their reliant on public transit my public spaces sort of the whole environmental picture that's looked at the under sequa is important to our members a lot of them live in small apartments and don't have cars. so we're concerned about the way this process has been done. as i've said before i don't know if there's someone from forter if i say piecemeal but points of view this come before this body and piece of this this before the architecture committee and before the board of supervisors and we hope that this would come as a package and have it delivered under sequa for you'll the possible impacts as we believe the law says rather than

doing in back and forth and to consider all the things i think we're now looking at the project sponsors and the planning department are seeking an exemption from sequa and so i guess i understand why there would more time for the continuous but i think your position is the same. i look at the public space and a worry about a little bit about the public access and the way that the space is a configured. i see some of the pictures tables with pursuits in the back and talking about people coming from the cafe and hotel i think it's great the space would get important usage but i think are we talking about the same kind of public space or private space

this was created as on offset that far exceeded was it no more in the district; right? that's a little bit peculiar that that deserves nor thought >> thank you, mr. drearyy. >> i'm richard i'm representing s c i ushlgs workers west and samuel coal and daniel who have lived here and worked over thirty years. apple has proposed a store that will change the face of the sophomore for decades and decades to come. it will string the plazas by

thirty percent according to our certified planners. as the very at least we are urge the committee to take the project that was different that was presented on december 5th take the new project back the the arc that's it dollars not a staff report that. please do rush into this without the proper review. we believe at the very least the new project should be reviewed by the architecture committee and sequa should be required because this project has significant impacts on was fountain and placing. we believe this project is incompatible with union square my the conservation district because of the materials being used. first, the threshold question under the charter all ordinances that may affect historical

resources you must be brought before this committee before the oth other agencies. this affects las vegas yi it houses a historic resources a fountain therefore this has an affect on the resources and must be presented here before the planning commission. this project is thinking that compatible with the conservation district in section 67 it says preferred materials are brick, stone and terry cot. you couldn't be farther from this as made out of stairwells and glass. well, there's the little strip on the side that looks like stone.

well, if you can have a piece of stone next to our building and say this building is made of stolen this definition has no meaning. it's basically a making sense less definition and finally, we believe sequa review is required. it's not right under the sections it says if a project may have an impact on historic resources - >> thank you. >> and may not. >> any other any public comment? >> president hasz i'm the author of section 1.35 that creates the powers you enjoy

today. i respectfully disagree with may be councils nuance interpretation in as far as this is a skerm district. the piece of legislation should have been referred to you. you have to actually prepare a written report if you want to defer to the voices let me suggest you under the charter have the power to bring that legislation for you to comment on its been the subject of a robust codifies and much controversy because at various italy rationed it talked about two dozen properties historic properties by the staffs recommendations. you should absolutely be discussing this. as for the project itself let me social myself with the comments of previous violated it's not compatible with the district

this is a retail branding posing and architecture. i have a great problem with this the fountain should be identified as a hifkz resource that doesn't mean you could not move it but it should be identified as a rurlt resource. the staff didn't mention that the heritage put in a letter that reiterates that pursuant to proposition j section 4.130 that piece of enabling legislation should be proper before tomorrow's commission until and a unless you've reviewed it. >> any public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. back to you, commissioners. .

commissioners, comments or questions >> where do we want to start. >> commissioner johnck. >> sure i'm interested in the one point at the moment about the architecture review committee. and not all projects come back for a second i mean, you made some comments there were changes made. i guess is it typical of or not typical to go back or - >> most projects do not come back. >> do not come back so it's unusual. >> so i want to direct your comments about the changes. >> commissioner pearlman do you want to comment. >> sure i've got a lot to say.

