association. in a member of both. i have a letter from the russian hill improvement association telling them several of the same things we have already talked about. i have a letter from the in the talks about how it for her emergence, increased the desire for property owners to add garages to homes and apartments, increase the number of people driving around. i do not know how many of you have come to our fine neighborhood to go to a restaurant and had driven around and around and around and around. i'm 70 years old. i have friends to come, and they have trouble taking public transit, some of them. some of them do have disabilities. there are not parking spaces for people with disabilities. it is a really tough area, and i hope you will take that into consideration when you consider whether or not to change this project. i belong to a city car share, but i have to go all the way down to pull street to get a car -- to polk street.

it would be great if we could have it just around the corner. thank you very much. commissioner olague: thank you. >> good afternoon. i live on -- i have lived on russian hill for about 28 years, since 1983. what is before you is a proposed change of use for 1945 hyde street, the valencia garage. change it from a public parking facility to a residential condominium. in addition to this change in use is a request for a rear yard variants, which is before mr. sanchez today. my understanding is that a change of use must serve the community affected. the residents of russian hill would not be best served by granting this change of use. the density, topography, housing stock, and aging population will

suffer with the loss of this parking garage. so mr. sanchez does not feel ignored this afternoon, the project sponsor is also requesting approval of a rearguard variance to reduce the required rear yard of 25 feet by 60% to 810-foot rear yard. since the developer would not be providing sufficient rearguard open space for the new residents, additional demands would be placed on the very little existing public open space in the neighborhood. please do not approve this change of use, and please do not approve this variance. thank you very much. commissioner olague: thank you. [reading names] >> commissioners, i lived at

1170 greene street. i want to talk for a moment about transit first and the transportation impact. i'm a 35-year veteran of transit first and public transit advocacy, right now advocating for the extension of a central subway into the northeast part of the city to improve our transit system. this project does not really improved transit or even promote our transit first policy. transit first is not simply a means of eliminating automobiles or cannot be effectuated by eliminating automobiles. rather, it must be effective weighted by improving public transit. to deny people the right to have cars is ineffective if you do not have an alternative for them. this neighborhood has among the worst public transit in the city, and san francisco has a pretty sorry public transit system. we have an average speed of 8

miles an hour citywide. the northeast part of the city has an average speed of 5 miles an hour, which is about as fast as you can walk, virtually. we do not have the service that we need. it has been cut continuously. there is no plan for improving it. the prospects look like more cuts. transit is over utilize, and it is slow and crowded. the improvement of public transit then is a priority. this is not a transit first method. we need car share. we need to eliminate the two to one parking that the project proposes. there is no need for it, but we need to have city car shares. a developer has been approached about putting in city car share or a car share program. they refused. we should also not approve the

rear yard and intruded roof. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i also live at 1170 greene street. russian hill has been my home since i first came to the city in 1970. my husband married me off the hill in the mid-1980's, but we are back and we love russian hill. i do not personally need parking because we have parking in our building, but there is a great need of parking in the neighborhood. i know if i have friends visiting me, the parking is needed. i know that restaurants need parking, and transportation, as has been noted, is not good in the neighborhood.

if you think you can get on a cable car in the middle of the day, in the middle of the route on russian hill, it is not really possible. and there are a lot of seniors on russian hill who need to have some means of travel and cannot always get to buses. i also do not think that this change of use of this 1920 building that has always served the neighborhood parking needs is going to help the neighborhood. i also feel that if by chance the building is approved, an accommodation to have some car share program, perhaps some electric charging stations, would be at least less disruptive to the neighborhood.

thank you. >> good afternoon. i, too, am a 30-year resident of russian hill, and i live just around the corner from the proposed project. i'm here to read a letter from one of the restaurant owners in our neighborhood. there are six restaurants within a half a block of the proposed structure. he says, my wife and i own the restaurant, and many of our guests come from the north and east bay and use the garage to park since street parking is impossible to find after 5:00 p.m. as all businesses, we have felt the effects of the flailing economy. we are concerned that closing the raj will be just another hit to the business and cause us to have to cut back our staff and/or -- and our days of

operation. we currently are open seven nights a week and employ 19 people, but it business falters, we see easily eliminating three or four positions and closing two days a week. these positions are long-term, and it would be a shame to eliminate them as well as losing two days that we currently come a tax revenue for the city and state. those sentiments are echoed by the other six restaurants. all of these within half a block. >> good afternoon. i lived at 29 russell street, which you have heard about, and home that has been in my family since 1967. my brief comments today have to do with the proposed project's

impact on russell street. the project has been designed from a height st vantage point exclusively and is completely insensitive to the fragile fabric of russell street. the project -- the proposed project, 7-foot top story addition, lack of set back makes the already already -- already gigantic massing of the building out of character. the small-scale, one to two story, earthquake cottages and get this little alley its charm and distinction. the proposed relocation of the interest on to russell street, even with the mandatory egress is completely unnecessary. when there is room to maintain the engines on the far left of the 1945 hyde street buildi without substantial compromise to the project. there have been no adverse safety incidents with this configuration today. in 1945, the hyde street project is a crude intrusion on the post-1906 cottage fabric of russell street, and snared four

