Untitled 1
SAN FRANCISCO
PLANNING COMMISSION
Meeting Minutes
Commission Chambers, Room 400
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
Thursday, May 15, 2014
12:00 p.m.
Regular Meeting
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY PRESIDENT WU AT 12:07 P.M.
STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: John Rahaim – Planning Director, Scott Sanchez – Zoning Administrator,
Danielle Harris, Alexandra Kirby, Laura Ajello, Elizabeth Watty, Lisa Chen, Jeannie Poling, Glenn Cabreros, Marcella Boudreaux, and 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.
A. 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. 2014.0434T (D. SÁNCHEZ: (415) 575-9082)
APPLICATION INFORMATION ON ANTI-DISCRIMINATION HOUSING POLICIES [BOARD FILE 14-0235] - The Planning Commission consideration of a proposed Ordinance requiring the Planning Department to include certain informational questions regarding anti-discriminatory housing policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity on a project sponsor’s application for residential and mixed-use projects proposing at least 10 dwelling units, requiring an annual report from the Human Right Commission on the data collected from such applications and affirm the Planning Department’s determination under the California Environmental Quality Act, and make findings of consistency with the General Plan and priority policies of Planning Code Section 101.1.
(Proposed for Continuance to May 22, 2014)
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: Continued to June 12, 2014
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
2. 2013.1656C (D. HARRIS: (415) 575-9102)
722 SOUTH VAN NESS AVENUE - west side between 18th and 19th Streets; Lot 003 in Assessor’s Block 3590 - Request for Conditional Use Authorization, pursuant to Planning Code Sections 209.3(f), 303, and 317 to convert a single-family dwelling that served as the former parish house of the adjacent Korean Presbyterian Church into an approximately 3,800 square foot child-care facility use for 15 or more children within a RTO-M (Residential, Transit-Oriented - Mission Neighborhood) Zoning District, the Mission Alcoholic Beverage Special Use Subdistrict, Fringe Financial Service Restricted Use District, and 50-X Height and Bulk District. 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.
(Proposed for Continuance to June 12, 2014)
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: Continued to June 12, 2014
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
B. CONSENT CALENDAR
All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Calendar, are considered to be routine by the Planning Commission, and may 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
3. 2013.1651Q (A. KIRBY: (415) 575-9133)
700 CABRILLO STREET - northwest corner of Cabrillo Street and 8th Avenue; Lot 005A in Assessor’s Block 1636 - Request for Condominium Conversion Subdivision to convert a two-story-over-basement, five-unit building into residential condominiums within a RH-2 (Residential, Housing, Two-Family) Zoning District and 40-X Height and Bulk District. 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
(Continued from Regular Meeting of April 24, 2014)
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: Approved
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
MOTION: 19147
4. 2014.0363Q (A. KIRBY: (415) 575-9133)
545 ASHBURY STREET - west side of Ashbury Street between Haight and Page Streets; Lot 008 in Assessor’s Block 1231 - Request for Condominium Conversion Subdivision to convert a two-story-over-garage, five-unit building into residential condominiums within a RH-3 (Residential, House, Three-Family) Zoning District and 40-X Height and Bulk District. 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
(Continued from Regular Meeting of April 24, 2014)
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: Approved
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
MOTION: 19148
5. 2014.0330Q (L. AJELLO: (415) 575-9142)
2245 CABRILLO STREET - southeast corner of Cabrillo Street and 24th Avenue; Lot 047 in Assessor’s Block 1666 - Request for Condominium Conversion Subdivision to convert a three-story-over-garage, six-unit building into residential condominiums within a RH-2 (Residential, House, Two-Family) Zoning District and 40-X Height and Bulk District. 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: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
MOTION: 19149
C. COMMISSION MATTERS
7. Consideration of Adoption:
· Draft Minutes for May 1, 2014
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: Adopted
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
Adoption of Commission Minutes – Charter Section 4.104 requires all commissioners to vote yes or no on all matters unless that commissioner is excused by a vote of the Commission. Commissioners may not be automatically excluded from a vote on the minutes because they did not attend the meeting.
