the culture on the street is the life of chinatown. we want to reinforce this basis -- the spaces on jackson street. keeping it as a unified streets, creating a pedestrian feeling. refining the paving pattern, providing street trees and other amenities along the sidewalk. the entry, we reinforce it with landscaping. again, incorporating james alley as well as stone street as part of the campus plan. eliminating curbs and gutters

and creating more of a pedestrian field. -- feel. making useful spaces on the terraces. getting feedback from the community and working with staff, we developed a plan to create two courtyards, which reflect upon how the areas have been used before. gathering places for a lot of the social activities of the people in chinatown. the first plaza has a level entry in the central portion of the space. we expanded the amount of seating and enhance it with landscaping. the second courtyard steps down and addresses the secondary entry to the emergency room. it also allows the plaza to expand beyond and wraparound james alley. it becomes more of a unified

campus look. moving left to right on the screen, you see james alley. we put in benches. we show street trees. because of the stretch of the weight is a loading zone -- stretch of the way it is a loving son, and there are a number of existing utilities, street trees will have to be in pots. we begin to address some of the urban issues of framing the entries in making it more of a unified front. we do see an opportunity on stone street as a possibility of an art opportunity. perhaps a mural that represents

the general area. we see it as an opportunity to be working with a local artist, working with staff, community to develop this idea further. >> chinese hospital proposes to build a sizable many -- seismically safe hospital that allows for the delivery of 21st century health care. one is preceded by a modern hospital and preserves our history and our legacy of providing care to our community for over 100 years. in addition to the numerous letters of support, over 200 of them, we have also collected over 1800 cards of support, signed by our community and our patiencts. there are a number of people

here today. i was tempted to invite all 1800 of them to come testify today. but decided that was not the best idea. instead, we have a few people who have submitted cards to speak. there are representatives here from self-help for the elderly, and our employees as well. we've also received a letter from the san francisco building and construction trades council, that letter was also sent to you. i hope that you agree with the overriding need for project and i respectfully ask for your approval. we're happy to answer any questions. vice president wu: thank you.

public comment? ok, i have a number of speaker cards. please lineup on the side of the monitors. [reading names] >> i am with the chinese historical society of america. i do have a letter supporting the project and the like to present that for the record. the only thing i would like to add from my previous comment is that we did make a suggestion, and i believe it at those suggestions from other folks who have commented on some preservation elements of the building. as a knowledge -- homage, we

thought perhaps the front entry could be preserved, maybe moved, and created as a monument. not necessarily included in the fabric of the new building, but something that memorializes the old building. that suggestion that we would throw into the pot, if you will, for consideration. so that we don't totally destroyed everything of the old hospital, but keep the entry so that there is a monument to our history. thank you. vice president wu: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am the director of human

resources at chinese hospital. i've worked a chinese hospital for over 40 years in a variety of positions and in nearly every department. chinese hospital is like my family and is new hospital is very important to us as employees and our community. the dedication to chinese hospital stands out in our organization. i have brought to my family here to chinese hospital. not only my children were born at chinese hospital, also my son is a physician practicing at chinese hospital. i ask for your approval of the project. thank you. vice president wu: thank you. >> good afternoon.

hello, ladies and gentlemen. i represent the low income chinese community in san francisco. we filled the chinese hospital is very important for several reasons -- we feel the chinese hospital is very important for several reasons. it is very important for our livelihood.

it can help those people living in chinatown and lending in north beach. -- and living in north beach. there are medical terms we cannot understand. for translation, we understand the meaning. -- through translation, we understand the meeting.

the cultural -- it is good for our recovery. we hope the government and commission will approve the project so that it can benefit the chinese community. thank you. vice president wu: thank you. >> i am the community liaison. i am here to support the chinese

hospitals new hospital building. i'm also speaking on behalf of rcc. we have been partners with -- on behalf of the rcour ceo. it is important for our seniors to have a safer hospital building. we are looking forward to the proposal being passed. south health care provides more than 20,000 visits a year. we are looking forward to continuing to provide services to the seniors. vice president wu: thank you. >> the melding of the modern hospital and preserving

important historical features and resources are not incompatible, as you know. the hospital design, which i just saw, has evolved over time. it's still has the appearance of a building that could be in los angeles or sacramento or chicago. it has no indigenous quality. the ceqa process requires us to look at preservation alternatives. there are several that are feasible, aeven if the side solution like many east coast cities. -- facade solution like many east coast cities, it is possible.

what we need is professional leadership from professional planning commissioners, planning staff, to help guide san francisco and chinatown into the future. in the short term, we all feel we need certain programmatic needs. in the long term, those programmatic needs do not preserve the very culture and the essence of the people's that comprise it, then perhaps we have not been very successful. chinatowns in the united states has been disappearing. we do not see it on a daily basis, but several have disappeared. the big east coast cities are being nibbled away by adjacent downtowns and financial

districts. washington, d.c.'s old chinatown has virtually disappeared. most of that is gone. in five years. we like to see some sense that the city is looking in the long run. make this building a model of that. where we blend the modern with the historic that is part of our chinese-american memories. thank you. vice president wu: any further public comment on this item? public comment is closed. commissioners? commissioner antonini: i think this is a very good and well thought out project.