potential historic labor -- neighborhood landmark status. project proposal represents floor planning, creating a fortress-like residence in an already non-compliant building here and most importantly, the present use of the garage should be kept in the context of texas towns and businesses, not expanded into an insensitive model of high and residences, which do not serve the middle- income public that is in sore need of housing. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i'm president of russian hill neighbors. i do not pretend to have a lot of information regarding land use, design and zoning, but we have a terrific committee of 10

or 12 that takes care of that. they were unanimous in their vote to oppose the garage. i do know that the 41 and the 45 are a regular, and they are kind of our thoroughfare transportation to get downtown. i contend that the signs we see, we have the densest parking in the city. we had a meeting at my home on russian hill, and i'm not at the top of russian hill, and supervisor chu came over to address us on transportation, parking, and traffic, and he said for two hours.

i asked him if he rode his bicycle, and he said he changed it to a post three blocks down. i'm never going to move from russian hill, but having said that, we really do -- the marina has tough parking. we win with that. thank you very much. commissioner olague: thank you. [reading names]

>> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm presenting information that has to do with the testimony, so i would like to go first and lady technical ground. mr. harney owns the property on union street, colored green, which is contiguous to the 1945 hyde street project. i'm going to put up a plan of the areas circled. the apartments on the top floor of the union street building face directly onto the roof top of the present raj, the area

colored pink on the plan shows the proposed extent of the new top floor addition. the blue area on the plan shows the proposed roof terrace, and the dashed line shows the proposed overhang. if we look at this photograph taken from the present rooftop, the two windows on the right, as you can see, will be completely obscured by the new wall, which is a scant two feet or so from the face of the window, and then, the -- to make matters worse, the overhang projects an additional 6 feet, putting the rest of the light well, which has other windows on its, in

shadow during the day because this is the south bay. [bell rings] commissioner olague: thank you. >> good afternoon. i own 1221 union street, which i recently purchased. my big problem is i need to go to my tenants and tell them they have a wall in front of their window, and as my tenant of 15 years, i apologize to you and the projects sponsor for bringing this up at such a late notice. i had no idea that this various was going to be detrimental to my building, and i have a packet of pictures to give you. thank you for your time. commissioner olague: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is joan cook, and i'm

here to speak against the proposed change of the use of the valencia street garage. i live it 2111 hyde street, 1.5 blocks from the proposed project, so i am speaking as a neighbor, and my background is in urban planning, and i wish to speak from that perspective as well. the valencia st. brides is a unique land use on russian hill. there is no other public broad. if it is converted to condominiums, there will never be another public broad. eliminating and aiding it would affect retailers on the hill and on full street. for many retailers, availability of parking in the garage is a necessity. there are nearly a dozen small restaurants in the two-block area near the garage. one owner told me that when there was a labor dispute last year for six weeks and the garage was closed down, he lost

25% of his business. as you know, and we have already talked about this, russian hill is an old buildup neighborhood of high-density. there is limited street parking, limited private garages. the neighborhood is hilly with a majority of the streets 15 to 18% decline. there is limited and slow public transportation. this all means that it is difficult for residents, especially families with children or older people or people with infirmities, to get about. cars are often a necessity, not a luxury. people visiting residents on russian hill need a place to park, as people have said. at the cooperative where i live, visitors use the valencia street garage for parking. it is close to our building, and given the parking restrictions, there is rarely another place to park. in conclusion, the need typography, density, lack of

public and private parking, and the importance of russian hill as a tourist designation reinforce the need for a garage that can be used by both residents and tourists alike. i respectfully ask you to deny this change of use. commissioner olague: thank you. i would like to ask those in front of the door to move because you are creating a fire hazard, actually, by blocking that exit. whatever order you prefer. >> good afternoon. my name is chris andersen, i am a member of russian hill neighbors. i will be short and sweet. i love my neighborhood, and i would like to add my voice to those that are opposed for all the reasons that were stated. thank you. >> good afternoon. i have lived in this neighborhood for 30 years. i have seen a lot of changes

backward and forward, but this one, i have to come out and let you -- let everyone know if it is a no vote on this project. from every point of view as far as the environment, the quality of life, every aspect -- the parking issues, the congestion, the public transportation issue, taking all of that into consideration, i think i have a little bit of credibility living in the neighborhood for 30 years. a lot of the people that are speaking speak in the same voice. also, take a look at what is proposed to replace this parking garage. housing. housing is something that is not the issue here. we have housing in russian hill. there is plenty of housing. there is not enough parking. this particular building is an

historic monument. it is to be cherished, not only for san francisco, but for the type of architecture is, and it has been documented. so what we need to do is come together on these decisions that really are in the best interest of all of the people, and that is what i'm about right now. i thank you for your attention. >> thank you. >> hello. i'm a member of russian hill neighbors, and i have lived on russian hill since 1975. for almost all of that time, i have parked on the street until i dispose of my car last june, and i still have a great concern about the people who need to park in the neighborhood, and i will limit myself to my thoughts

