a way not to damage what are the innocent buyers of this property. My sense is that this is not prevalent; that this is an isolated case. But I will get back to you on that and talk to more about our enforcement processes. We definitely have to balance the fairness with the existing owners, the city, the seniors, and the public interest. It is a difficult issue.

Commissioner Miguel:

  1. It would be interesting to me on this issue to understand what the obligations are and what instructions are given to Realtors of how this recorded and how obvious this is to anyone who actually reads through that paper work, so we can understand why they can just go by the (not clear).

As the Zoning Administrator Badiner was responding, Commission Secretary Avery reminded him that this item is not on the agenda and could therefore not be discussed.

Commissioner Olague requested that the item be placed on calendar next week.

Zoning Administrator Badiner requested that this be put on calendar towards the end of the month (1/22/09) to continue with discussions with the City Attorney and other involved parties.

Commissioner Olague agreed.

  1. That's good. This seems to be on going.
  2. Senior housing in general is a topic that I would be interested in hearing more about, but something like this, I think we really need to look at.

Commissioner Lee:

  1. Following up on this item – I know one of the tenants there, they used to be a DA investigator, and they brought it to my attention. I referred them to the Board of Appeals and to you Larry (the Zoning Administrator). I guess the question is under bankruptcy what rights does someone have as a developer or a unit senior housing owner using Title 7 or 8 vs 11? Can the City Attorney's office under Director's Report give us some guidance so we can understand it? Because we do know that we had the case on 24th Street where the developer could not sell senior housing and came to us and we denied it. There has got to be a fairness principal.
  2. Can we get some legal understanding and Planning Code understanding that if you get a special (low income, senior, etc.) unit, what is the criteria? This should just be informational.
  3. The President of the Commission has asked for joint hearings. As part of our calendar we should start scheduling them way ahead of time to get the agreement of the other department and let the public know. With that, given the economic climate I'd like to have a joint hearing with the Small Business Commission to see if there are things we are doing or are not doing that we should be doing to streamline the process.

Commissioner Sugaya:

  1. Since the election and the passage of J and the institution of the new Historic Preservation Commission the Mayor's Office has had 31 or 61 days (I forget) to submit names for the commissioners in seven seats that make up the Historic Preservation Commission. The Mayor did so on the last legal day, submitted seven names to the Board of supervisors. The Board of Supervisors is charged with approving those nominations. Of the seven that the Mayor nominated, four withdrew. He nominated another person. That person withdrew. The track record of the Mayor's nominations is of eight nominations, five have withdrawn. The Rules Committee of the Board of Supervisors have gone on to recommend and the full Board did approve seating four commissions. Alan Martinez in seat one of the architect; Charles Chase who is the former Director of the San Francisco Architectural Heritage who is a architect that the Mayor nominated into an architectural historian seat, which to me makes absolutely no sense at all. Mr. Chase as well said that he had talked to the Mayor's Office about his qualifications. Courtney Damkroger who is a preservation planner and was also on the former Landmarks Board is seated in seat 5 I believe and Karl Hasz, who is a contractor, and who also was on the Landmarks Board was seated. The other architect seat number two, the Mayor's candidate was put on hold at this point and there are two vacant seats at the moment. I don't know if they are going to go ahead and meet because they do have a quorum at this point.

Director Rahaim responded:

- Yes they do plan to meet the first time on January 21st

C. DIRECTOR'S REPORT

  1. Director's Announcements

Director Rahaim:

  1. Happy New Year to all of you and I'm happy to tell you that as of last Friday I survived one year in my position. It's been a challenging but great year in many ways.
  2. I will also tell you that this is also another important date because it is Zoning Administrator Badiner's birthday today. I won't give away what year it is &

Zoning Administrator Badiner:

  1. I am now eligible to be nominated as a historic resource
  2. I did not say I was qualified, I said I was eligible.

Director Rahaim:

  1. The budget is on our minds these days. We are keeping a close watch on fee revenues which makes up nearly 90% of our revenues for our budget.
  2. The recent downsizing that we did was based on the first quarter revenues, which was July through September. We are just getting the numbers in for the second quarter.
  3. The preliminary analysis suggests that they are no better.
  4. We are hoping that they are no worse but we are looking at those now and looking at ways we can be creative.
  5. We will report to you in more detail when we have more information on those numbers.
  6. On congestion pricing briefing suggested by Commissioner Antonini – our plan is to combine that with a larger transportation planning briefing, and similar to what we did on the sustainability briefing, we were going to invite several departments to tell us their role in transportation planning.
  7. As Commissioner Sugaya mentioned, four members of the Historic Preservation Commission have been confirmed, which is a quorum, and they have chosen to meet for the first time on January 21st.

