of hoyt tower and not what's designed now which i think doesn't work in that location from an esthetic point of view, move it back, let the tourists have their view over those houseses and the houses will still have great views of telegraph hill and put surface level parking to avoid digging down 35 feet and possibly ruining the i'd and the people all around their properties and being damaged and lawsuits galore against the city. that's my positive and constructive and love to meet with the developers and have them put together something like that with surface level parking [inaudible]. >> thank you very much. next speaker. good afternoon, peter alexander, share enough. i came in on the bus today and i what sitting next to a black

gentleman and we had a nice conversation. turns out he's a long-term engineer and architect for the city. and he was telling me a lot of really cool things that he's done and the projects he's been involved in and the city is a beautiful place. oh, and before i forget i'd like to invite everybody here november 27th, i think that's thattion, to alcatraz for a sunrise sail. people line up at 4 o'clock in the morning. usually people aren't doing a whole lot at 4 o'clock in the morning so come on down. this gentleman told me a rot of wonderful things. i thought it was great they had such architects and concerns. but i don't understand why they would not be an environmental review. what would be the reason as to why not? and i'm listening to these people complaining here and talking and i'm reminded of an old statement those who seek to

save their lives, and i think that includes their comfort zones shall lose them. this is the third meeting i've been to today. i saw 300 native americans and supporters down the street on marking deal with the army corps of engineers and worker. i explained to them about the sunshine ordinance, under constitutional law there wouldn't be a need for a sunshine ordinance. i just want to remind the people around me i letteredv in junior high school we are the government and you're dressing government certificate haven't and when you're addressing government servants it's not your position to beg and ask, it's to take them to task. that's the general day task prophecy that say sets them free. what else are we slaves to bankers and lawyers? >> thank you very much. thank you. next speaker.

good afternoon, board of supervisors, president chiu, my name is michael barrett. i'm a 45-year veteran of san francisco and i've been very happy to work with and volunteer with many prom elks both on telegraph hill and nob hill. ~ projects i just want to say, supervisors, approve the project that's been put through to you. too many have been ignored and e-i-rs should be found, reject the conditional use authorization. refer to the [speaker not understood] that has already been produced. there's other impact on views,

transportation and especially concerning level 39 coit tower which is [speaker not understood] for the community. and as far as that three-unit condominium, i want to refer to the fact that the taj ma hal has already been accomplished. it's in india. we don't need though ridiculous huge operationses on top of the proud telegraph hill. thank you very much. >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon, supervisors. my name is andreas katz and i lived on telegraph beach hill over 45 equator. i grew up here and i still reside on the west side of telegraph hill with my wife and my son. i'm here today to strongly urge you to grant the appeal of the project at 115 telegraph hill boulevard.

the project needs to adequately consider the impacts on the hill -- on the hill rock from the excavation over a 3500 square foot garage that will be located on a steep grade. also the transportation impacts on traffic to coit tower as well the only root for 39 coyt bus to reach the tower a very important tourist attraction need to be considered. and finally, the project will impact views back to the city of san francisco from coyt tower which is also a public park enjoyed by park tourists and many locals alike as well as from the steps used to access coyt tower. in summary i want to say the impact of this tower is a huge quality of life issue for all of us who wachtel graph hill daily and call this neighborhood our home. please grant the appeal. >> next speaker.

hello, board of supervisors. my name is john and i'm glad that this came up today because it's a bit concerning. as far as granting that appeal, it has to go forward. the reason why is because they tore down the cathedral in district 5. people were complaining about the same thing that people are coming up to this mic for. now it's interesting. which way is the dice going to fall? people of color is complaining about all the dust, all the trucks taking up the street. now we have people in here from the cathedral. now it's district 5 with the appeal. which way is this dice going to fall? my name is howard wong, i'm

a native of telegraph hill, property owner, also founder of planning park project which where he created the initial concept designs for the south terrace and the south stairway next to coyt tower. ~ i i what part of the leadership team telegraph hill dweller and private public partnership that led to the construction in 2001. much later during the design of the project of the south terrace and stairways, i found drawings of the original coyt tower working drawings by arthur brown junior [speaker not understood] and discovered in 1931 his working drawings included a south terrace and south stairway to coyt tower. in other words, the view corridors of that southern part of the hill were always the

intention of the design of the coyt tower and surrounding site and that is also consistent with the citizens who donated that pioneer park in 1865 or thereabouts, or 1875 or the 1905 burnham plan that expanded the park and its views. the coyt tower a mentioned with the original south stairway and terrace, and it's been consistent with every general plan iteration where telegraph hill and its surroundings have been reinforced in terms of neighborhood character, scale, and view corridors. if you look at the general plan evolution from very early on, each iteration of the general plan has successively enforced the public view corridors of

not only the northern part, but the southern part. >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon. my name is patricia sheehen, i, too, live on telegraph hill, not far, but within 200 feet of the subject project. i believe that johnny or anyone should be able to develop that property. my objection to what has been submitted supports categorically what you've heard not only from the appellant's lawyer, but each one of these witnesses. this is a very magnificent spot. i see tourists every day