8. 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:
Comments on a couple of things, and one is an unfortunate situation that occurred last week. Some of you may have seen this on the news, which was reported by KTVU, David Stevenson. A small restaurant in the Mission District was vandalized and painted with graffiti saying, “Get out,” and so, Stevenson looked into this and it actually turns out it’s Locals Corner, which is one of Michael Bauer’s top 100, but it’s a very small place, and it's exactly what we’re asking restaurants to be, locally owned, sustainable food, locally grown, modestly priced from the menu that I looked at. So, I really don't know what the whole point was. Apparently, there were some claims that people were turned away, but the restaurant was filled the night they came there, as was the case when I went there and they said they we only have 20 seats, we can’t take everybody that wants to get in there. So, I think this sets a bad example for San Francisco and people are engaging their moneys and their efforts into starting small businesses are terrorized and also this group is not formula retail. They do have three establishments. One of the other ones is a local market, which everybody is crying for. They have a market, that, you know, will actually do pickup and delivery, no parking a couple of blocks away on Harrison Street and their third place on 24th Street, which is an even more casual establishment. So hopefully, I just wanted to note that, because there were some people who were trying to defend the vandals. I don’t quite understand their logic, so anyway. Another issue, I'm reading a book now that I think would be very good, book for all us to read, who is interested in planning issues. It's called Dead End Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism and the author is Benjamin, um, I think his last name is Russ, I can't read my writing here, but in any case, I am about halfway through it. It is very interesting. He goes through the whole history of the streetcar suburbs, which really weren’t suburbs, they were areas like the western part of San Francisco or the southern part of San Francisco, where they were made accessible by the building of streetcar lines and then the beginnings of urban sprawl and all the bad things that went with them, auto-dependency. It is kind of strange, because - - I haven’t been to Europe for about 40 years and it’s probably changed, but I remember going to places like Paris and Rome and not really seeing suburbs in the sense that we have them. The cities would grow out, and the city would go and go, and then you'd reach the countryside and then you would come to a town that was some miles away from the city itself. So hopefully, they’ve been able avoid the problems we have here. And the third thing I want to comment, I went to an event last night sponsored by TMG Partners. I saw President Wu there. Very interesting, it was a forum on the role of tech. Some very interesting speakers and they talked about disruptive innovation. Basically, the point was that these firms have been very successful because they disrupt the standard operating procedure for so many industries, not because of the internet, but because they have the internet as a tool they can apply and they can do things that have been quite successful. One thing they pointed out, which I wasn’t aware of, but apparently AirBnB it has – or will soon have, as many rooms or – for -- under their auspices available to people who wish to use them worldwide as does Hilton Intercontinental, which is the largest hotel chain in the world. So it’s an interesting concept, but I think the Internet made that possible for that sort of thing to be done.
D. DEPARTMENT MATTERS
9. Director’s Announcements
Director Rahaim:
Good afternoon, Commission. Our new engineer in staff, Susan Gygi, wanted me to let you know that this week is National Infrastructure Week - but as the Department gets more involved in these larger transportation issues, sea level rise issues, we're much more engaged in major infrastructure planning than we’ve ever been before. So, the week is kind of celebrated by the many engineers around the world as kind of looking at emerging solutions and best practices being developed to modernize our aging infrastructure. So I just wanted to take a moment to thank the departments that are all involved with this. Obviously, we work closely with DPW and MTA and others -- PUC and other city agencies who are very closely involved in this. I think we’re all developing a new found appreciation for the infrastructure of the City and how important it is to keep it up in our aging cities. That concludes my report. Thank you.
10. Review of Past Events at the Board of Supervisors, Board of Appeals and Historic Preservation Commission
LAND USE COMMITTEE:
· Hearing (Sup. Weiner) - Street Widths in Hunters Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point Developments. This was hearing requested by Supervisor Wiener to discuss the Fire Department’s decision to require a minimum street width of 26’ in the new Hunters Point and Candlestick developments. The Development was originally approved with 20’ street widths, but the Fire Department has asked that most streets have a minimum of 26’. At the hearing the Fire Department explained their policy rationale for requiring these changes, which focused mainly on safety and the ability of their trucks to function properly during an emergency. Other City departments, including the Planning Department and DPW, focused on their policy rational for signing off on the original 20’ wide street widths, which are consistent with the City’s Better Streets Plan, the Pedestrian Safety Strategy, and “Vision Zero” policy. The Department was represented by John Rahaim and Neil Hrushowy. The Supervisors were very engaged in the presentation and there were several public speakers, the majority of whom supported the City’s original decision to have 20-foot wide streets. In the debate, it was clear that both sides were motivated by public safety concerns and while no resolution came from the hearing, it helped illuminate the various issues and overlapping city priorities. This was only a hearing and no action was taken. The Committee closed the hearing and tabled the item to the call of the chair.
