By Rupert Clayton, HANC Housing and Land-Use Chair
Several local projects and initiatives have progressed in recent weeks.
First, the Department of Public Works has postponed the start of sewer replacement work along upper Haight Street from July to early September 2018. Many merchants had been concerned that this work would massively disrupt their businesses during their peak summer season. DPW said that, “after hearing from HAMA and HANC members, residents, and discussing with District Supervisor London Breed, we have decided to postpone our start date until after Labor Day 2018.”
1355 Fulton
In planning news, the architect (SIA Consulting) and owners for a proposed development that would replace the F. Lofrano auto body business at 1355 Fulton St (between Divisadero and Broderick) held a public pre-application meeting on Thursday June 14. They plan to build a 71,000-sq-ft, 9-story building behind the façade of the existing garage. There would be 2,100 sq ft of commercial space on the 1st and 2nd floors and 75 residential units above, divided among 22 studios, 45 two-bedrooms and 8 three-bedrooms.
The developers plan to add the state’s density bonus to the existing 65-foot height limit to allow a building that would be 85 feet tall at the roofline. Above this height would be the elevator machine room, stairway access and roof garden. Surprisingly, two-thirds of the proposed common outdoor space would be on this top-floor roof deck and the rest above the garage on floor 2 and behind the façade on floor 3. Using the density bonus means that the proportion of below-market rate units could be higher than otherwise, but the developer isn’t yet committed to a percentage.
This project is at quite an early stage in the application process. On June 8, the city issued a preliminary project assessment for the project noting a range of issues that need to be addressed for the application to move forward. Not least among these was that “the proposed building height exceeds the neighboring buildings by 6 stories and results in a mass that is out of scale with the surrounding context.”
2175 Hayes
Further west, there’s a proposal to demolish the existing shabby building housing a dental office at 2175 Hayes St, near Shrader, and replace it with a 4-unit residential block. This project is below the city’s threshold to require any of the new units to be offered at affordable rates. The pre-application meeting for this was held on Wednesday, June 20.
Buena Vista Assessment
Lastly, the committee proposing a “Greater Buena Vista Green Benefit District” held their second public meeting on Monday June 11. The GBVGBD could levy assessments on properties as far north as Page St and as far west as Clayton St. The meeting at the Randall Museum drew a large attendance, and neighbors had many questions. Top among these was the need for a special local levy when the SF Recreation and Park Department has a dedicated budget set-aside with a built-in annual increment plus a regular series of large capital bonds. Various neighbors questioned the value they would receive for the additional money and their ability to hold the non-profit board accountable as readily as an elected supervisor. The next public meeting appears to be planned for September.