with the purposes of the cruise line terminal, and it would be a monument to our whole history of the great port of san francisco, the gateway to the pacific. we do not have anything that emphasizes that to visitors or even our own residents. this should be the symbolic thing that does that. thank you very much. commissioner fong: thank you. any other public comment on this item? commissioners have questions or comments? >> want to get a comment on the progress that has been made. i remember when the panel came up with the recommendation that here 27, and here we are with an actual design, so looks like we have that the team in place to really get this done. thank you. >> commissioner brandon: i want to echo commissioner lazarus, in that this is a very exciting project, and i look forward to the design recommendation that comes back to the commission. commissioner fong: ok.

a couple of commons. i think there are two different options, and it is interesting that princess cruises is trying 2011, and hopefully, they are very successful with that, which gives us more of a reason to make that investment. i know we have some monetary things to figure out as well, so it is clearly not a done deal, or we need to figure out some other things, but it is very exciting. i had the pleasure of being in shanghai, china, and took a tour of their crude ship port of call, and it was absolute state of the art. it is a beautiful building, a landmark building for that city, and it functioned very well for an event space as well as different use. this is a non-action item, but i look forward to the next steps, and remind everyone that there is a workshop on july 21, correct? a public workshop. thank you.

>> item 9c, informational presentation on the department of the city planning's nebraska embarcadero study -- nebraska -- northeast embarcadero study. commissioner fong: we're going to take a two-minute break and let the clout -- crowd clear the room. if you want to have conversations, kind of move them away from the front door here. two minutes.

commissioner fong: ok, seeing that our next item has a lot of public comment, we will go ahead and get started. would you please read the next item? >> he wants you to read the item. >> i'm sorry. informational presentation on the department of city planning's northeast embarcadero study. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm with the planning and development of -- division. i wanted to start by giving some introductory remarks before introducing planning department staff, for them to provide their presentation to you. last week, the planning commission held a special public

hearing on this study, and it really is quite -- hopefully, you had a chance to actually produce this. i think that is really a lot of hard, thoughtful work that hopefully will advance the public's understanding and appreciation of what we can do if we work together to make improvements along the embarcadero corridor, particularly the west side of the embarcadero. the public hearing was actually quite an event. it was highly attended. there were probably 50 or so public speakers their way in -- there to weigh in. it was about four-hour hearing, and i would say the full spectrum of viewpoints were expressed, and the planning commission was fully engaged in the whole discussion. i'm going to let david and his

staff kind of share with you the highlights of the study and where it came from, what's their recommendations are about, but as you have probably heard, the planning commission did approve the resolution that was attached that basically just urges -- they wanted to endorse the work in the study and have it forwarded to the port so that this commission would be able to fully consider the content of the worked and the recommendations. one of the significant things that happened in the public meeting last thursday was asian neighborhood design -- i guess hired by a group of community stakeholders working with brad hall -- have been working apparently over the last couple of months on ideas and vision

points that they would like to pursue further on design studies within a community process that began in may. we have not had the opportunity yet as sports staff to sit down with them to really understand full scope and intent of the -- as port staff. that was something that was discussed fairly extensively in the hearing. frankly, there was not enough time for the content that was covered. we are working with brad to find some time to sit down with the asian neighborhood design group to understand what that is to see what kind of information that we can supplement with the planning department's staff presentation today that then

would be available for the commission to consider as part of its thoughts about how to improve that side of the waterfront and what its implications and choices might be that you would want to consider for the sea wall at 351 project as well. i think i want to just back that up. we're certainly available for questions, and happy to follow- up accordingly. >> thanks. good afternoon, commissioners. acting director of city-wide planning for the department. with me today are kate and neal, who have prepared the study and are most familiar with it, so i will make just a few introductory comments. in early 2009, the port commission, at the request of supervisor chiu, commissioned the planning department to

