>> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good evening. good evening, commissioners. my name is dominic. live at 433 day street. i have three stories myself. i feel that they have con formed, me and my family, through all the stages of the process, i think that is in design in fitting. this is the outside look and feel and not with the interior. this is not what they need. thank you for hearing this. i happily request that you give

them the design as they put forward. >> i teach philosophy of stanford at hollow out of. which is six houses up the block. there are many kids in a neighborhood and we have an active neighborhood. we had a lot of participation

and we did not have them by accident. there are families that have been there and are part of the neighborhood. i would ask that we make it possible for them to have their plan approved so that they can stay in the city and i think perhaps we can create a bit of an atmosphere that the city of san francisco is not hostile to families who want to expand houses for growing teenagers so that they each can have living space. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker. >> below, i live at -- this goes on the back of the property. i would like to start by reading a letter from one of the neighbors who was not able to

make it. we want to express our support for their model. the project would be a bad precedent for the neighborhood. this is not the case. many of the homes are those above the floor and storage and they did not accommodate the modern family. we need to keep the families in the city. we understand that the planning staff tells owners it is good public policy for them to judge any new addition. this sends a message to the whole neighborhood. i would like to transition from the letters and this covers what had to say. i was fortunate when i moved. ivory model that property from two flats to a single-family dwelling. fortunately, i did not change

the footprint. it stayed the same. i have two children, our respective teenage sons have played together on soccer teams. it would not be possible for us to be in that house without the additional rooms and we certainly support this family doing the same with their property. we really appreciate the extra space. we don't believe that the extension here in any way impacts the neighborhood. >> thank you. next speaker. >> my wife and i live across the street and a little bit up the hill so we can see down into the house and one would imagine

which we have a line of sight which is the third floor and we have no concerns at all. we can see right through. this is redundant but obviously we support the project. gene and john have been amazing neighbors. we have been there for six years. not only do they organize this in terms of the activities in the neighborhood but also keeping the security watch and the security lists and the kind of safety issues that one always watches for. this is for their family and the rest of the neighborhood. we were both present the planning commission hearing and the outcome was very very close and we were actually quite surprised and we felt a little bit of such activity. we felt it was close. we feel like honest mistakes can

happen and probably we feel that a mistake was made and the project is not seem to us a egregious in any way. i think the intention of the families are great, the look and feel makes a lot of sense and we have no objection. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> i will read a letter on behalf of the neighborhood could not come and i will speak briefly for myself. this is the letter from mr. richard greenberg. "my husband and i live on day street. we would be at this hearing to support our neighbors but due to the health issues, we were unable to attend. we don't understand why these plants have been approved.

there are 12 homes on the block that are not set back and it does not change the character of our street. this is a wide street with two- way traffic. we felt that these would fit in and add to the streets character. we are very familiar with the neighborhood of guidelines, we on several properties and businesses which shows setbacks. we don't understand why this city is changing the guidelines. was to put their remodel 100%. i'm a founding member of the farmers' market and an advocate of the clean environment. i am impressed with the sustainability features.

this is a value i share and one that i wish was more appreciated by the planning department. we have heard that they would have preferred a small light well. this would eliminate the overhang at the front of the new floor. i am sure the department has its reasons. i want to point out that these conflict with the goals of this site. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker. >> good evening. i am here reading a letter on behalf of -- i am a physician.

we are small business owners here and san francisco. we have been san francisco for 33 years. i have seen homes expanded all around me. this is followed by a three story home and then another two- story home. these homes have grown with the neighborhood. the planning code and the residential design guidelines and work with neighbors to resolve any problems. they already set back the third floor by about 6 feet. they are more than adequate to serve these goals.

the decision of the planning commission was a very close vote. we ask that to be kept in mind. this could have gone a different way. some of us could have known better. we asked that these designs be given a second chance. thank you. >> thank you. i am a textile designer. i am in yosemite picking up my son. we have been the residence for 23 years and i have raised my son there. we understand the difficulties of raising a family ended mired the efforts that gene and -- are making. the majority of homes are 3 story or hire. my next-door neighbor to the east build a third story.

these neighbors live above their parents. they built three floors. they have no setbacks. the neighbors to the west are a two-story home and i have a false front. the proposed addition is shorter than my neighbor's home. we are grateful that they are sensitive to the neighborhood. it is critical to keep families here as they are the future of the city and it is important to look at reasonable improvements. the homeless to be remodeled to keep up with the way that family lives are changing. this will improve the features of the families today. it makes the building greener

and removes all of the -- only a homeowner, not a developer, is the best in the relationship with their neighbors. please support the plans and keep them in the city. >> thank you. >> i will be reading a letter from an neighborhood could not be here. we are thrilled with the proposed design, this will enhance our block. 12 have third stories with no set back. one-third have these stories but

no set back. these are suited to the way that urban families live today. this building has excess space. let's not call this space for parents to work not -- excess base. this is one of the most important to raising this generation children correctly. please keep in mind that these homes will not attract deliveries, customers or patients, so there will be no impact on our neighborhood. thank you for your support of this project. i have known this for the rest his family for 11 years. they are extremely community- oriented people.

we have been able to res -- raise our child. thank you. >> thank you. my reading a letter. i am a horticultural instructor. i also sit on the urban forestry council for the city's department of the in marmot. ours is a neighborhood of families and what is proposed is a family sized home. if the city cares about encouraging square footage consistent with this housing, this should be flexible.

