analysis section. the item is the appeal of the preliminary mitigated negative declaration and i appear you before this item and the proposed project at 1050 valencia street in the context as the it interfaces with properties on hill street and the historic district and this analysis has been provided within the amended mitigated negative declaration which you will find in your packets. it sheds additional light on the historic district settings, origins and telling the history of san francisco and provides an additional appraisal of the pr posed project and whether the introduction would materially

impair neighbors historic resources within the district if department's conclusions remain unchanged. the project as proposed would not relate in a significant impact to an historic resource. again, to recap, the 3,300 square foot project site at the southwest corner of valencia and hill streets is not located within any potential or established historic district. the proposed project would replace an existing commercial building with a five-story, 50-foot high, approximately 16,000 square foot building with 6 residential units over a ground floor and full service restaurant. the existing 1,700 square foot, 100-story building ormgally in use as a kentucky fried chicken is now occupied by sp orbing -- by spork restaurant. there will be no decision to approve or disapprove the proposed project. the hearing is on the environmental document only.

the commission may at a future discretionary hearing weigh the staff recommendation on the merits of the project. the decision before the commission today is whether to uphold the preliminary mitigated negative declaration and to denial the appeal or to return the environmental review document to the department for preparation of an e.i.r. and al provided in the packets are the department's response of the concerns raised in the appeal letter, the appeal letter it and a draft motion to uphold the neg dec. it speaks to the project design, code compliance concerns, and socioand economic concerns and do not relate to physical and environmental effects resulting in the project. they have been fully addressed by the department's responses, many of which have been evaluated in detail within the initial study. for the reasons outoutlined in the appeal response and in our

presentation today, we believe that the neg dec complies with the requirement of ceqa and the ceqa guideline and provide adequate, accurate, and objective analysis of the potential impacts of the proposed project. no substantial evidence supports a significant environmental effect may occur as a result of the project has been presented that would warrant preparation of an environmental impact report. in conclusion, the department believes that a mitigated negative declaration is the appropriate document for this project and we respectfully recommend that you adopt the motion to uphold the neg dec. this concludes my presentation. i am available for questions as is the project architect. thank you. president miguel: thank you. the appellant. >> the appellant.

>> you can pull it down. >> we have a group of people here today who each have a specific reason to address the claimses that an environmental impact report need not be done. we do find that there is significant environmental impact and i wanted to just go and let people speak each to their own special area if that's possible. president miguel: sure. i have card. i will call them. >> thank you.

this is the order in which they came in. >> if it's possible that the people from the marsh can go first because they need to get back for their performance commitments and educational commitments. thank you. president miguel: i understand. >> thank you. >> hi. i'm stephanie wiseman, artistic director to have marsh. we are located at 1062 valencia street right next to the proposed new bidding. we purchased our building in 1996 and after looking at the plans, we are very concerned that we will have a negative impact based on this new project. we are 21 years old, a vibrant community theater that develops new performance. we present over 400 performances each year, including hits such as brian copeland, and genuine black man and the longest running soul show in san francisco history and we are

presenting the real american. these shows develop at the marsh, run at the marsh, and go across the country and around the world. in addition to our performances, the roster includes classes for youth and adults, rehearsals, and a cafe box office. and the building is in use ef day between 9:00 a.m. and late into the night. and when we move to the valencia corridor in 1990, the street was a very different from the now cultural gourmet hub it is now. it was a struggling neighborhood with boarded up buildings and businesses going under. we believe the marsh had and still has an enormous impact. driving ticketholders into the neighborhood to see the hit shows who patronize local restaurants and businesses. we bring the neighborhood close to 600 visitors a week and 30,000 annually. the proposed construction and building could seriously har rm the marsh. what will it be like during