· 140062 Mayor Lee and Sup. Cohen. Planning Code changes to P Zoned Districts for the SF Plaza Program. This Ordinance would amend controls in the Planning Code for P Districts in order to facilitate the new SF Plaza Program. This item was heard by the Planning Commission on May 1 of this year and rwas recommended unanimously for approval. There was very little discussion on this item, as the committee was close to losing a quorum because of the previous hearing, but the Committee did express support for the overall program and gratitude to City Staff for working with the community to modify the Ordinance based on their concerns. The Committee voted to move this Ordinance to the Board with a positive recommendation.
FULL BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
· 131205 Planning Code - Production, Distribution, and Repair Zoning. Sponsors: Mayor; Cohen, Campos and Chiu. Wertheim. PASSED, Final Read
INTRODUCTIONS:
Other than Supervisor Mar’s reintroduction of an Ordinance that would amend the City’s Formula Retail Controls, which this Commission is scheduled to hear on June 5th, there were no new Ordnances introduced at the Board this week.
BOARD OF APPEALS:
No Report
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISISON:
No Report
11. (E. WATTY: (415) 558-6620)
STATUS UPDATE ON EXECUTIVE DIRECTIVE 13-01: HOUSING PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION OF HOUSING STOCK
SPEAKERS: None
ACTION: None - Information Only
E. 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: Lin Kim Lennie Lee – Safeway on 7th Ave.
F. REGULAR CALENDAR
The Commission Hearing Procedures provide for presentations by staff; followed by the project sponsor team; followed by public comment for and against the proposal. Please be advised that the project sponsor team includes: the sponsor(s) or their designee, lawyers, architects, engineers, expediters, and/or other advisors.
12. 2014.0092U (L. CHEN: (415) 575-9094)
650 INDIANA STREET – Approving an impact fee waiver for 650 Indiana Street in the amount of $565,100 to provide streetscape, public space, and pedestrian safety improvements on 19th Street based on the completion of an In-Kind Agreement between the Project Sponsor and the City; making environmental findings and findings of consistency with the General Plan and the eight priority policies of Planning Code Section 101.1.
SPEAKERS: + Michael Yarne - Project presentation
+ Ben Fry - theft, graffiti, vandalism if the fence between the highway and project comes down
+ Susan Eslick - Dogpatch arts plaza
ACTION: Approved as amended:
Moved, that the Commission hereby authorizes the Eastern Neighborhoods Community Impact Fee Waiver for 650 Indiana Street in the amount of $565,100.
Be it also moved that the Planning Commission hereby approves an additional $284,900 (for a maximum total of $850,000 in fees waived), contingent upon the Project Sponsor returning to the Eastern Neighborhoods CAC for their recommendation of the additional amount.
Be it also moved that if the Eastern Neighborhoods CAC does not recommended the additional waiver of $284,900 in Impact Fee funds, the Planning Commission will review the In-Kind Agreement at a future date to take a final action regarding the total amount of the fee waiver.
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
MOTION: 19150
13. 2011.1306EC (J. POLING: (415) 575-9072)
1634-1690 PINE STREET - north side of Pine Street between Franklin Street and Van Ness Avenue: Lots 008, 009, 010, 011, and 011A in Assessor’s Block 0647 – Certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report. The project site is occupied by five vacant one- to two-story buildings and a parking lot. The proposed project would merge the current six lots into one parcel, demolish most of the five buildings on the project site, and construct a 130-foot-tall 353,360-gross-square-foot building containing 262 residential units in two 13-story towers, 5,600 square feet of commercial use on the ground and second floors, and one level of below-grade parking for 245 vehicles and 141 bicycles. Three of the existing building façades would be restored and incorporated into the proposed project.
Note: The public hearing on the Draft EIR is closed. The public comment period for the revised portions of the Draft EIR ended on November 18, 2013. Public comment will be received when the item is called during the hearing but will not be responded to in writing.