the 15 foot guide line was not meant to be a requirement. in the case of the fact and of the home, it does not make any sense. there is no objection to the proposed plan that i know of. we appreciate the way that they reached out and informed us of their plans. they were considering it of our move and made many changes in response to labor concerns. it appears that they have been very responsive to the planning department concerns. please do the right thing and grant the family this request. >> next speaker, please. >> hello, board of appeals. i would like to speak to in my

two capacities. my son went to get their and i had to watch on my sons to be best friends love for the east bay -- left for the east bay. some new children entered the class. that is they really dig problem in san francisco. i have also watched the parents who've had the pleasure to meet on several occasions. i know they are extremely close and it is wonderful that they are willing to take them in in their old age and make a bid

multi generational family. the family is extremely important to them, more than money or more than anything. i am the director of the bayview opera house. gene has volunteered her time to help us with the design and foreign annual report and she would that be able to do that sort of thing if she had an office downtown and she does not because she works in a basement and it is not fancy. this is not extravagant. this is not a huge light well or anything like that. i would like the families to be supported. i want them in the city. >> next speaker.

i am here to the letter on behalf of -- "i am a nurse practitioner. i have lived in san francisco for 29 years. i am writing to suppose it does support the proposed design. it is critical that the design be approved as proposed because it allowed jean's parents to move into their home. san francisco should support families, especially those who take care of their parents. they are extremely family oriented people who are close to their family and parents. i have known them since i first moved to san francisco. my husband and i lived on a duplex on a street. they are close to the pence. they are very involved in their

children and grandchildren life. i have met them and seen them visit. i have seen genes parents in the neighborhood. the grandparents come to take care of the children. was the building is designed, to reduce it to one or more places, the size of the first floor is what has allowed them to have enough room for genes parents. i and a stand that the planning department is partially responsible for the oversized building. without a doughnut hole in the middle of the staircase, there would be no room for an elevator. this will allow the grandparents to live there indefinitely. they are the type who want to

live with three generations of under one roof. that is of value that san francisco should support. they are good neighbors. they are not the type of people that would plan a design that would change the character of their neighborhood. san francisco should do all it can to keep the family in the city. we planned to move to the east bay where the housing is more family friendly. thank you. >> thank you. >> we strongly support this plan. this is been central to the cohesion of our block. we feel that this is compatible with the surrounding buildings.

we have very diverse architecture on our block. three model will improve the appearance of their home and the block. we're thrilled that they decided to incur the additional cost of building upon their existing footprint. they could have built to anyone feet into their back yard. they have been sensitive to the neighbors' concerns. thank you. >> thank you. >> we have raised our two sons on this block. we have owned the home since 1977. we really care about families and children, obviously.

they regularly organize our block party and communications and other neighborhood concerns. they have outgrown their home and a proposing a lovely addition. with families and the number of children dropping every year, san francisco must keep families in our city, especially as a family such as this the contribute so much to our neighborhood and city. the families' support this edition and we appreciate how the planning department protect our city from the so-called monster homes. this is no monster home. we see that this addition will retain the scale and character of the 400 block and allow the

families to remain on our block in san francisco. please allow them to build this as designed. >> thank you, next speaker. >> i will be reading a letter on behalf of -- "i'm writing in full support of the plans submitted to the planning department and hope that you will allow them to pursue the design they have presented. i'm the owner of the two-story home built in 1913. i have owned my home and i have seen much change. almost all of my neighbors have expanded their homes by increasing the height or the footprint or both. this trend has been to upgrade

and expand the homes to fit modern tastes and lifestyles. in the past, they have been one or two bedroom cottages. they were much too small and impractical. it seems that my neighbors should have the right to alter their homes to fit their needs. allowing the owners to expand their home seems in keeping with the stated goal of making our city family friendly. the owners have been exemplary in their inclusion of the neighbors in the room model. they have made multiple concessions in regards to the size, design, location. the addition is completely compatible with others on our block and they add character and a beautiful of the sections. i urge you to approve the design without changes or conditions. i would like to say something

really quickly on my own behalf. i have known his family for more than half of my life and i would like to say that this family is the glue that keeps the 400 block to get their. -- together. our block owes so much charm to this family. this would be a tragedy for us. >> thank you. is any other public comment? seeing none, we will move into rebuttal. >> my clients as me to thank the director and several of the commissioners and they urged the

client appeal. secondly, one of the more easy to do with planners must be corrected on a few points. 3,300 feet, as the plan shows, the existing building has 825 feet of non inhabitable space and it will have the same in the 3300. i want to point out the she mentioned that the 15 foot guidelines is a codified ruled by the board of supervisors. you said "we're asking for an exception to the role." if it was an exemption on a variants, what is codified in this is language. these are suggestions only and

the 15 foot guideline is a recommendation. i would challenge him to show me where the rule is could fight in the planning code. i wanted to point out a couple of things. what is most important and surprising is that it said that the proposed front set back provides a pedestrian scale and in hanses the street and i read that and i was really surprised that this was the court recommending is was not appropriate. this shows some internal arguments about this case and it suggested that it might come up tonight about perhaps a compromise where my clients can

do an additional set back. they asked me to point out that every additional set back will have a negative impact many times more than the previous inches that have been given out. what the planning department is saying is that these can still be done at the top, they can have the open space and square footage and we can do away with that . this has not been designed, mr. macy has tried. i caution you to see that as a given. >> in your conclusion and in your brief, you talked about how the residential design team

meets and how your client might prefer it if they actually were seeking a variances so that they can meet with an individual zoning administrator. can you talk about that? >> that was merely rhetoric, part and i hope it was taken that way. the design team does not meet with architects or with the project sponsor's owners. i can see why. they want and the objective of the. at the same time, some planners don't do as well as the project sponsor can end they are teaching the goals and needs and why there are decisions to cut back which don't meet the goals and don't work. it is a shame that simply cannot meet with -- which overrules