tv [untitled] December 21, 2012 9:30pm-10:00pm PST
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table. it's not the same project it was. it's 6,000-square-feet less. he put all the stuff undergrounds. so in closing i would like to say that we're working hard towards having a resolution with the community. thank you. >> thank you. if you are ready? the first time you were up you were giving us a message? >> i was just giving you rowena's letter because you called her and she had left and that is her message. >> okay. >> linda chapman. well, i'm really supposed to hear what i just heard. because you know, i'm in regular communication with the senior housing developers, the only ones that i know have been involved with this. although i know that brad believes that glide would also be very interested and maybe another. i think that either brad paul
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or i or don faulk would know if they were discussing this with senior housing developers. they met with tndc project managers, doing a preliminary analysis that went to the mayor's office of housing. they said they were very interested in it. now can this site be available? you had turned down the conditional use. so we decided with don that the logical thing would be to get in touch with the methodist church and find out. the result was that this lawyer told the methodist that they shouldn't get involved with it and each and every methodist i talk to, they are all interested in senior housing, but the lawyer said no. so what was the result? tndc was subpoenaeded and threatened with litigation and
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they had a lot of expense. i think you have heard about that. so they want to come forward and do the full analysis, which might be thousands of hours and the offer that they were told would be welcomed after the judge ordered them to talk. all right? now the methodist administrator said we would love to do that and the attorney says my client will not sell to anyone unless they pay off john's expenses. nobody else can buy the site. tndc nevertheless persifted persisted and i do believe this lawyer would be capable of doing something in that direction.
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they are the owners of the property still. all right? or the judge. brad is following up as i mentioned. there has been a lot of talk about all of this involvement with the community. i haven't seen it very much. there are interesting and lively meetings. this discussion did not occur there. it was mentioned negotiations were going on and others could join in the negotiating group, but others didn't want to. rowena has gone and i talked to the architect and nobody is participating in that. they are not interested in negotiating that kind of project. i went to the pre-op meeting, you know? >> is there any additional public comment on this item? seeing none, the public comment portion is closed. opening up to commissioners. commissioner antonini? >> thank you. i guess the first issue which was raised on a number of occasions is why this is before us? maybe mr. sanchez could tell us the reason why this new project
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is before us. >> thank you. so first, this is just an informational item. this is not an action item and there is not a project before you to approve or disprove, but the planning code states no application proposing an amendment, conditional use or variance, the same or substantially the same as that which was disapproved shall be resnit smieed or reconsidered by the planning commission or zoning administrator within a period of one year of effective action upon the earlier application this. is where the one-year bar has been raised and the planning code says you cannot submit the same or substantially the same project. it's a planning code provision and i reviewed the plans submitted and found it's not substantially the same, so it can come before you within the year. it's fully within your discretion when you have the hearing on that item and i don't know when that date would be. you would have a full public
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hearing with notification and you would have full discretion as you do for any other action that you take this. is no different than any other action you would be able too take on a project to approve, disapprove or approve with conditions. >> thank you very much. i think this is a very good project as it moves forward. i understand some of the concerns. the first issue that has been raised a couple of times is the benefits and i think it does give a lot back to the community. and i don't think it's proper to differentiate between types of people and reward one particular project over another. i think just because it's a market-rate project doesn't mean it's not beneficial for a neighborhood. we heard some of the things given back. the community room, the car-share spaces, the three community spaces and the trees that were mentioned that are
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planned to be planted along both larkin and clay street with maintenance included. and the fact that the project sponsor has worked with the neighbors to try to decrease the size. one of the things that we called for and i would encourage him to continue to work with neighbors with particular reference to the adjacent building on clay and the property line windows. although we know these are not protected, if there is a way that they can be worked out to allow light into as many as these as possible, that would be great. although a lot has been done already. and then on some other issues regarding the redesign -- not the redesign, but the new project more properly state. one of the things mentioned in the complaints by the neighborhood and others is that typical finishs in the neighborhood are wood, brick and stucco and some of the