  1. Review of Past Week's Events at the Board of Supervisors and Board of Appeals

Board of Supervisors: The Board met and has elected David Chiu as President

Board of Appeals: The Board of Appeals did not meet

  • GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT – 15 MINUTES

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:

Jim Salinas, Sr., Louise Williams, Lloyd Thibeaux, Miguel Gomez, Hector Castillo, Juan Antimo, Alberto Porras:

Re: Community benefits – when developers commit to this commission that they are going to use union labor and put San Franciscans to work first, they are not doing it. [They cited the project at 3400 Cesar Chavez as an example.] The members of his union do not believe in City Build as of a year ago.

  • REGULAR CALENDAR

7a. 2007.1117CV (T. FRYE: (415) 575-6822)

1731 POWELL STREET - northwest intersection of Powell and Filbert Streets at Columbus Avenue, formerly the Pagoda and the Palace Theaters, Assessor's Block 0101; Lot 004. Request for Conditional Use approval pursuant to Sections 303, 703.2, and 722 of the Planning Code to rehabilitate the existing building to provide up to 18 dwelling units, ground floor retail commercial space, and up to 27 off-street parking spaces. The Zoning Administrator will hear related rear yard modification and exposure variance. The subject property is within the North Beach Neighborhood Commercial District with a 40-X Height and Bulk District.

Recommendation: Approve with Conditions

SPEAKERS:

Brett Gladstone, Attorney representing the project sponsor, gave a brief description of the project

In support: Ursula Arvand, Tom Hayes, Yesenia Oropeza, Jorge Alvarez, Miguel Garcia, Eli Arani Luno, Catherine Newburg, Chuck Thomas, Elena Astukias, Bob Mittelstadt, Jack Lee fong, Richard Hanlin, Marsha Garland, Micki Jones, Lynn Jefferson, Russ Naylor, and Martin Kirkwood

In opposition: Joan Wood

ACTION: Approved with conditions as modified by staff

AYES: Olague, Miguel, Antonini, Borden, Lee, and Moore

NAYES: Sugaya

MOTION: 17797

7b. 2007.1117CV (T. FRYE: (415) 575-6822)

1731 POWELL STREET - northwest intersection of Powell and Filbert Streets at Columbus Avenue, formerly the Pagoda and the Palace Theaters, Assessor's Block 0101; Lot 004. Request for Variance pursuant to Sections 135 and 140 of the Planning Code for a rear yard modification and exposure. The subject property is within the North Beach Neighborhood Commercial District with a 40-X Height and Bulk District.

SPEAKERS: Same as those listed for item 7a.

ACTION: The Zoning Administrator closed the public hearing and granted the variance subject to conditions of approval.

8. 2008.0658C (K. GUY: (415) 558-6163)

1349 CLAY STREET - between Jones and Leavenworth Streets, Lot 033 of Assessor's Block 0220 -Request for Conditional Use Authorization to allow a proposed addition to an existing building in excess of 40 feet in height. The project proposes to add two stories to an existing two-story over basement building, renovate the existing facade, add decks at the fourth level and the roof, and add an elevator/stair penthouse and solar array to the roof. The finished roof would reach a height of approximately 59 feet. As permitted by the Planning Code, portions of the penthouse would exceed the 65-foot height limit, up to a maximum height of approximately 69 feet. The number of existing dwelling units will not change. The project site is located within the RM-3 Zoning District and the 65-A Height and Bulk District.

Preliminary Recommendation: Approval with Conditions

SPEAKERS:

Ross Levi - Project Architect – described the latest revisions to the project

ACTION: Approved project as follows: The proposal is to add one story to an existing two-story over basement building, renovate the existing facade and interior of the building, add a deck to the roof, and add a solar array to the roof. The finished roof would reach a height of approximately 50 feet. The number of existing dwelling units will not change.

