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 consultants was good they did a go analysis and commissioner pearlman's comments about adding more footage to the stairs around it should be also considered. i'm wondering i could keep going on but i think other people should - >> commissioner hyland. >> well, let's start with what i like about the project. i think the comments about the base has been addressed. the large door and breaking down the facade in the bays is successful. i personally don't have a

preference brown whether it's 4 bays or 6 bays. as i said the ar c meeting i think the plaza is a - will be a wonderful space. it improves the context for the roof fountain. i don't have a particular concern about the stockton street facade with exception maybe setting precedent. some of the things that have not been addressed from the ar c ru6 address one of the scale i don't see the project have changed role significantly enough to change the scale. we could i guess debate whether it brings it down to the pedestrian level or not that's up for debate. i expressed a concern there's no

corn on this building it would be in the middle of the block and the design is the same. the height of the building and the staff analysis says it matches the adjacent building bus it's only the bar building it matches. i continue to have concern about the height. the other two buildings at least one of them the nicky building open the one corn and the other digitally their 7 to the stories so this corner drops down especially there's no demarco in this design. the base as commissioner pearlman mentioned is still

weak. >> its a more creative solution than the one we saw previously. >> commissioner. >> i had a question about the dates i don't know how this was dealt with but on the west side the sidewalks go down so you've got a a little bit of a well, how was that dealt with before. >> previously in front of the of the store it was next to the street so there's no steps so it ties into the level of the sidewalk. >> one entrance. >> so steps open up on the east and west side so there's a flat side in front of the facade that's set back to gain access to the doors on either side. >> yes. i have some additional

comments. i do think the addition of the bays has helped to break up the scale and give scale to the facade and commissioner pearlman stressed it provides more of a rhythm. and i would say that in terms of compatible if you had done a building that's modern we wouldn't like it, it's an iconic expression. so the comparability is having the big demeanors it's not repeated enough i know the 6 bays of representation helps

gives a scale of height that allows for compatibility with the district itself. >> there's an irony about the scaling that breaks down the facade but at the same time you have 46 high scaling so all of a sudden you have a hole in the building so it's kind of a funny conflict. i appreciate it, it's an interesting part it means that the building isn't static and it creates a lot of interest in a high result zone to have a facade and pieces that actually change over time in the winter it's closed but in the nurses weather it would be opposing open so there's an animation to that every time i go, go by there is a positive part of

making that more tactal in a scale organization >> i think this district can support a box building because of the elegance of the structure are. it does in the district because it's simple and straightforward. that's why i like the stairwells stole it has depth to it. to me it didn't feel like metal >> i do have a question i see lots of fingerprints. i'm wondering if everything is going to put their fingerprints on it is there going to be a coating. >> it will pick up finger oils we maintain on our current stockton store this is the same materials. >> oh, the same materials.

>> yep. >> i'll comment we have 4 large issues; right? the plazas and ar c compatibility and the legislation sequa. i'm adding a fourth the existing building in comparison. the existing building when i longtime it is a pedestrian billboard and they've covered up the walls. in the also been a goofy building and leading into the plaza it felt off. so i'm a huge fan of getting rid of the existing building. the plazas i actually think it will be notifying. we're adding temple thousands

trees in the next 20 years this is exactly what f this plaza does. it pays a hire you homage to the fountain it centers it and makes it the absolutely crown peak of that plaza and i think the trees anticipate the distance fountain notify you to walk up and spend time there. i'm not sure on the sun but it seems like it would be getting more sun in the afternoon. so i'm a fan of that. the ar c compatibility on material. i'm looking the existing building it has steel columns this project uses stole in a different way. then you go down to the street to grant like macy's