in this particular area. there is something down there the water can't get passed and it backs up into our cellar. i would also to reinforce the transit issue. you can't believe the problems wei -- we've had. we built a large fence as high and we actually watch people jump over the fence. it is very very high and we still put the bars close enough but somehow they do, it's become a big problem. while we are happy to see that the latest plans are to restore the cottages to the original plan. they required this action in the event the cottage was demolished. the structure does not remain. it deities from deviates from the original plan. where as the placement on

both of the original structure and the plans approved for the variance do not compromise. let us not forget the long-term consequences of the current overall project design. not only will significant views be lost, views of the park surrounding the tower will also be lost forever. from the high rise buildings in the financial district. those viewing the tower from ground level will see if anything, only the bit of the tower for a sheer wall glass. all traces of the hillside will be lost. i'm not sure what the hooit -- height is and i find it very difficult to understand how you can ignore these huge impacts in such important landmarks. future generations will never be able to fully enjoy grand

gestures as we do today. please find a solution that is more respectful of this landmark and comply with the very basic principles of urban design, thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners, i'm wells whitney. i have lived on the hill for almost 30 years. i know all those streets. i walk my dogs an i go to the tower all the time. several things i would like to point out, one, the west fill bert steps are only one way to get to the tower, in fact they the least used way. usually most tourist come up to the tower if they walk. the west granite steps or the east fill bert steps. they are very busy, i see that all the time. but the steppes we are talking

about do have some traffic and i think the project is trying to improve the views, improve the steps and improve the landscaping around those steps. second, views, from pioneer park i don't believe this project will significantly affect the views downtown. there is lots of vegetation there, there are only a few places that you can see out the back of pioneer park and the views there will not be affected, and the views of course from the other parts of pioneer park will not be affected. third, i have seen a number of letters from my friends and neighbors against the project. i would only point out that they already have buildings which block views off of pioneer park or from telegraph hill boulevard and i think it's a little dis ingenuous

of them to say that no one else should have these views. so i strongly support the project, i think the sponsors have tried to make accommodations to the thd, to commissioners, tried to work with the neighbors and with the commission and i strongly recommend that you approve this project. thank you very much. >> thank you, next speaker? >> i'm augustus stewart i live less than a block away from this site. so i walk up and down to this area everyday. my experience is that anyone who lives there will veng want garages. it's one thing to walk up and down and another thing to carry your groceries up and

down even if there are two of you. i think it's unlikely to work without garages. also, i walk around this area a lot. if you look at the plans, the very large building, 101 telegraph boulevard at the very top there that was built decades ago obviously to the east of that going down the fill bert steps to the east, the buildings are all, there is no break between any of the buildings, there is no site lines between any of the buildings so the typical buildings heading up to telegraph hill and on telegraph hill boulevard are side by side. to or these view corridors is a real gift. the one startling thing going up to north beach and telegraph hill is to see this

unsightly and i think dangerous open space which is very steep and attracts debris and other things you don't want. this is an effort to follow the rhythm of all the houses going down from the east side telegraph boulevard if you walk across side fill bert down the hill, that's the rhythm of the buildings going down the hill to the east. i think it's appropriate to have the same kind of building going down to the west and to have the advantage of this view corridor. it very much strongly support having this come in and great improvement to the neighborhood. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker?

>> i'm john stewart. i live at the same address as the previous speaker and i take orders from her. we live maybe a long drive away from the site. we live very similar to the house next door to this site. i'm going to bore you very briefly with some 30,000 foots. that is that the city has a deficit about $100 million. what does that have to do with anything? we are not funding the hospital and not funding public safety issues and to the extent that we need to with the housing trust fund. if this project is built it will contribute $150,000 a year indexed going forward forever plus transfer fees when units are sold. that's a fair amount of sugar. the city needs it.

it's hard to prove a negative. this sight site is a lazy center. from an economic perspective, it seems to me that you want to get the highest and best use, some sites cry out for affordable housing. there is no way this will with this density and i think the single family detach plan makes all manner of sense economically and will benefit the city as well as loop around and provide money for affordable housing and other parts of the city. that said, from an aesthetics standpoint, i really like the changes the developer has made, opening up the corridor on the west side which is what we feel, most of us on our side of the hill makes all sorts of sense as you go down telegraph boulevard looking

south that's what you are going to see, that's the primary on our view access and we like what they have done. i would like to say a few words about disruption, trucks, construction, i hope it makes a little bit of noise, there will be some dust, i welcome it because people are going to be working, there are going to be jobs and we should not be complaining about the fact that men and women are going to be building something and creating something on a site that's been fallow all these years and beyond a distraction, it's a real eyesore for any tourist that passes by, let alone neighbors. thank you very much. >> thank you, next speaker? >> my name is olivia wear. 12 you will ulta street and