construction? will we be able to maintain the daytime ongoing classes and reer is her sals and the nightly perform manss? we cannot tolerate sound bleed and disruption of the utilities. and if the building goes forward, how isolated from these issues and protected from them and compensated if there are problems? and if we can manage to last through the 18 months of construction, what will it be like once the building is up? it will tower over us. 55 feet to our 30 feet. we can only fear the impact of sound bleed and parking on our theater and no one has studied these issues. as a nonprofit theater, our financial resources are limited. if customers say, wow, it is too much hassle to go down there, we can't park, public transportation is too difficult, to unsafe, or if the performances are disrupted by sound bleed from the building's elevator and rooftop parties,

will the audience stay at the current levels? i don't think so. and if this is the case, our ticket sales will plummet and the marsh will be out of business. an is significant is the arts commission and mayor's office and the city has been a strong investor in the marsh as an art center and as a building. we are very grateful for this. [bell ringing] >> please protect this cultural jewel that san francisco has always strongry supported. please make sure this proposed building -- president miguel: thank you. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i have lived on liberty street a few blocks from the proposed new

building for nearly 30 years. for the last seven of these i have volunteered and also worked for the marsh. i am currently their publicist and artist. and i would like to say i do everything that stephanie has mentioned. and i can stick with public transportation. it isn't easy to get around from 22nd and valencia. and it takes me nearly three times as long to get anywhere if i try to go by public transportation which i have over the years frequently and stopped riding my bike after i was knocked off by an absent minded car. i can't believe most of the people living in the building will not take their car and that will have an impact on people coming to the theater and trying to find a spot. t already difficult. the oh thing is that i am astonished by this building in the first place. liberty hill is an historic neighborhood and we are very good at paying the extra

planning department fees and not making alterations to the houses that we might have wanted to make because we support the concept. it seems that the city should be diligent in helping us preserve the beauty of the neighborhood. and a five-story monster does not seem to meet the bill particularly as most of it will be on hill street. and it may be legal, but i think we should be observing spirit as well as the letter of the law. otherwise, what is the point? finally, i have personal experience at buildings that don't fit into the neighborhood. on my street, which is liberty street t building was build in the 50 yes, sir and yuts right around and 50 years later we are talking about it. people who move in and move like gotten used to it and it's nevada been part and texture of the neighborhood. this monstrous new building seems it can't help be exactly like that.

the city has been wonderful over the year and we have provided top notch perform manses and gave the historic status. and whole group of people come on tours to see our building. this new building, to the contrary, is a greedy and agressive attempt to cash in on efg we have created on valencia street and it was boarded up and we are the only one left and the building has been completely -- the neighborhood has been completely transpolymered partly because of the marsh. and it seems irresponsible with the mixture and efg in the neighborhood independently and locally owned. [bell ripping]

president miguel: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioner. i am reading on behalf of a student who had to leave ely to attend the classes at the marsh. >> we are next to the few performing arts and when it has severely cut back and payment is on a sliding scale and nobody is turned away for lack of fund. the 10-year-old program now has 200 citywide participant and reaches children and starting with aerial flying classes forked to lers and concluding with local public schools and the program is designed to build the children's skills from the ground up.

ebbing posing the students to a vast world of multicultural art. >> it is for everyone. and i share the concerns about the proposed new building and would like to point out whereas the plan states that most of the shows take place at night, this is simply not true. the marsh presents events seven days a week between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and this includes 400 shows on two stages, daily classes for youth and adults and a box office cafe al open daily. we have two different shows a day, and at 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. most of the performanceses, rehearsals and classes take place during the daylight hour. it is my understanding that the building will provide no parking for the residents even though we have been told it is estimated to generate the need for 34 new

parking spots. finally, i live four blockses away and it's crowded, slow, and skrech chi and dangerous and is four blocks away uphill. we all love the bicycle lanes but can be dangerous in the city and is not for everyone. one of our technical directors was seriously hurt on the street by the theater. parking is already a problem in the area. the marsh's clientele often comes by car, although we encourage the use of public transportation. the reason for the this are vary and some shows are demographically older or in some cases younger than others and are sometimes late. public transportation is unreliable and not immediately available. parking difficulties are one of the main complaints we receive.