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earlier renderings had a lot of glass, concrete and metal base. i do really like the way this is redesigned. although i do architecturally like the richer-looking base and other elements that were present in the project that was rejected six months ago. and i had asked project sponsor's architect that it may beble to to look at that and how that would look with the new project with its current massing from the project six months ago and certainly have the neighborhood and others comment on which of the designs that they like better. the other thing i'm assuming is that we still have the very innovative bay concept. mr. birchel, i believe that is still the case. where unlike many buildings that we see built particularly the more contemporary ones
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where we have these appendages off the side of buildings that are decks that sort of look like something that doesn't belong on the building. mr. birchel's bays are combinations of bays and decks with the infold doors that allows it to become a deck at such time as you wish to have it open to the outdoors. the rest of the time it's a bay, and in both instances it looks perfectly appropriate for the building. so i think those are some of the things that i see. i am not opposed to letting this rest for a few more weeks. we do not have to take it up in early january, but certainly i would like the continued dialogue between the comment and community and the developer. this is appropriate use and i see nothing wrong with a building that develop these 27
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units, brings 27 new families that will add vitality to the neighborhood. i think that is a very valuable improvement and we have been done the road about the church and how expensive it would be to try to retrofit it. it doesn't economically seem to make a lot of sense. and this is a private project, too. this is not a city-owned project. this is not a project being done by an affordable non-profit. this is a private project and there is -- they are responsible to be receptive to the neighborhood and build something that is appropriate to the neighborhood and is supported by the neighborhood. and protected light and air and other things, but they should have the ability to put the type of project that they wish to put there, and have that ability as along as it's not deleterious to the neighborhood. >> commissioner borden? >> this project has certainly
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come aways. it's ridiculous in my personal view that there weren't these kind of conversations before. at this point i don't think that we're ready to take up this project. i think that there is a lot of work to be done. the adjacent buildings points out a lot of problems and mr. schoolneck pointed out things are moving, but there are things to be done. i don't think you can necessarily arrive at a quick resolution after so much time and effort has been put insofar. it's a shame that a lawsuit is what was required for the project sponsor to work the community. i think this seems to be heading in the right direction, but it's certainly not there. i think there is a lot more
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dialogue that needs to happen between the developer and the community. i don't think there is an urgent need for us to take this up in the immediate future. i recognize that the termination of this might be a different project, but it's fundamentally still a market-rate housing project of similar type and scope. so i can understand why people could feel that we should wait a year on this. more than anything, i just want to encourage the developer to continue to work with the community and to continue really the dialogue that maybe if this had happened in the first place, we would have been in a completely different circumstance. but i don't think that anyone wants to pretend that we can erase all of the bad things, all the bad blood, all of the bad misgivings and all the things that the way the church is maintained. there is a lot of history and it can't be easily undone with a beautiful building, even if it were -- assuming it were a
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beautiful building. there were a lot of other things that need to be considered first and i think that we have to go through those processes. so you know, i am glad to see that there has been least significant movement from what had been in past, but i feel there is a ways to go. >> commissioner suguya? >> thank you. i just had to clarify something with the city attorney's office. i think it's been known and commissioner borden hinted at, there has been a process apart from this commission that is involved, that is revolving around a lawsuit. and as part of that, there has been a process that has brought the developer and several different kinds of interests from the neighborhood together
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to try to resolve some of the issues that have come about because of the previous development proposals. and i think i would just like to echo what commissioner borden just said in that although that process involving a particular judge bringing the developer and the neighborhood together, i think is a separate process from ours. in the sense that although that process may have led to certain kinds of compromises and other things, i think we feel -- or at least i feel anyway, that a continuing dialogue still should take place between the developer and the neighborhood. and i would hate to think that it takes a legal court to bring the two sides together.