lived on telegraph for a year 1/2. my home goes into the fill bert steps and i agree with many of the previous speakers that's an unsightly lot that needs to be developed. unfortunately i walk the hill very frequently and think it's unattractive and needs to be developed. it's not open space and not attractive and something that doesn't bode well for the city. this is a good project for the neighborhood and i strongly support it. it's a good project for our city. as one of our speakers noted we have lost a lot of revenue because of this empty lot, empty property. and as someone who has had an opportunity to live in the neighborhood i know how important tax receive u -- revenues are to benefit the city. this is an opportunity to do

that and do something good for city to benefit all the neighborhoods in the city and county of san francisco. the other reason i'm strongly supportive of this is that the projects are very undesirable for the city and there won't be any development in the projects. this is a viable project and the ability to put in several small properties with no parking, are really not viable and that means that probably nothing is going to happen there and that is unfortunate for the neighborhood in the city. i this i that will i have been very appreciative of the fact that the designs have evolved and changed to incorporate the feedback from the neighborhood. i appreciate the fact that the developers have reached out to so many of the neighborhood to ask our opinion of it. that's in contrast to some of the speakers of the neighborhood association as a new

homeowner have not received that. i realize this is a difficult decision on the planning commission. if there is no guarantee that we have in our life. this is a project that they have worked very hard that is realistic and can make sentence -- sense in this neighborhood. i strongly encourage your support and approval of this project. >> thank you. as the next speaker comes up i will call one more card. harry hunt. >> hello, i have attended this one and the previous one in auchlth -- auchlth august. i'm still of concern of the plan and not convinced there

is a plan to take care of those issues. while as aesthetics are a very subjective manner and interest to individual interest. i ask the project not be approved without more specific plans for the construction period, the impact on the residents and on the hill and there be another opportunity to come forward with a concrete plan of how that would be done. i do believe there are city agencies like dpw to address this and to abate those concerns and other people who have spoken today. as far as a couple of the comments that have been made in favor of it i find rather

species, the lot, i find that the responsibility of the owners over the years. second, the impact on twin tower and new efforts to improve the revenue, the tower generates more revenue than for this particular project. i'm hoping that tower will continue to succeed and considered as a major concern for impact. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker? >> commissioners i'm stewart thornton. i have been maybe at 5 of the meetings with the telegraph

hill dwellers, the developer and his architect have had and i still believe louis butler is talented enough to have three different looking buildings on this site. it really deserves it. i'm not against the project here. i'm against the bulk. i think that three 3 feet between buildings is silly because how deep are these buildings? the only way you are going to get a view is if you stand right dead center. it's not going to be a view corridor for anything. 3 feet, c'mon. the height and bull k has to be toned down. it's not much different than what we saw before. it's a little bit different, but the site deserves something special. it has to be developed properly. i'm in favor of the build, i think it's terrific and i'm

in favor of the garage. the final approach to the garage is good., but gosh, the individuality is missing, the bulk is too much and it's a problem for the site. thank you. >> thank you, is there additional public comment? >> good afternoon, my name is louis, i live on the hill since 1976. i submitted a letter for the record. i hope that will be reflected in your consideration and i am in the real estate business. i have people that i have known as a specialist in that area. i have people call me literally on weekly basis, agents sks asking if there are any family homes for their clients on telegraph hill.

i think it's only fair that people with families, seniors and handicap people with elevator access on telegraph hill, they are only one and two bedrooms and no reason why a family shouldn't be able to live there and drive into their garage and bringing groceries in without hiking five 5 blocks up the hill. >> thank you. >> commissioners, thank you for providing such a lengthy forum for us. i live a block away. my interest in this project is basically it's impact on the public realm. i inserted myself into these discussions because in the meetings that i attended, the conversations that i heard, i didn't feel that aspect of the project was beelg -- being

dealt with adequately. my ask on the project, if we agree on what it is we want this project to do, if we move from the no because, and yes if, anti-agree on a criteria for this project. my ask and they were vetted by a number of planners and architects and designers that i spoke with was to preview a view corridor on the west side of the project that is the walk up telegraph boulevard. that's where a lot of the views of trans-america a.n are. to adjust the scale of the project to recognize the residents down the hill to somehow try to formalize some sort of stewardship so the property owners can manage the stairs. they are in horrible shape. and to manage the impact of construction as much as

possible on the tourists and the neighbors. the reaction to the request was to pull the project several feet away from the west side. this accomplished a lot of good things. it gave us that view we wanted. it reduced the impact of the project on the cottages on the downhill residents and brought more light and air and the scale more effectively and improved the facade for the people coming up the stairs. the project sponsor also promised to become a stuart of the stairs. i have been here for two decades 2 decades and the biggest difficulty we've had in those areas, parks and recreation and dpw is overwhelmed. the east side of the park have all benefited immensely as are the neighborhoods and many

visitors. there are a lot of people concerned about the project. i understand the impact of the project. there are a lot of old event -- vend -- i think practically the mitigation sponsor will help. i know it's frequent 33 owner of these types of homes that have funded the libraries and parks and projects that i have promoted in the neighborhood. i'm looking forward to new patrons. thank you. >> is there additional public comment? okay, public comment is close. >> good afternoon, i'm harry hunt. i was once a tenant at bill bail ey's cottage back in the

