SAN FRANCISCO
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Meeting Minutes
Hearing Room 400
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
12:30 P.M.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Regular Meeting
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Hasz, Johns, Martinez, Matsuda, Wolfram, Chase
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Damkroger
THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY PRESIDENT CHASE AT 12:32 P.M.
STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: Pilar LaValley, Sophie Hayward, Aaron Hollister, Richard Sucre, and Jonas Ionin – Acting Commission Secretary
A. PUBLIC COMMENT
SPEAKERS: Peter Lewis, Co-President of Mission/Dolores Neighborhood Association (MDNA), alerted the HPC that a bond measure, for a total of $11.7 million dollars, was passed to rehabilitate Dolores Park in San Francisco. A series of workshops were held by the Recreation and Park Department and its consultants. Mr. Lewis found that these workshops went beyond rehabilitation of the Park – they encouraged the public more on the redesigning of the Park, which included the entrance, the landscape, the Club House, and the soccer field. Mr. Lewis asked the HPC to write a letter to the Recreation and Park to abide by CEQA guidelines and to treat the Park as a historic resource; George [Zhang], Resident of Diamond Heights for 40 years, urged the Commission to save 70 Gold Mine Drive with its empty lot from demolition by the developers, Gold Mine Partners, LLC. He felt the building has historical value - it is a Sears & Roebuck pre-fabricated old house that survived the 1906 Earthquake with only a red wood foundation; and from the San Francisco Redevelopment’s eminent domain. The house has been vacant since 2006 and the developers have tried to demolish it first by removing the kitchen and the bathroom without a permit for a 6-unit building; F. Joseph Butler, Architect in San Francisco, thought 70 Gold Mine Drive, a Sears’ kit home, is considered a historic resource because it has survived the Earthquake, fire, and rebuilding. It is a piece of our history that needs to be retained. He asked the Commission to calendar the item to discuss discontinuous historical districts and to look at these older buildings, which though in isolation, retain the integrity that’s necessary to make them qualify as historic resources; Michael [Zhang], son of George [Zhang], stated that as part of the planning process, to have 70-74 Gold Mine Drive demolished the developers couldn’t have any violations on the building. They had violated the code by removing the kitchen and bathroom without a permit, and by not registering the vacant house under the vacant house ordinance. He requested that Planning staff investigate this, to check CECA analysis, and to agendize the item for future hearing; Lucia Bogata, MDNA and a Member of the Steering Committee for the Community Redesign of Dolores Park, stated that partly because the MDNA has not been able to get this district designated, it needed help from the HPC and the City Attorney to protect and maintain Dolores Park’s integrity by writing a letter that clarifies to Recreation & Park that CEQA does indeed apply.
B. STAFF REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Preservation Coordinator Frye:
1. Monthly report on the status of the Golden Gate Park Article 10 Designation – Planning staff continued to site visit Golden Gate Park with Recreation and Park. They continued the research on Kesar Pavilion, the County Fair Building, and the Powell Railroad Shelter, and oversaw volunteer research efforts on the Sunset Magazine Demonstration Garden.
Commissioner Martinez asked if a consultant be working on evaluating the cultural landscape in Golden Gate Park. Mr. Frye responded that the Planning Department has talked to a couple of consultants who might work on a volunteer bases. The Department was also looking to SF Heritage because it has done a number of background studies on how other cities have addressed this – as in the designation for Central Park in New York, or Garfield Park in Chicago.
Preservation Coordinator Frye added the following announcement:
· The City Hall Advisory Commission would meet tomorrow at 5 p.m. in City Hall Room 408. Mr. Frye would attend the meeting to learn more about questions raised by the Advisory Commission on HPC jurisdiction over permitting process of improvements on Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project since there are several jurisdictions governing the project area.
Acting Commissioner Secretary Jonas Ionin, announced that Mr. Tim Frye was selected as the permanent Preservation Coordinator for the Planning Department and congratulated him.
SPEAKERS: Katherine Howard, Golden Gate Park Preservation Association, voiced her support for this effort. She reminded the HPC that the EIR for the Soccer Fields [in Golden Gate Park] would be out in late August and hoped the HPC would comment on it.
ACTION: Information only – no action required
C. MATTERS OF THE COMMISSION
2. President’s Report and Announcements - None
3. Disclosures:
Commissioner Wolfram visited the site of 130 Sutter Street and had email correspondence with Mr. Albert.
Commissioner Martinez also visited 130 Sutter Street; met with Bruce and Elisa; and had email correspondence afterwards.
Commissioner Matsuda also visited 130 Sutter Street; met with Bruce and Elisa; and had email correspondence afterwards.
4. Commissioner Comments/ Questions
Commissioner Martinez requested a status report on Dolores Park and its CEQA for the purpose of laying out the groundwork for where Planning is at with the Recreation and Park Department.