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when, in fact, a lot of, i think, dialogue could have taken place between the developer, the church and the neighborhood quite apart from that because that is the kind of thing we were looking for originally. so i would echo commissioner borden's view, and encourage, i guess, or make it mandatory that any further community involvement in the project takes place ubs, but that is certainly something that some of us are looking for. >> commissioner moore. >> both comments by commissioner suguya and commissioner wu are spot-on. it is something that none of us
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have experienced. however, the guidance given to us and the interpretation to us by the zoning administrator that this should follow the typical timeframes by which projects come back is what indeed i feel comfortable supporting because that is by the rules that we work and that is what the public is expecting. i would suggest that it is indeed changed and movement on the project. however, until the process has been fully worked out with the neighborhood regarding all of the issues that were briefly touched on by the people presenting, it's time to do it right this time. as we always said, every project has neighborhood support and the department's guidance has indeed created that and we're agreeing with it, then the project should hopefully be on successful way for approval.
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>> commissioner suguya, do you have another comment? >> i did. to the zoning administrator, interpretation of the planning code language that allows the project to come back can you describe to the commission if there is criteria to describe "substantial change?" section 306.5 does not give any criteria. it just says, "the same project or substantially the same." those cannot come back within one year and reviewing the project and also in reviewing the commissioners' comments on this, i felt it was very clear direction to the project sponsor regarding the demassing
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and height of the building, i felt that was a substantial change. again it's not any determination on the project itself or the merits of the project, but simply allows it to come back before you for your decision. and certainly, if you did take an action to disapprove that and gave very clear guidance why you were disapproving that. >> is that determination solely within your power? >> it's within planning code section 306.5 and planning code section 307 gives the zoning administrator the authority to interpret and enforce the planning code. so i am interpreting and enforcing the planning code as authorized under the planning code itself. >> thank you. >> commissioner antonini? >> along those lines i remember when the earlier project was denied, i was working with project sponsor and the neighbors as to a
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design with a floor less. fortunately that was coming forward the 11th hour and many commissioners said we wish we would have seen that weeks ago. so that reinforces the fact that we have something that we're moving forward on this project. along those lines on similar projects that are in the general vicinity, the commission worked very hard with a different developer on the project that is now almost completed at polk and pacific; which is going to be, i think, a very attractive project, that went through some modification and also at sutter and van ness, under construction and nearing complete completion. i remember commissioner moore in particular had a lot of input on the design changes and the massing that makes a stronger cornice at a particular floor and makes it more sympathetic to the
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historic buildings that run along van ness there. in terms of cornices, the other thing and this is just a subtlety, but i looked at the before-and-after and i think a little heavier and richer looking cornice on the new design would keep it looking with the rest of the neighborhood. again, these are very easy things to do and they are not the essence of what we're working with here. but i think we're certainly moving forwards what i think will be a very fine project when hopefully it is approve >> commissioner moore? >> i just wanted to make sure that since we do not have any action items that all we can do is comment. which is guided by first the proper interpretation by the department should be guiding comments. i don't think we should be sitting today designing architecture on something that is a progress report.
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you basically call it "informational." and i take it as an informational item. i am positive about the movement, but i don't feel that any of us should be in any position to comment on the specifics of design. at the core of all of this and will be the response to those concerns which are neighborhood concerns. we're not approving architecture. we're approving basically a project which starts with a change of land use. we're going from public to private. from public to residential. so i think we need to kind of stay on target relative to what messages we are potentially communicating here today. >> commissioner antonini? >> but to that end, most of what was pointed out as things under discussion by the neighborhood were the massing and the size of the building, and to some degree the architectural appearance of the building, and so i think that
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certainly is useful to use our time well and to kind of weigh in on what is being presented to us. not that we're talking about any kind of approval process at this time. we're just sort of trying to indicate our feelings and outreach to the neighborhood. and to the project sponsor to continue to work together. and i don't believe this was -- i don't think this is going public to private. this was a privately-owned, owned by a church and i consider that to be a private entity and it continues to be private. so i don't feel that it's moving in that direction. >> next item, please. >> commissioners, that will place you under "general comment period" not to exceed 15 minutes. at this time members of public will address those items within the subject matter of the commission except for agenda items. with respect to agenda items, your opportunity will be when
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the item is reached. each member of the public can address the commission for up to 3 minutes. >> opening up for 3 minutes >> kevin said it would still be all right to talk about 1360 larkin. i think the informational hearing was appreciated. >> excuse me, 1601 was an agendized item and you did provide your public comment. >> kevin told you would be taking that in this? >> it's non-agendized items. >> thank you. >> any additional general public comment? next item, please. >> commissioners under your regular calendar you also considered items 9a and b and places you on 10, adoption of procedures manual update.