this is incredibly challenging problem. i've spent a lot of time walking that district within the last two weeks and pay checks walked up and down the streets and got a feel for the buildings in this area. i want to commend the partners. i think that the changes to the facade and the a number of our comments relative to the scaling and the rhythm & patterson of the street facade. i modifying prefer the 6th day design. i still had an e-mail and my comment was mr. van gogh designed this in the city and

the columns you see on the outside of the building are fake and they don't connect to the ground even. the idea those two particular columns on either end don't support anyone is not visible only to people who know it is not connected. the visually the pattern is much more in keeping with the pattern in this district there was a lot of conversation in the staff report it never came out here about the base. some idea of base that's been added and you know, i had a few comments about it because in the staff report it created the kind of two part come accusation it's typical in the district. again walking around the

district the base is a one story or two story element it's not a 18 inch on one side and kind of encompass into the ground on the other so looking at the post street facade it doesn't seem any different than before. when i heard about a base i was encouraged that would create something at least that sense that the building was sitting on something but don't see how that's been executed in a way that it relates to the district. the heights one thing it's a question i walked around union jury and saw the shortest building is 3 steroids not 4 stories it's four stories. >> where.

>> on post and pile the old disney. but implicit i don't see the scale as being a specific issue that would, you know, make-or-break the building i think the stepping of the mask down in essence the whole bar issue is the tail wagging the dog no one it looking at that it fits in so well we're looking at the frame and glass facade. so i don't think we should be swayed by conversation of the one sixth of the site is the piece that matters and it's been brought out by a number of the speakers. i'm concerned about the stockton side there's no change there and the question about the variance

that's required. i've sought variances on issues and there's been hardships that are there and obviously designing a building there's no hardship there that's not our charge so i'm not sure how it gets resolved. i don't have a major concern but it's again only one building i could find in the desire district that doesn't have any blank walls that's on the macy's building on farrell that has blank walls but that's not a shining i didn't example of walls in our district. the materials you know the bar building is great.

i think to say you can't have cast stone that looks like indiana wall stone, of course, you can use stone that looks like stone that's appropriate. i'd love to see the blast sandstone. i was tale a back i'm sorry it was stairwells steel i was taken back about the comment of the reflective material it would have a massiveness you know it happens to be stole and my comment with when i wrote my noets notes i'm okay it's grayish and will have a began you will quality but the reflectability of the comment came up so, now i'm a little bit less convinced. i'd love to see it to know.

let's see. the only comment i want to go back to the plaza i think it's a beautiful design. oh, thank you. one of the things i've noticed i haven't paid attention to say the stairs. and how people sits on the stairs and clearly that's not as grand last year as i thought it was going to be. so that rendering of the plaza over there you, you know, one of the things about sitting on the stairs and i for one have sat on the stairs and found it a pollutant experience. when it's about 8 feet and you show people sitting there i'm

wondering as a design exercise if there's a way to open up and make it widower maybe you don't noted the planter but somehow widen the stairs i've been to the park and it's a lovely idea to walk out of the apple store and that will animate that space people are out there at this point and, of course, there's no retail store there now. that's a few of my comments and the sequa issues i don't know if the euro has signed off on this i trust the integrity of the department that those issues were handled appropriately.

it seems like the things that happened 40 years ago the litigation measures are definitely out of our realm as well as the zoning issues of the administer is out of our realm but what the two gentlemen brought up about whether this should have come to us should be discuss. one question i have for the s c i u is it's a rhetoric question but i'm wondering what specific things and maybe you should give up. one of the impacts i want to know about the size of the plaza according to the staff report its getting bigger and according to the research it's getting

smaller by thirty percentage so i want to know exactly is the plaza getting smaller it looks about the same >> thank you for requesting the plazas is a right triangle. if you do the math the plazas is smaller by thirty percent. that clearly has an impact on the sculpture. the staff didn't circulate the stairs as part of the space. the stairs are part of the plaza that's where people sit those are board or couch size stairs that's where people sit. under the new configuration it's narrow so if you circulate the stairs into both plans the plaza is shrinking 0 thirty percent the staff robert report it's

erroneous >> is there a real reason theory opposing this or because i'mlogies 25 hundred space of parking space i'm up in arms about this building it's a strange connection. >> the f d i members live here in san francisco they're the lowest income folks and their strlg strirlg it to be in the middle-class where we're representing 3 members in the district and the courts have held that the unions have a right to protect the environment and because you're a member of the s c i u rather than the