i am impressed by the fact that we are creating a hospital with standards for a modern hospital and private rooms, 44 acute-care beds, the skilled nursing component of it, too. we do not lose the care during the construction care. i am very impressed with the landscaping. the plazas are extremely nice and will create a very noticeable improvements of the street there and allow gathering places. the idea of the mineral -- mural is a very nice idea. a couple of comments on the architecture. it greatly improves from the earlier iteration that we saw. i think this is getting a lot closer. first of all, i think this has to be approved today. i would only suggest some of these changes as of things the

architect with -- can work with staff on. are really like the -- i really like the expression in the architecture. the only part i would think that is up towards the capital of the building, a stronger divider that separates the windows from the area where it stands -- ends. perhaps the possibility of going back to the coloration of the base. i do see it it looks like there is a lot of relief in the windows now. i am not sure what the reveal is, but it looks like that is important because it makes these windows standout. it is respectful of the

architecture in the area. i like the suggestion of an homage to the older building by using the entry. i do not know if that is functional or not. i think it is a nice idea. it would have to be worked out. without compromising the importance of having a gracious entry into the building. i think that is a nice idea. it looks like it is a limestone -- i am not sure what the stucco is on the outside. i think that is really well done. those are some of my thoughts as far as architectural things. i am very much in favor of it. i think we are ready to go. we have to get this done. commissioner miguel: i appreciated very much the

comments in reminding us this is the last of san francisco's community hospitals. davies at cpmc was the german hospital, part of that immigrant community. even though slightly different, we have the old sutter pacific hospital that is now a senior facility. these have all gone past -- this is the last one standing. there is no question that the considerations of hospitals have changed drastically and are continuing to change. hospitals not only have to accommodate and change, but have to look to the future. i believe this is what the

particular project in front of us dies. -- us does. i find the architecture -- and i am not talking about the interior -- as it presents itself to the community to be greatly improved from the original iterations. i think the concepts of preservation -- i have seen interest to ancient buildings -- entries to ancient buildings used as a focal points in plazas of their modern replacements. that could possibly be a concept. in general, at as much as it has been improved, i find it to be some much universally bland. it could be put anywhere.

the chinatown community is not just anywhere. i would absolutely support the project today, but emphasize the continuing work with the department so that the building really appears to be part of the community that it serves. commissioner sugaya: yes, going on that note. i think the issue is that we have an historic district, as we have been reminded, and a part of that historic district has the kind of chinese motifs and what knots and other parts to not. i am not saying there is a uniform kind of architecture.

the district is not just architecture. it is also the history of the area and other aspects, events that took place, etc., that make up the district. what the other commissioners, -- like the other commissioners, at this building does not speak to me as being sympathetic to that district. i wrote a letter to wayne during the week in which i said the old building -- i really liked the old building. i am sorry it is going to be demolished. it has a certain way of holding together. the injury itself -- the entry itself -- i can provide you some

photographs from salt lake city, were that was done, sort of successfully. the existing building has an entry. it is symmetrical. it goes up the building but different treatments, a different details. it is topped by a pavilion of some kind. i do not know if that couple level -- that upper level has any use. i do not know what is up there, but there is a pavilion-like structure which culminates that entry in the building. what happens on this structure is that we are trying to -- it appears to me, use a photovoltaic excuse to have a similar kind of culmination to the building.

it does not seem to work for me. you have this kind of wrapped around a fact by the stairway integrating itself with that rooftop feature. i think the problem also is that the existing newer building is not good either. [laughter] it compounds the problem right here in this area. i do not have a problem with the program or any of that stuff, and i would like to go ahead and vote for this, but with the urging that there be continued design conversations with the staff and to try to make it a little bit more -- i do not know the right words. it will come to me at some point. a little bit more compatible with the district, a little bit more friendly, you might say.

i will leave it at that. i do have one issue with the overriding considerations, like i always do. in the statement, the number 5, the project sponsor would create a variety of features that would pay tribute to the historical relevance of the medical administration building, such as photographs, explanations of the history of the project site. that is a mitigation measure. i cannot see how we can mitigate an overriding consideration statement that is a required mitigation measure to offset the destruction of the historic building. it is only one out of nine. missing one is not going to make

any difference to the project. if we're going to adopt overriding considerations, i would like to entertain reading that statement out. -- leaving that statement out. commissioner moore: i want to try to hidadd. i am in general agreement with what the commissioners are observing. there are two things. this is a difficult project to speak about. the health care delivery issue in san francisco is more uncertain than ever before. i did not have to go into detail about why that is. this project, as an independent hospital, taking care of a large segment of our downtown population. it is extremely important. i live five blocks away from

this building. i have lived in this neighborhood for the last 32 years. by walking by just the building, you also experienced the incredible richness and variety of this particular neighborhood and this historic neighborhood offers to the city. if you walk, every building has something to offer. i appreciate the comments about trying to capture some of it in one form or another. i do support the expansion of the new hospital, just as a matter of principle. using new health care standards is not even an option we can discuss. the difficulty is to -- there is

an historic district and then there is the context of the neighborhood. what we have is an historic building which maximizes all the way to the property line, which none of the adjoining buildings in dallas. they all respectively -- adjoining buildings does. even the existing hospital, it is a playful response to what is otherwise an institutional building. this particular building does not do that. it could be anywhere. i think it has improved, but it has not captured the essence of what is unique about the neighborhood. that is difficult to capture, i

admit that. for example, i am very enamored by the work on the existing hospital. normally, for institutions, it does not work because they are too hard to wash. they have to do a little bit more work. i suggest that we look at that. bringing in something different from the suburban institutional hospitals to this site is extremely important. i do not have the answers. i am not here to tell you what to do. tasteful -- picking up on the other architecturally sensitive details of other buildings is what we need to do. we need to attempt to break down

the mass, even if we just visually do it. i think i can only support approval of this project if it comes architecturally quite a few milrsonally feel i owe thato the future of chinatown. in order for chinatown not to just be a relict, which struggled because of attractiveness, that is one thing. but to lead chinatown find its own voice and contemporary architecture is another one. given that it is a lively community, that is what we need to develop. vice president wu: thank you. commissioner borden: i will not