walking up and down the filbert steps. i see the confusion in tourists today now without any kind of construction other than some improvements that are going on at a building that is adjacent to the project. tourists are confused. there is a big, big, big difference between trying to get up the filbert -- excuse me, get up the pioneer park steps. people are deeply concerned about safety and right flu. anyone who comes up there who witnesses it be a part of it. the massing of the buildings to me is enormous. please, please request this appellant and vote for an appeal to provide for the

e-i-r. thank you. >> thank you. let me ask if there are any other members of the public that wish to speak in support of the appellant. please line up otherwise [speaker not understood] is the last speaker for the appellants. good afternoon, president chiu, supervisors. my name is nancy shanahan, i'm honored to be an advocate for our city's northeast corridor telegraph hill where despite all odds we managed to some extent to stem the tide of displacement and speculation that's tearing apart the social and physical fabric of our neighborhood across the city. i join with my neighbor in urging you to accept our appeal and to require an environmental review and disapprove the conditional use authorization. i've lived close to the project site for the past 27 years. all of them on filbert street. the first 14 years [speaker not understood] west of the project site near grant avenue, and the last 13 steers two blocked east of the project site, i remember

when the project site was [speaker not understood] with 11 units are housing for up to 20 people including labor activists, bill bailey. it was dense housing like the rest of north beach and telegraph hill and did not block [speaker not understood]. housing that did not require a 33-foot-deep shaft for an almost 30,000 square foot parking garage for three giant condominiums. i also remember when these buildings were demolished and extraordinary views of chinatown, nob hill, from one of the greatest pedestrian sidewalks in the city. now i share that with thousands of visitors and other residents that these views will be sacrificed to a very few wealthy people able to afford these multi-million dollar condos, public views that are protected by your -- the city's plans, by the general plan, by

its priority planning policies and by the adopted residential design guidelines. we would support a development that would preserve some significant pedestrian views from the steps [speaker not understood], [inaudible]. >> thank you very much. next speaker. greetings, supervisors, president chiu. my name is judy irving. i'm a free-lance documentary film maker and i live on the greenwich steps. i've lived there for 13 years. my office and editing room are on the other side of telegraph hill on stockton street between filbert and greenwich. so, i've been walking over this hill for 13 years. that's my commute.

every single day, right at the top of the filbert steps on the west side, i see tourists massing, some of them are confused, some of them are just awed by the view of the downtown and some are trying to figure out how to get across the street. there's also a bus stop there and lots of people taking pictures. there's just a lot of congestion. and i feel that the planning department or the planning commission whoever approved this project didn't really take into account pedestrian safety when they approved a driveway right exactly at that spot where people congregate. so, please grant the appeal. require an environmental impact statement. deny the categorical exemption. and also, finally, i would add

please add a little weight to those of us who come down here who are free-lancers who have to pay the bus fare and who aren't being paid by the developer to be here. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. ms. crowley. good afternoon, president chiu, supervisors. i've been a 53-year resident of telegraph hill, been an active telegraph hill dweller for 48 of those year, four terms as president. everything everyone has talked about today is part of my life and my history. yes, i worked with the planner park committee. i worked with howard long, [speaker not understood]. they did the design, and we did fund-raising for -- it was a

seven-year project. we had to lose a million dollars and lose another million because the costs kept going up. but pioneer park at the rear of coyt tower is our project. it exists because of us. it's a public-private partnership. the city solution to the erosion of the park was literally falling down. we still put a chain link fence around it. we said, wait a minute, this is icon i can, we have to take care of it, so, we did. we also did studies on traffic, on the coyt tower bus, tourism traffic and we worked with the city to re-route the coyt tower bus so it would stop at fisherman's wharf and take people on the bus instead of in cars. i think we've been a very cooperative group as far as enhancing that part of the hill. the driveway that would come from the proposed project is

just 40 feet maybe from where there are tiles on filbert steps they have my granddaughter's names on the steps. so, i have a great -- what shall i say? great interest in keeping that project safe. i have a great interest in keeping it beautiful and letting everyone enjoy the view. i am concerned about safety and [speaker not understood]. please, plea uphold our appeal. thank you. >> let me ask if there are any other members of the public who wish to speak on [speaker not understood]? okay. at this time why don't we hear from the planning department with the presentation as to their analysis. >> thank you, president chow, honorable members of the board. i'm annemarie rogers, senior planner for the planning department.