sierra club didn't make it better. >> it doesn't seems like a hygiene impact. i think the design as it's designed it will be a much better place for people to come and sit. it's a strange connection between the impacts and the group our representing >> i happen to be a resident of san francisco had myself and a japanese-american and this is a valuable and important space to the entire community and a very public space. it's would i do open people can go in there and enjoy the public space. this reconvene formulation makes it an extension of the apple store we talk about the geniuss to come out there and test it. it was a public space the levies didn't open to the plaza and

make it an extension of the apple store is wonderful >> to me having wifi available is an amenity it's not an attraction. that's something we won't resolve here >> director ram. >> you can't make - eir signed of on expectation under sequa doesn't mean the project has not any analysis it has a fair amount of analysis to occurred to justify little information in your packet. with respect to the stockton

area we had a lot of concern about that. that's why you have the proposal now with the large window. we had a lot of discussions about who that what would be a variance on the opening. the conclusion that i came too and the staff came to this particular building it unusual enough that by go adding windows or slot windows would actually detract from the architecture building and that's a matter of opinion. that's the conclusion why this particular approach is interesting. the large window is dramatic along stockton and the staff is recommending approval on this project >> thank you.

commissioner johns >> you know a reoccurring at home is who maybe the only at home is whether or not this building is compatible with the surroundings and the design people and the architects and the political people have expressed their conception of compatibility. i looked at gnat ability this fits nicely into the history of union square. which has been one of the most remarkable retail districts in the country. maybe in the world.

you know, if i've been in san francisco i should think more than most people in the room. so i remember the city of paris and it's contribution and benny haas and others and the changes that each of those retailers have made to the character and history of union square. i see this building which i think to be quit elegant in a way which is different from what surrounds it but then many of the great retail operations of union square have been somewhat different from the buildings

that surround them. i see this as part of a continuum. i never felt that the existing building was appropriate. the triangle i must tell you i thought was bizarre. it didn't reflect a somewhat elegant formality of union square. the steps which are there now i don't know maybe it was commissioner pearlman said people don't sit there. and the positioning of the fountain is bizarre. it's like it was mroptd in the middle in order to seek some

approval of some bureau. i think that you know, i went union square when there were box henlz and trees and it had a little bit of a forbidding elegance. i thought the fountain was elegant and it's very, very beautiful round shape and i thought it was misplaced. now as i review the drawings i think this focuses our eye on the fountain and it does that in a way that recalls the elegance of the design for union square and the enar e elegance there's still echo of that. so i thought it was handled in a

completely appropriate manner. and folks here can disagree over whether there should be a stainless steel metal okay we've got the holiday building it's metal and glass and to me this reminds me, i'm not put off by the large amount of plain wall because i have watched the frankness lloyd wright building on maid even lane it's essentially a blank wall. so i find that historically and just looking at the it historically and through the feeling that union square as projected over the years this is

completely comparable. so - >> thank you commissioner matsuda. >> thank you. let's see where should i start? thank you very much for your legal analysis but i do encourage the other commissioners to read the letter we received from heritage. and then supervisors comments stated today on package 6 talking about city code and charter requirements. i'm concerned but to talk about the fountain. i know that package and turning bell has reached out to the family. i've been in touch with one of the two daughters who's the trustee for the estate and she'd

like to be involved. they have a lot of information that i think would be important to the assembly and the relocation of the fountain that i think needs to be you seriously considered. i see from this beautiful document that the fountain has received some information about the relocate plan but i'm not knowing this is good enough you need to put nor detail into and thought into this assembly and storage and the reassembly of the storage. the creator is not with us so i fear when you try to reassembly this it should be an element or an amendment to what is decided today. the first name was involved they

were helping their mother with the plaques in their backyards they have knowledge about what to do and the ms. sensitive part of the fountain so i strongly recommended they be utilized. i know that a lot of the rurths documents are at the stanford university and with their permission a they'll be happy to share that information. i'm not opposed to it being moved i'm strongly concerned about how that the manner in which that will happen. the information that was part of mr. draerries letter that was submitted to us - where did it go - from the planning