on the people who have got to park their on a friday or saturday night. from all the anecdotal evidence i can give of decades of having to park in that neighborhood, a lot of it colorfully unpleasant and the stuff of good stories, i can tell you that the one time you did not want to have to park in that area was 8:00 p.m. on a saturday night. i would strategizing my weekend around avoiding that situation. i now to avoid that, but i think what appears to be about 35 spaces in the garage we have currently under discussion, and how those are used for temporary parking, i know the benefits that those spaces can deliver to the people who come into the neighborhood at peak times and want to enjoy our great restaurants and other

businesses. if you could spare them the agony that i went through more times than i can count, that would be great for everyone. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. is there any additional public comment in support of the dr requester? >> good afternoon. for the last 19 years, my wife and i have owned a small business on russian hill, designing, making, and selling women's wear, mostly wedding gowns. this is how we support our family. we also live nearby. we love the neighborhood, and we are lucky enough to have a lot of friends and neighbors live nearby. the previous owners of valencia on a were also small business people. a lot of our customers come from other neighborhoods in san francisco. some come from other states and other countries. over the years, the only complete we have heard about our

neighborhood, because people love it, is the difficulty of finding parking. it has helped us survive, which has been so crazy recently. i spoke to my neighbor, ho owns the restaurant -- who owns a restaurant. ask you to take into account the loss of business and negative financial impact on his restaurant if we lose the existing neighborhood parking. it is a concern for us as well. asks you to take into account along with any other uphill battles he has faced during the economic crisis. he also told me that specifically, his business went down about 25% during a six-week shutdown in august of 2009, so it is pretty indicative of the

strength of the garage, the impact on the neighboring restaurants. for us, we have lost customers who visited our shop, wanted to buy something from us, but did not want to deal with the trouble of parking there again. commissioner olague: thank you. is there any additional comment in support of the dr requesters? seeing none, project sponsor. >> good afternoon. what i seek to do is carefully and thoughtfully convert and actively deteriorated, obsolete, underutilized parking garage into homes for seven families. the building will undergo a complete seismic retrofit, the restored in compliance with

secretary of interior standards, and we will generate 30 good- paying construction jobs for a year and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for affordable housing in schools. the project will also result in substantial city revenues from transfer and increase property taxes. we're here today because of concerns about parking, but that concern is the exaggerated and does not constitute the exceptional and extraordinary circumstances that warranty dr. nobody wants to lose a parking space, but the actual number of spaces in use this year has averaged about 20 out of defeat. currently, 15 neighbors and five businesses read in the garage, and the majority of these bases have been vacant for years. some space is used for storage, but rarely driven cars or by people with two or three cars. project will retain 14 spaces, and bundled from the unit, so that a neighbor can read or possibly 01. we are closing off the four

openings on high street, which removes two -- with curved cuts in a red zone and will save four new on st. spots. the other aspect of parking is the hourly service that began in late 2008. there was none prior to that time. as operates in the afternoon and evening. all the local restaurants have been present in the neighborhood, both with and without valet parking. the removal is simply a return to the status that existed in 2008. i do not believe the concerns about personal inconvenience of the people who use the garage should prevail over approval of a project that is consistent with city zoning, the general plan, and core principles of sustainability and transit first. thank you. >> we are the architects for the project. we have lived and worked in russian hill one block from the property for 15 years.

we have always admired the building and thought it had tremendous potential for development into a new more meaningful use as well as an opportunity to improve the neighborhood tavern. the preservation is critical to the architectural aspects of the project. we worked closely with the historical preservation architect to adapt the building to a new use and maintain its character. the proposed modifications will improve the urban fabric by removing four doors at hyde street and the associated cross sidewalk traffic. replacing them with residential live above an increase street parking will reinforce existing use patterns and integrate the neighborhood by filling in what is currently a captive. project includes a modest rooftop addition for two residential units. the project is two fold, to diminish visibility and to clearly distinguish between the

old building and the new with a change in materials and a sleek and modest contemporary appearance. we took advantage of the extremely high existing tariff that to conceal the addition, setting it 12 feet back from the front to the existing building. perhaps the most significant tactic to minimize visibility involves lowering the existing roof approximately 3 feet. this in combination makes the addition practically invisible from high street. here is what you can see here along russell street, the addition is that behind the existing paroquet. the addition is only 7 feet higher. in his rendering, ecb proposed plaiting and horizontal glazing. we had our first meeting in july 2009 before beginning design. we did mapping studies to

investigate how the placement of the addition could affect neighboring properties. with a 10-foot rear set back, because of existing buildings already covering 100% of the law, it is impossible to see the vertical additions from neighboring yards from behind. the only place you can see the addition is obliquely from russell street. finally, i would like to mention the care we have taken to incorporates sustainable strategies, including a large skylight, which will direct daylight into the units, thereby reducing electrical lighting load and overhang at the rear of the additions to reduce heat gain and radiant heating throughout the building, all within the framework of an adaptive use. thank you. thank you back -- commissioner oll open it up for