introduce the surf pretty surface parking points alongside the embarcadero north of market street, and that we consider for a writ areas beyond those immediate heists to more fully understand the context of the work we would do, and that constitutes our study area. we have completed our analysis and the policy recommendations, and that constitutes a study area. they regard design guidelines primarily for city pattern, for height, for urban form, for land use, and for open space. we are excited to presented to you today and to present the commission's resolution to you as well. we have conducted a series of community workshops in this process. we have attended a series of workshops held by the northeast

embarcadero waterfront advisory group. that group was kind enough to hold quite a series of studies -- of meetings to discuss the work and provide us feedback, and we have public input from very many people that has been very informative, and we appreciate all the efforts of all hoover dissipated in the study. the study has certainly touched on controversial issues, and by no means were we able to reach consensus with the community on the future of the study area. we have been challenged from every direction, i have to say. nonetheless, the study represents the planning department's professional judgment on the optimum course for the northeast embarcadero. it is the planning department's hope that the recommendations and guidelines from this study serve as an additional guide to development in the study area and further articulate policies and guidelines in the port's

land-use element and design and access element. at the meeting that diane referred to last week, when we presented our final recommendations to the planning department, the planning commission, they passed a final resolution urging two primary things, and we'll get into this in more detail and certainly give you the resolution itself, but the first is that they acknowledge the work of staff in completing the northeast embarcadero study, and recognize the design principles in recommendation of the study for improving new development in the area. more importantly, i think, for this group, the planning commission urges support for san francisco to consider the principles and recommendations proposed on the northeast embarcadero study when considering proposals for the study area and when considering public infrastructure improvements in the study area. with that as an introduction,

kate will give you an overview of the process, and then, neil will give you some of the information that is actually in the study. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. on october 27, and introduced the northeast embarcadero steady team to discuss the process here last thursday, the planning commission passed a resolution that is the fourth to take the study into consideration when the court is considering proposals for new development and public realm improvements in the study area. i have copies of this resolution here for you. additionally, the planning commission made many comments about the steady, and we have incorporated some of them into

our presentation. we also corrected and now i hear an absence inc. the correct map -- we also corrected the math in here and have since inc. the correct map. it is the we're here to present the final product. over the next 15 minutes, we will guide you on a tour of the northeast embarcadero that study, including its fundamentals and design recommendations for fundamental improvements and new development in the northeast embarcadero area. the planning department analyzed parking lots along the west side of the embarcadero north of market street, seen here in orange. we considered a for free areas beyond the immediate sites in order to more fully understand the context any role the four properties can play in the embarcadero and the larger city fabric. the study built on the work that has already been done in this area, including the northeastern waterfront plan, which is an

area plan of the city's general plan. the nebraska waterfront historic district, which is referenced in the city's planning code. and the waterfront land use plan supports official planning document policies, and it is related to the design element. the study consisted of more phases. community discussion, and listening to the public, presenting the department's initial recommendations, presenting the department's recommendations, and lastly, the study's final recommendation. public outrage was a significant component of the northeast embarcadero study, and comments submitted over the course of each phase help to inform the study as it progressed to the next phase. the public outreach effort was substantial, and hundreds of commons from individuals and organizations were received by the department, either through the five community meetings the palm hosted or via e-mail, fax,

or mail. these comments were summarized and posted on the study's website, following each phase of the study, and you can see these studies in the summary's appendix. last week, we received a number of letters of support for the study, and i will also submit this to you. with that, i'd like to present the designer for the northeast embarcadero study, who will present the department's final recommendation. >> good afternoon, commissioners. it is a pleasure to be here before you. i will lead you through a brief introduction of the urban design study, analysis will be undertook for some of the opportunities we found during that analysis. i will go through the basic underlying or fundamental principles of good urban design we develop and finally conclude with recommendations.

the study area presents a number of challenges. namely, the area is characterized by a disconnected and dislocated public realm. the service parking lot certainly leaves major gaps in a pedestrian networked. some are described as the gap to smile on the embarcadero, and you can see this now which highlights the existing buildings to the extent of those gaps in the urban fabric. suburban style office parks that came in previous decades, turn their back to the street and dead in the street. similarly, offering of parking garages that on the sidewalks along the embarcadero and back towards the neighborhoods. there are a number of wide streets that interrupt pedestrian movement. on the plus side, the study area -- the study area is located within a half mile of downtown. access to jobs, shops, culture, transit, and other amenities is certainly among the best anywhere in the bay area.