AYES: Miguel, Antonini, Borden, Lee, and Sugaya

ABSENT: Olague and Moore

MOTION: 17798

9. 2008.0648C (C. LAMORENA: (415) 575-9085)

514 27th Ave. (aka 6255 Geary Blvd.) – east side between Geary Boulevard and Anza Street; Lot 027A of Assessor's Block 1518 - Request for Conditional Use Authorization, pursuant to Planning Code Sections 712.54 and 303, to convert a salon into a foot massage establishment (dba Wonderfoot Health Center), located in an NC-3 (Neighborhood Commercial, Moderate-Scale) Zoning District and a 40-X Height and Bulk District.

Preliminary Recommendation: Approval with Conditions

SPEAKERS:

Tony Fong – Project Designer and Representative of the Project Sponsor – described the project

ACTION: Approved with conditions as drafted

AYES: Miguel, Antonini, Borden, Lee, and Sugaya

ABSENT: Olague and Moore

MOTION: 17799

10. 2008.1282D (C. LAMORENA: (415) 575-9085)

40 McLaren Avenue - north side between El Camino Del Mar and 28th Avenue; Lot 010 in Assessor's Block 1326– Request for Discretionary Review of Building Permit Application No. 2008.02.20.5155, proposing to construct two horizontal additions at the east side of the 2nd story of the two-story over basement, single-family detached dwelling in an RH-1(D) [Residential House, Single-Family (Detached Dwellings)] Zoning District and a 40-X Height and Bulk District.

Preliminary Recommendation: Do not take Discretionary Review and Approve the Project

SPEAKERS:

Ruth Timbrell – DR Requestor – expressed concerns that the third phase of the project will compromise her light, air, and space. She would like the second floor master bathroom to be reduced by three feet.

Steve Geissler – Project Architect and Representative of the Project Sponsor – described the project and gave testimony of how project proposal has responded to the DR Requestor's concerns.

Susan McAndrews – Project Sponsor – gave testimony of their (family) involvement in the neighborhood and their need for this project.

ACTION: Did not take Discretionary Review and approved the project

AYES: Olague, Miguel, Antonini, Borden, Lee, Moore and Sugaya

DRA No.: 0056

11. 2007.0347E (D. DWYER: (415) 575-9031)

San FranciscoBicycle Plan Project DEIR - Public Hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Report. The project site is located throughout the City primarily within the street right-of-way and on some park land – The proposed project includes an update of the goals, objectives and actions of the San Francisco Bicycle Plan, amendments to the San Francisco General Plan, Planning Code and Transportation Code to reflect the updated San Francisco Bicycle Plan, and proposed improvements to the City's existing bicycle route network including 60 near-term improvement projects, minor improvements and long-term improvements to the bicycle route network. The proposed project would require approval by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors as well as the Board of Supervisors. Written comments on the DEIR will be accepted at the Planning Department's offices until the close of business on January 13, 2009.

Preliminary Recommendation: No Action Required

SPEAKERS:

Lea Sheam – believes the DEIR is adequate and the review process should not be delayed

ACTION: Public hearing on the draft EIR only. No action by the Commission

G. 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 with one exception. When the agenda item has already been reviewed in a public hearing at which members of the public were allowed to testify and the Commission has closed the public hearing, your opportunity to address the Commission must be exercised during the Public Comment portion of the Calendar. Each member of the public may address the Commission for up to three minutes.

The Brown Act forbids a commission from taking action or discussing any item not appearing on the posted agenda, including those items raised at public comment. In response to public comment, the commission is limited to:

(1) responding to statements made or questions posed by members of the public; or

(2) requesting staff to report back on a matter at a subsequent meeting; or

  1. directing staff to place the item on a future agenda. (Government Code Section 54954.2(a))

SPEAKERS:

Sylvia Johnson

Re: [Comments were not clear]

Hiroshi Fukuda

Re: Area Plans have not been forth coming in the past 10 years as they have been in the past few years. Neighborhood volunteers do not have the staff and or time to fight the fires on all fronts. Why do things have to go so fast? In most cases, although Area Plans may have been available for quite some time, environmental documents have not. Please allow volunteers time to focus on these things that are coming down.

Adjournment: 6:20 p.m.

THESE MINUTES WERE PROPOSED FOR ADOPTION AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISISON ON APRIL 9 2009

Speakers: None

AYES: Miguel, Olague, Borden, Lee, Moore, and Sugaya

ABSENT: Antonini

 
Last updated: 11/17/2009 10:00:37 PM