june 7. the proposed zoning amendments sponsored by board of supervisors president create a new chinese hospitals special use district and change the height and bulk designations for the property. it would adjust certain standards in the planning code to accommodate the mass and bulk of the new building. the existing buildings on the hospital campus are nonconforming due to their height and bulk. the new amendment would bring the existing hospital closer into compliance with the planning code. due to the unique volume requirements for a medical facility, almost all hospital buildings require special consideration. the proposed height and bulk of this project are consistent. the department has been working with the project sponsor to refine the design of the building's facade. the facade has been simplified, the windows on the front have been recessed and grouped together, and the building now

has a stronger base, middle, and top. the project would include an open space plaza in front of the new building that would be continued to the west. james allen would be approved with decorative overhead lighting, landscaping, and seating. stalin street on the east side of the projects that would be improved -- stone street on the east side of the project would also be improved. the sponsor and the department have been working closely with the chinatown community development center on alleyway improvements. the proposed alley improvements are consistent with the chinatown alleyway plan. the permit is recommending conditions of reproval would require the project sponsor to continue working with the department.

the department has received 12 calls and letters and e-mails in support of the project. and one letter in opposition. the supporters recognize the importance of continuing the service is the hospital provides to the community in its existing location but the letter in opposition objects to the demolition of the old hospital building. the department recommends approval of the project with conditions. it would create a new 22-bed skilled nursing facility, and advances the objections and policy -- the objectives and the policies of the general plan. i am happy to answer any questions. vice president wu: project sponsor?

>> if you could identify yourself. >> good afternoon, my name is linda schumacher. i am the chief operating officer for chinese hospital. it is my pleasure to be here today with members of our design team to present our replacement hospital project for your consideration. i would like to thank the planning department staff and our community for working so diligently with us on this project.

chinese hospital is a community owned nonprofit organization that has provided health care services to the chinese community for over 100 years. we started as the dispensary in 1899. i have handouts for you as well. we started as the dispensary in 1999 by members of the community because the chinese immigrants in san francisco were denied access to other san francisco hospitals and health-care services at the time. chinese hospital is the last independent hospital in san francisco. chinese hospital is truly a community hospital as approximately 45% of or in patients come from chinatown and the adjacent communities. 97% are of asian ancestry and most are linguistically isolated and require services that we can provide with their

bilingual staff. over 90% of our staff and physicians are fluent in cantonese, the predominant language of our patients, and a significant number also speak mandarin. over 90% of our patients are 60 years of age or older. we're also unique in our pair met spent 90% of our patients are covered by medicare. the chinatown community takes full advantage of the areas inside and outside our building. it is a community gathering space. in 1989, after the earthquake, many ref it -- many residents saw refuge in their lobbies and waiting areas. unfortunately, that despite its critical role in the community, the current hospital has significant deficiencies. for example, are patient rooms are undersized and lack the benefits of modern standards of

care and sufficient space to ensure patient privacy. as you can see from this image, our current 3-bed patient room is similar in size to the proposed new patient room. it will meet the current requirements and standards for single patient rooms. other deficiencies include the undersized operating room depicted in this image and the seismic rating of the building as such that it may not be able to remain open following an earthquake of the type experienced in 1994. our proposed new hospital remedies these issues. it is a state of the art hospital that will be well suited for providing modern health care practices and procedures into the future. it maintains our current 54 acute beds, which are private rooms and fully handicapped

accessible. it creates a facility that provides the needed space for new and evolving procedures and equipment and meets the highest category for seismic safety allowing it to continue to function following a major earthquake. it also includes 22 new skilled nursing beds to provide a safer transition home for elderly and frail patients. our project is designed to accomplish all this in a safe manner that allows us to remain open and provide care continuously to the construction of our project. i would now like to introduce an architect and health care program manager for jacobs engineering group to present the design. >> thank you, linda. [inaudible] good afternoon, commissioners. i am an architect. i'm also the health care program

manager for jacobs global buildings north america. i dedicated my professional career to design, planning, and construction of health care facilities throughout the united states. i have been involved in -- with 200 projects in the past 40 years. the location -- a year ago. the location of project, it should show in green. our image is not showing up in the appropriate color. we are bordered by the major streets of powell to the west and stockton to the east. the main entrance to the hospital is of jackson street. that will remain as the main entrance to our campus. there will be a secondary entrance to the new building at

the emergency department. this is a view of the current hospital and the adjacent administration building looking down jackson street to the east. this is a view from the current hospital and administration building looking up the street towards the west. oh, boy. we have worked closely with the office, planning and development, and are designed to meet the strict functional operational and special requirements of title 22 and tied up 24. we had -- title 24. we anticipate having all the necessary approval in hand by the fall of this year. we have also worked very closely with the city's planning department to evaluate numerous preservation of options and believe our current design

revisions are the result of a collaborative effort with the planning department. we plan to continue and look forward to that continued effort with the planning department. this elevation shows a graphic of the various components of the facade of the building as seen from jackson street. three primary building components, the base, the middle, and the top. they are differentiated by a slight color and pattern variations. the base element is highlighted by a darker shade. as well as a two-story st. terrorist set back away from the street. -- street terrace said back

away from the street. there is also -- and separates the base from the middle section. the top of the building is a system that will provide a certain portion of power as well as to provide a cap at the top of the building. vertical stair tower separates the new building from the existing building while trying to tie those two buildings together. it clearly provides a demarcation between the existing hospital and the new hospital.

this slide is a computer- generated view of our proposed building at sunrise, actually, the new hospital on the left and the existing hospital on the right. you can see the separation of the various components of the buildings. the middle section with the recessed windows. there is also a vertical stair tower that will be lit, and provide a softly radiant glow at night. it is our intent that together with alighting from the street level terrace, it will provide a safe pedestrian environment in

the evening hours. i would like to turn this over to present our street scape. >> thank you. i am the principal in charge of our landscape architect office. we have been in practice in the city since 1990. we focus most of our projects in san francisco. the work on a lot of community- based neighborhood projects. it is a pleasure to be working on this project and bringing this project fourth in chinatown. -- this project fourtrth in chinatown. we will respect the streets and alleys and side box in terms of the cultural and historic

aspects of chinatown. the importance of 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, ink