second, development commissions within the study area have changed fundamentally since the last major development, the golden gate way, as was built. the freeway has come down. the beltway has ceased to operate, and light industrial area to the north of washington street turned primarily to its use -- office and residential. the port has made tremendous strides in the past decade. the embarcadero, not, the ferry building, appears 1 through 5 are all moving toward an area we can be proud. the land side, however, has lagged behind. despite a number of very attractive buildings, streets, spaces, special areas in the neighborhood, the area does remain disconnected, and the public realm is visibly for for it.

the northeast embarcadero study does address these conditions. we strive to create a unique waterfront experience to enter new development respects the content established by historic buildings. to establish opprobrious feet skied guidelines to provide safe, attractive, and inviting sidewalks and pedestrian path, to insure strong connections to the waterfront, to enhance the open space network, and to establish guidelines for site design, massive reticulation. the following design principles represent fundamental principles of good design and urban planning. best practices from across country and around the world, and the professional judgment of staff. the first building along the embarcadero waterfront, one of

the most memorable parts of any great waterfront is the manner in which the city meets the water. activity comes down to the water's edge. there is a seamless integration between urban life and the water. design principal two. we must respect san francisco's typography. typography is certainly a defining feature of san francisco and remains inseparable from our image of the city -- for topography. neighborhoods in particular center their identity around a topographical feature. the extension strengthen the city -- design principle no. 3, the extension of the city into the water remains one of the most memorable elements that defines san francisco's environment. striking views that result from the at times in the scramble application of the grid across hills visually connects the

neighborhoods to be heard as well. design principle of for your, recognize the city wide and regional role of the northeast embarcadero. the northeast embarcadero is a citywide, regional, and state what resourced. when decisions about development and open space are being made, they should be made from this grander and more subtly lighted perspective. this is a perspective that was reiterated repeatedly by the commission as well. design principal 5 -- provide open space concern to the needs of residents and visitors. adequate open space is a fundamental need for all city neighborhoods. our hearts are wonderful foundation for writing open space network equal to in grandeur almost anywhere in the country. the addition of smaller open spaces, as proposed by this study, would provide adequate amenities for this neighborhood. design principles 6 -- to ensure

the high-quality design of streets along the embarcadero waterfront. embarcadero's civic importance should be reflected in the quality of the public realm. quality of materials, attention to detail, and connectivity to adjacent streets and open spaces should be elevated above the ground and other parts of the city. design principal 7, the whole with severe vision along the embarcadero. similarly, new development needs arise commensurate with the waterfront's elevated civic role. as one of the most important destinations for residents and visitors alike, every development should strive to meet the high standards in contemporary architecture and urban design. finally, design principal aide, design in the context of an adjacent neighborhoods. -- design principal 8. the area is fortunate to have played such a significant role in the city's beginnings, and the study strongly recommends maintaining the integrity of the remaining historic buildings

while encouraging the very best in contemporary architecture. four design recommendations. based -- now four design recommendations. is the distance was, planning has developed 18 recommendations that cover the public realm and the design of the buildings. i will provide a summary of the major recommendations. there are two major themes in our study in terms of pedestrian connections. the first is connecting neighborhoods to the waterfront. embarcadero's west side should become a pedestrian sign and a priority east/west corridor -- pedestrians fine for the area, excuse me. verdi's include washington street, broadway, and jackson street -- priorities include. similarly, strengthening pedestrian connections to the waterfront will reconnect and strengthen the already established connections between the neighborhood, the city, and

the water. there are a number of strategies that the study proposes to strengthen pedestrian connections. first is the embarcadero on the west side. we propose a number of strategies to do that. the department recommends widening the west side of sidewalks to allow for pedestrian amenities, such as seating, landscaping, an outdoor cafe seating. second strategy we focus on its broadway. we proposed two scenarios -- the first, illustrated here, widened sidewalks provide a safe space for cyclists while narrowing the vehicle's base to three lanes from the current four. the second scenario expand the corner treatments begun on the western end of the street and brings it down to the waterfront -- corner bulbout she is. this scenario does not improve the scenario for cyclists.