60st. the lot has been a problem to me ever since buildings were des demolished. and people were against any forward movement or development and want everything to remain the same. this project has been very well discussed, the developers have met with the community and have really tried to mitigate the problems that they see, the west has been opened up. i think the project is an excellent project and i hope it goes through. >> thank you. is there additional public comment? okay. public comment is closed. commissioner antony? >> thank you, as a preface

to my remarks, i'm very familiar with the area. about every 2 weeks, my wife and i walk from my dental office go up russian hill across north beach back telegraph boulevard and retrace our walks. it's good exercise, but i'm very familiar with the view as you go along telegraph hill boulevard because that's where she wants to walk rather than going up the tour although we kwom back that way. i have a question about the construction plan. if someone could answer some questions. i was very impressed and i want to make sure about the plans. first of all i believe there

is a stop sign there on telegraph boulevard right at the point where the driveway is going to be, is that correct? >> yes, that's correct, an existing stop sign in both directions on either side of the crosswalks. >> we haven't heard about the cars potentially coming and going, there is a stop sign and it seems like that exit is well vishld visualized and the stop sign when they come out. the biggest construction is i understand you plan to build a platform on there before anything really starts getting done and from there you are going to have your equipment for demolition working off this platform and there won't be any trucks or cars parked on telegraph boulevard during the construction but on the

side itself, is that correct? >> that's correct. i'm here on behalf of the project sponsor. they do a number of logistically complicated projects around san francisco. we understood that we were dealing with a unique setting and limited access and volume of pedestrian traffic and steps. we can only get construction vehicles in and out of this sight in one place. what we have proposed doing here as the first phase of construction to actually build a cement slide on the side and that allows trucks to back in on telegraph hill blvd and loaded up to any excavation material and back down the

hill. they are never in a situation to make the loop down to tower down to the parking lot. materials can be delivered in the same way. we have flags at the top and bottom of the stairs as well as across the street at the stop sign and the stairs themselves will remain open throughout construction. we'll build a pedestrian tunnel that covers the stairs so people can walk 33 -- and continue to access the tower. the last piece of the construction plan is the staging of the concrete trucks which we are proposing to do actually further down the hill at the top of fill bert street where it dead ends where the

street goes from one way to two way and there is where the cars can park alongside of the stairs over the top of the pedestrian tunnel so there are never concrete trucks blocking telegraph hill boulevard. >> thank you, i think that touched upon the larger points of the construction plans that we discussed. one other question that came unduring the comments. my understanding that what was proposed for the cottage there was a question about the addition that had been added onto the cottage and all you were proposing to do is to take off the addition, but not, when you said to restore it to its original condition i'm not sure that is exactly what the proposal is. it's going to be renovated and fixed up to be a decent unit

and not restored to what it was when it first started, is that correct? >> that's correct. the proposal to build and we could not put in a second unit. the second unit that was there was accessed by way of a ship ladderment i just don't think there is anyway we could build it back even if we wanted to. >> one other thing while you are there, i understand this is coming up later in my comments that there is a curb cut there and i understand there is a question of this having been a cottage for phil bailey and parked a model t there at one time? >> yes. i have a letter from the oranges of -- owners of the

property and that cottage was built for a garage for someone's molt -- model t and later converted to a unit. >> thank you for those answers because that substantiates what i thought was the case. there are a lot of concerns about this project and i think they are doing a very good job and the modifications are what we called for. the project sponsor lives in the neighborhood and i'm happy that he's choosing to contribute and invest in the neighborhood rather than investing someplace else or out of the city. it's more of a challenge to do it here but it's something that we welcome because it's a site that needs to be improved. in fact it was amazing that there were some comments that there would be more crime and

transient if it's a built environment. i have never had a problem with more crime after. a vacancy invites more crime. the existing grade is very severe now. i'm quite familiar with that lot. so it's not like we are on a flat lot and trying to make this excavation that creates a deeper hole. we will be leveling it out to do the work but it is a grade. the other thing is the counter proposal, somebody proposed six unit 6-unit and i think they said without any parking which means realistically you are going to have six cars searching around for places to park because nobody is going to buy those units and not

have a car realistically. that is going to add to the traffic problems more than the three 3 units. there was a lot of support, there is 50 letters of support, and i like the things they did. i like the fact that there are separation in the three distinct units, there is a design that they can be a little bit more contrasting but they are unique units and single family homes which there is a scarcity in san francisco. i know there is construction on brotherhood after a 12 -year fight and they are building them now. i don't know of any other isolated homes. i think it's going to be four additional units. and i understand the access is when you couple the proposed opening with the existing space on the