Commissioner Martinez, in regards to 70 Gold Mine Drive and 3130 Valley Street, he noted the discrepancies between the attention given to surveyed areas and to non-surveyed areas. He thought the HPC needed to have a discussion about CEQA and the environmental review process in the non-surveyed areas such as Noe Valley and Diamond Heights where Categorical Exemptions were given rather easily. Commissioner Chase agreed because the HPC needed to understand, if anything, the difference in what is perceived by the public and what the process has been. He thought the HPC needed to have some specific information about the properties that were brought to them. The HPC also needed to understand the process so they could make clear to the community the means and methods they could take. He stated that HPC involvement now was after the fact and recourse to Planning Commission action was not within the purview of this Commission, although there were other actions that could be taken, including appeals if that’s available. Mr. Frye suggested to agendize the annual CEQA training workshop on how the Planning Department approaches and reviews each project as they come in, or, Staff could just focus on 70 Gold Mine Drive and 3130 Valley Street. Commissioner Chase opted for the CEQA workshop.
D. CONSENT CALENDAR
(Item 5 was removed from Consent Calendar by Commissioner Wolfram and was heard as a Regular Item.)
5. 2011.0485A (P. LAVALLEY: 415/575-9084)
560-564 PACIFIC AVENUE, north side between Kearny and Montgomery Streets, Assessor’s Block 0163, Lot 008A. Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness for façade alterations including window replacement, reduction in parapet height and installation of projecting cornice, and reconfiguration of one storefront. The subject building is a contributing/compatible structure to the Jackson Square Historic District and is located within a C-2 (Community Business) District with a 65-A Height and Bulk limit.
Preliminary Recommendation: Approval
SPEAKERS: None
PRESENTER: Dan Frattin from Reuben and Junius on behalf of Burmingham Developers; [Christian Marz], Architect from Studio Team
ACTION: Approved with conditions that the cornice be simplified by removing the lintels; that the double hung windows be changed to casements or double casements.
AYES: Hasz, Johns, Martinez, Matsuda, Wolfram, and Chase
ABSENT: Damkroger
Motion No. M0129
E. REGULAR CALENDAR
(Item 6 was heard after Item 7.)
6. 2011.0613A (S. HAYWARD: 415/558-6372)
130 SUTTER STREET, north side between Kearny and Montgomery Streets, Assessor’s 0288, Lot 027. Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to restore and to repair exterior structural and decorative metal elements on the Sutter Street elevation of the subject building. The subject property is San Francisco Landmark No. 37, and is a Category 1 building as described in Article 11 of the Planning Code. The Hallidie building is located within the Downtown Plan Area. The subject property is located within a C-3-O (Downtown Office) Zoning District and a 80-130F Height and Bulk District.
Preliminary Recommendation: Approval with Conditions
SPEAKERS: None
PRESENTER: Jay Turnbull and Elisa Skaggs from Page and Turnbull; Burce Albert of the Albert Group and Project Manager of the project; Annie Lo from McGuinness and Chen
ACTION: Approved with the amendments that the Commission would delegate authority to the Staff to work with Project Sponsor (PS) on: 1) that the window portions directly behind the fire escape may be replaced in-kind provided there’s no change to profiles, materials and details that are visible from the public right-of-way; 2) that if there is any change required by a condition found in the field that is significant enough in the approach or method of construction, the PS is required to come back and file a new Certificate of Appropriateness for review and approval by this Commission; 3) that PS would double check the areas for paint color analysis; 4) that Staff would provide updates on the progress of the project on a regular basis; and 5) that salvage elements should be kept, or may be offered to institutions at the discretion of the owner.
AYES: Hasz, Johns, Martinez, Matsuda, Wolfram, and Chase
ABSENT: Damkroger
Motion No. M0130
7. 2010.0015A (A. HOLLISTER: 415/575-9078)
415 GEARY STREET/333 MASON STREET, southwest corner of Geary and Mason Streets, in Assessor’s Block 0316, Lots 001 & 001A. Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to install seven panel antennas and associated equipment for AT&T Mobility. The subject building is Landmark No. 82, the Geary Theater and Geary Theater Annex. It is located within a C-3-G (Downtown, Commercial, General) Zoning District and an 80-130-F Height and Bulk District.
Preliminary Recommendation: Approval
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: Approved
AYES: Hasz, Johns, Martinez, Matsuda, Wolfram, and Chase
ABSENT: Damkroger
Motion No. M0131
8. 2011.0381A (R. SUCRE: 415/575-9108)
563 SECOND STREET, northeast corner of 2ND and DeBoom Streets, Assessor’s 3774, Lot 044. Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness for a one-story vertical rooftop addition and exterior alterations to the DeBoom Street façade. The subject building is a contributor to the South End Historic District and is located within the MUO (Mixed Use-Office) Zoning District with a 65-X Height and Bulk limit.
Preliminary Recommendation: Approval with Conditions
PRESENTER: Harvey Hacker, Architect of the project
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: Approved with the conditions as amended and revised regarding opening location for the doorway be 4 panes east; detail of the metal be differentiated from historic metal; screening of the coolers be non-reflective; and PS to submit revised drawings to Planning staff for approval.
AYES: Hasz, Johns, Martinez, Matsuda, Wolfram, and Chase
ABSENT: Damkroger
Motion No. M0132
NOTE: Before adjournment, Commissioner Chase congratulated Preservation Coordinator Tim Frye, and expressed that HPC greatly appreciated his work and is very happy that he would be with HPC on a permanent basis.
ADJOURNMENT: 2:31 P.M.
The minutes was proposed for adoption at the Regular Meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission on Wednesday, October 5, 2011
ACTION: Approved
AYES: Hasz, Martinez, Matsuda, Wolfram, Damkroger, Chase
ABSENT: Johns