the third strategy is washington street, a priority street, where we give the wind right of way, the four lanes of traffic. we see the opportunity to widen the sidewalk substantially on the north side to create what we referred to as a living street. examples already exists in the rincon hill development where wide sidewalks can already accommodate a number of amenities, including little pocket parks seating, outdoor seating, etc. the scenario also includes biplanes that connect chinatown to downtown. jackson street has many positive characters all ready and should be improved. second strategy in general for the whole area would be to extend existing streets to the waterfront as pedestrian rights of way. so it would be done at a number of locations throughout the city

area, but they include jackson st., image here, and union street -- image pier. the study has numerous recommendations for open space improvements. there is a significant gap in the open space network along the embarcadero. the existing open space is highlighted in orange. seas from sue bierman park in the south until you reach the plaza. we provide -- we suggest five new open spaces that allow for a variety of open space needs. it is worth noting that the commission expressed broad support for every major recommendation in terms of pedestrian connections and open space, and indeed, we have seen a lot of support across a broad range of people for these ideas. some of the more specifics of

how this might be done -- we have gone through on a parcel what are services to demonstrate how the open spaces can be integrated into the neighborhood. this is the site that is from jackson street north to pacific. we recommend, as i just mentioned, that jackson st. be returned as a public right of way and that from st. the -- the pathway be widened to it's full public right of way, allowing for a series of three new open spaces. for the site just north of broadway, we recommend the valejo be connected, and the front street be extended north of to the embarcadero as well, creating two new public spaces. additionally, we recommend that the sale, mid law, to maintain a pedestrian involvement.

-- midway between. finally, for the size between green and union street, a similar set of recommendations. we would have a more formal extension commerce east to the waterfront, and extending the treatment across in elevated crosswalk. similarly, front street would also be extended up to the embarcadero, and union street would be extended as a pedestrian right of way east to the waterfront -- east of the waterfront. the next set of recommendations deal with the quality of building design, and on this, we did also receive strong support from across the commission. design guidelines should require high-quality materials, vertical articulation, an active ground floors. the active ground floor should extend along the entire link of

the embarcadero on the west side. this is a critical pedestrian route, and we envision becoming a critical question,, we recommend that the active age be extended along the entire length of the embarcadero. building heights -- the principle that we based our recommendations on, that we should take full advantage of the existing urban infrastructure, reports and heating ground floor and adds to the area's amenities. i would like to point out that the existing height for parcells north of broadway are 40 feet. our study makes no changes to those existing heights. the planning commission did make a number of statements, however, that they felt that, given some

of the work that planning has done in other parts of the city, that looking at a minimum of 45 feet would be necessary for those sites. the rationale was that the ground floor, in order to be gracious, for contemporary retail needs the greater heights, and anything less than three floors above would compromise the ability to activate the public realm. commission president miguel also remarked that he took it one step further and recommended he would expect nothing less than 55 feet on these parcels for the same rationale that we really want to activate this part of the waterfront as an urban waterfront that is safe and attractive to people. if you need a surgeon density of development. planning recommends, in general, lowering heights over most of these sites south of broadway.

the site north of pacific shown here -- we recommend no development whatsoever. the parcel between jackson and pacific, we recommend a maximum height of 25 feet for two stories. for the heights south of jackson, we have a number of recommendations. importantly, we recommend a maximum height of 65 feet along the embarcadero. rationale is the it is a very wide street, and is illustrated in this section, -- here is the embarcadero stretching here at roughly 200 feet. 65 feet, we thought, was the minimum necessary to friday sense of enclosure -- provide a sense of enclosure, while also framin