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>> good afternoon, commissioners and again planning director staff. this item brand new. there are two related items the first is the adoption of the procedures manual for inclusionary affordable housing and you will remember you had an extensive presentation from the mayor's office of housing november 1st, just an informational hearing. since that hearing date, the mayor has introduced an ordinance that would make the conforming amendments that are needed, if you would choose to adopt this procedures manual today. so we have three staff from the mayor's office of housing who will give the presentation today. dan adams. brian chu. and i'm sorry -- will be making the presentations today. if you do choose to adopt the procedures manual, we'll go into the associated ordinances as the next item.
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>> good afternoon, commissioners we have divide up our presentation into two segments. i am here just to give a brief overview of some of the demographics of the program that was requested last time and dan adams will come up and walk you through some of the small changes and additions that have been made in the procedures manual between the time of the last informational meeting and today's meeting. and i do have some handouts i can leave with you for some of the information that i'm going to talk to you today. you had asked for general information about the number of units in our program and who is in our units? so briefly, we have approximately 1280 completed units in our bmr program. of those approximately 860 are
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ownership units and 420 are rental units. again i have all of this on a handout that i will give for you for a total of 1280. we have an additional 1200 units in the pipeline that are ready to go. of those the percentage of rental and ownership still shift as we go through the development process. in the past as miss egan mentioned, ownership units used to be the majority to be produced. you had also asked a little bit about the demographics especially in terms of race and ethnicity as to who is in our units. so we took a snapshot and looking at
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who is our rental and ownership households of december, 2012 and compared that to the relevant citywide distribution of race and ethnicity. so let me start on the rental side. it turns out that the number of households of color in our bmr program overall is actually overrepresented. there is a larger percentage of asian african-american latino and more specifically for people who might be interested, for example, the percentage of asian pacific islander households in the 0-50 ami is 52% city.
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african-american households, in the 0-50% ami and rental units it's about 12%. latino hispanic families, 14% citywide, about 20% in our rental units. the one ethnicity that is somewhat underrepresented is white. so that is about 39% citywide and 0-50 ami, and just about 14%. n our in our rental units. we don't have race and ethnicity for every single units. we have tried to collect it over the past five, six years. alt least it's a snapshot of our units. the number of households of color are overrepresented in the ownership, but the
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distribution is different than the rental side. on the ownership the number of asian families is a significant increase over the number of ami households would be in the 50-95% ami range. for that population, although asian-pacific islanders households comprise 28% of the 50-80 ami, they compose 60% of people that are in the ownership pool. african-americans are underrepresented, as are latino and hispanic families. african-americans are about 7% citywide in that demographic, just about 1%, very low number in our ownership units. latinos 13% citywide and 5% in our bmr units.
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in terms of the outreach and the marketing for those units, because i think those demographics automatically lead to those questions. through the time i have been there with the department, so i started there about 2005, we have had grants to a number of strategic community-based organizations in order to increase our outreach, specifically on the homeownership side. so we have worked specifically the asian, inc., with san francisco housing development corp., san francisco's lgbt center, et cetera. specifically to try to target outreach to the api lgbt latino and african-american communities, as well as
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