Preliminary Recommendation: Certify the Final EIR
SPEAKERS: + Victor Marquez - Project presentation
+ Feraz Mirza - Project design
+ (F) Speaker - Community outreach
= Mellanie Emons - construction noise, traffic, parking, air quality
+ Danny Campbell - Sheet Metal Workers, supported the project
+ Timothy White - Carpenter’s Local 22, supported the project
= Patricia Lovelock - did not receive notice regarding the hearing, shadow, traffic
ACTION: Certified
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
MOTION: 19151
14a. 2011.1306E (G. CABREROS: (415) 558-6169)
1634-1690 PINE STREET - between Franklin Street and Van Ness Avenue; Lots 007, 008, 009, 010, 011 and 011A in Assessor’s Block 0647 – Adoption of CEQA Findings for a Conditional Use request to authorize a Planned Unit Development (PUD) on an approximately 35,500 square-foot development lot, including the demolition of five existing commercial buildings, and to allow construction of a 130-foot tall, 13-story, 261-unit mixed-use building with ground floor commercial spaces and 201 parking spaces within a NC-3 (Neighborhood-Commercial, Moderate Scale) Zoning District, 130-E Height and Bulk District and partially within the Van Ness Automotive Special Use District.
Preliminary Recommendation: Adopt
SPEAKERS: + Victor Marquez - Project presentation;
+ Feraz Mirza - Project design;
+ (F) Speaker - Community outreach;
= Mellanie Emons - construction noise, traffic, parking, air quality;
+ Danny Campbell - Sheet Metal Workers, supported the project;
+ Timothy White - Carpenter’s Local 22, supported the project;
= Patricia Lovelock - did not receive notice regarding the hearing, shadow, traffic;
ACTION: Adopted CEQA Findings
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
MOTION: 19152
14b. 2011.1306EC (G. CABREROS: (415) 558-6169)
1634-1690 PINE STREET - between Franklin Street and Van Ness Avenue; Lots 007, 008, 009, 010, 011 and 011A in Assessor’s Block 0647 - Request for Conditional Use Authorization, pursuant to Planning Code Sections 303 and 304, to authorize a Planned Unit Development (PUD) on an approximately 35,500 square-foot development lot, including the demolition of five existing commercial buildings, and to allow construction of a 130-foot tall, 13-story, 261-unit mixed-use building with ground floor commercial spaces and 201 parking spaces within a NC-3 (Neighborhood-Commercial, Moderate Scale) Zoning District, 130-E Height and Bulk District and partially within the Van Ness Automotive Special Use District. 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 with Conditions
SPEAKERS: + Victor Marquez - Project presentation;
+ Feraz Mirza - Project design;
+ (F) Speaker - Community outreach;
= Mellanie Emons - construction noise, traffic, parking, air quality;
+ Danny Campbell - Sheet Metal Workers, supported the project;
+ Timothy White - Carpenter’s Local 22, supported the project;
= Patricia Lovelock - did not receive notice regarding the hearing, shadow, traffic;
ACTION: Approved with Conditions, Recommended the alternative façade design
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Moore, Sugaya
MOTION: 19153
15. 2013.1555C (M. BOUDREAUX: (415) 575-9140)
2048 TARAVAL STREET - northeast corner of 31st Avenue; Lot 014 in Assessor’s Block 2359 - Request for Conditional Use Authorization, pursuant to Planning Code Sections 303 and 781.1 to allow a change of use from a retail grocery to a Limited Restaurant (d.b.a. Kingdom of Dumpling) within the Taraval Street Restaurant Subdistrict, Taraval Street NCD (Neighborhood Commercial District) Zoning District, and 50-X Height and Bulk District. The issuance of the building permit by the Department of Building Inspection or the Planning Commission project approval at a discretionary review hearing would constitute as 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 with Conditions
SPEAKERS: + Javier Solorzano - Project presentation
ACTION: Approved with Conditions
AYES: Wu, Fong, Antonini, Borden, Hillis, Sugaya
ABSENT: Moore
MOTION: 19154
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
(3) directing staff to place the item on a future agenda. (Government Code Section 54954.2(a))
Adjournment - 2:50 P.M.
ADOPTED: June 5, 2014