with an entire building next door without a parking spot between them and a large restaurant. the problem can only worsen and may discourage some patrons from attending our theater. [bell ringing] president miguel: thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. i'm a performer at the theater. as a performer, i would like to make the point that i get most my audience from the east bay. looking at the demographics of most the theater audience

members. they are older, particularly those coming in during the evening. the traffic congestion is pretty dense. parking is at a premium. i am concerned about the fact that we have a 16-unit proposal with no additional parking at a time when parking is problematic as it is. we need to keep things as comfortable and convenient for the honest numbers that come in that bring in revenue to the area. we need to make sure that the safety of the area is maintained and that there is not a level of congestion. we have a nationally recognized theater that is fragile.

we are doing everything we can see be able to provide the kind of educational opportunities. this is a very fragile membrane. >> thank you for your time today. i am a writer, director, and performer at the theater. as a director working with people during the day, disruption for 18 months would be pretty significant.

the theater arts are largely significant. later standing is that the plan for this 55 foot building has a rooftop patio. it could be very noisy during performances at night. many things have been set by many people. i think you for listening to our concerns. >> hello, i am a native san franciscan. this has been one of the few theaters that provided a stage

for the telling of their stories and therefore an audience. this is an audience that takes a car and. >> our backers are along the city and the country.

>> good afternoon, commission. i live on hill street about 100 feet from the building. this is a modern version of a stark photograph. this would have an effect on the historic neighborhood character. we have dealt with problems such

as parking, crime, irresponsible development. in the party debt is a neighborhood problem. neighborhood residents have been complaining for years.

then there is a question with parking. many areas that are available are filled on a rotating basis to the college campus that is a block away. i would like to say that i object to the proposed project on the corner and i am not against the development but i like sensible development, one that will enhance our neighborhood. >> thank you. >> 5 very much appreciate the commission's report but i think there are serious flaws that need to be addressed. i asked you not to approve the motion today. this will be mitigated by the

department's suggestions. having this massive the scale building will serve to enhance the size and further downplayed the historic nature of our street. this project will tower three blocks -- 3 stores higher than the other buildings. this ignores the facts and picks and chooses what context to use to assess the buildings appropriateness.

>> thank you. >> good afternoon, i have lived in the neighborhood since 1979. we finally had a discussion last tuesday to know the rationale of the department. it seemed obvious to us that the entire block of valencia's street is lined with the victorian and edwardian buildings. we were kind of alarm that to the explanation.

this is the block. this has many intact buildings. the southern end it is mostly edwardian and 1920's. this sort of forms and cluster. this is the banquette castro and 18th. -- this is the bank at castro and 18th. this is very popular but a little bit new york but still quite old. we thought when we established this neighborhood that buildings that had been somewhat altered

but were otherwise intact were considered potential historically resources. in the last 25 years there has been a change. if there are any alterations, this registers as blank. we thought you could approach by 22nd street but to there are too many altered buildings. we thought you could come down from liberty street. we ask why they carefully showed the storefront which has been altered, literally every last one of them. what is directly above it is very clearly a high-end victoria building.

i looked it up. in fact, it cost to $30,000 for the three killings. that was astronomic at that time. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. in my view, the declaration fails to understand the historic nature of this project. the overall scale of this project is compatible with the surrounding architectural pattern and that is just not true. of everything on the spot is

one, too, or three stories tall. this building is five stories. this is far larger than the surrounding buildings. these are blocks away and not adjacent. furthermore, the survey as highlighted is itself highly historic. for example, directly across valencia st. are well-deserved victorian buildings. these were part of the commercial district of supported the residential area and this is not discuss the impact on this work of building. furthermore, they have template is the impact that this will have on the street. this ignores the fact that these are all the same scale and mass as the other residential buildings. the proposed project would put a

huge facade on the street. this will dominate the historic district. this new building will become the future of the street. this was some kind of the committee separated but this is not the case. liberty hill was a symbol community. in each, the project would more definitively terminate the historic boundary.