i'm joined by sarah jones, jessica range, planner for the project, liz, the project planner and [speaker not understood] senior preservation planner. as you have heard, there are two appeals before you today. the conditional use authorization and the categorical exemption. we sent this board a memo responding the 10th and a memo dated november 17th responding to the appellant's supplement letter. additional materials have been submitted to the board [speaker not understood]. so, the decisions before you today are twofold. let me first tell you a bit about the property. if i could have sfgov-tv turn on the projector. this is the south side of telegraph hill. ahx you heard, between montgomery and kearny streets at park tower, what what once the filbert street from the

froth of the lot descending west to kearny street. the property is indeed steeply sloped. it is zoned rh 3, residential house for three units. and the lot currently contains a one story, 844 square foot single-family house which we'll call the cottage. the history of the lot is part of the story. in 1993 there were three lots in in this location that were merged with this lot and street frontage. there were four buildings, four of the five buildings were determined to be unsound and were demolished in 197 ~. at that time the property had been approved for a new building much larger than the one before you today containing six units and 7 parking spaces, but that was not built. the lot has been vacant with the exception of the small uninhabited cottage since 1997. i've got one more picture on

the overhead. thank you, sfgov. the commission approved a new project, three-unit building with three parking spaces and a renovation of the existing cottage. part of the [speaker not understood] includes removing a small addition approved in '95, but which was never completed in final inspections. the new three-unit building will appear as three separate single-family three-story dwellings with one garage door to accommodate the parking for all three units. there will be a three-fold separation between each of the units but will visually provide access as you go down the street to downtown. that's the project that is before the board. now let's dive into the specific responses of the appellants concerns. first jessica range will describe the determination and liz wady will go over the conditional use authorization. >> thank you, annemarie. i will address the ceqa appeal. 9 ceqa guidelines provide a

list of classes and projects that determine to be exempt from environmental review because they would not have a significant impact on the environmental. the determination whether it would qualify for exemption is based on a two-step process. the first is to determine whether the project meets the requirements of the exemption ~. [speaker not understood] an existing structure under the class 1 exemption and the project includes exemption of three new dwelling units exempt under the class 3 exemptionsv the second consideration is determining whether there are any unusual circumstances at the site that present a reasonable possibility of a significant effect on the environment. significant effect must be supported by substantial evidence. the department ha determined that there are no unusual circumstances at the site and that the project is appropriately exempt from environmental review. the project's issue could be four main points. first it there are unusual circumstances at the site that

could result in pedestrian safety impacts. the appellant claims that the site is sensitive because it is in route to coyt tower, a destination for many pedestrians who would need to cross the project's driveway resulting in hazard. in san francisco it is commonplace for roadwaysand sidewalks to be heavily traveled whether by tourists or commuters. all sidewalks must cross a driveway. so, therefore, there is nothing unusual about a driveway crossing a pedestrian path of travel. specifically in this location before the -- where the driveway is pro poed, there is both a stop sign and a crosswalk ensuring that vehicles -- ensuring the driveway will be traveling at slow speeds. this is there is no [speaker not understood] for pedestrian safety impacts. the second concern is that the project could affect slope stability.

the appellant you've heard from today, geotechnical engineer, mr. carp, ha provided information saying that in his opinion the project is likely to result in significant environmental effects. so, i'll begin with noting geotechnical report was prepared for the project done with the project, receivable from a geotechnical expand point and included specific recommendation. these recommendations are then taken into account during the department of building inspection or dbi's permit brie view process. dbi reviewed the report [speaker not understood] in compliance with the building code. dbi may require additional reports, surveys and monitoring to ensure shell stability. the site is also subject to slope protection act of 2008 which created more heightened review procedures in this area. specifically, it established a

structural advisory committee to review permitted applications and should that committee determine that the project could result in unsafe conditions that cannot be addressed to their satisfaction, the building official must deny the building permit. while it is important to note these are not -- this is not a standard approach as mentioned by the appellant, but this is existing regulation. so, with implementation of the geo tech report, we [speaker not understood] full protection act there is [speaker not understood] for geotechnical effects. the project could step rate the stone wall fen [speaker not understood] claiming the wall is historic. also the appellant claims the project could affect the historic contents of hyatt park. staff is with us today and they

will determine there what no impact to historic resource. the historic resource under ceqa, most importantly the project does not propose any change to that stone wall. and then with regards to esthetic impact or views in general, the project meets the criteria of the residential infill development project. so, instead of impact [speaker not understood]. i would like to note that with regards to the effect on the hiss ar, the appellant has provided some visual renderings to democrat on extra that coyt tower would continue to be a visual landmark in part because it's protected by pioneer park which is elevated around the

[speaker not understood]. these are not mitigation measures. a construction plan is being developed, again, in compliance with existing regulatory requirement and even without thea measures, the department would not find the construction of this project to be significant impact under ceqa. construction noise impacts are addressed by the police code and construction [speaker not understood]. so, there wouldn't be anything significant in bags or to the school. i will note inconsistencies are not in and of themselves an impact under ceqa. rather we look at case to he see whether there would be any physical environment at effect. finally before i conclude, i

would like to acknowledge the testimony today. the testimony provided has not provided any information that would change our conclusion. the class 1 and 3 exemption and there are no unusual circumstances at the site that would present reasonable that would [speaker not understood]. thank you. good afternoon, president chiu and members of the board. i'm elizabeth wady, assistant director of planning. [speaker not understood] planning code section 303. [speaker not understood], this is a modest amount for the size of the lot which would allow up to 7 units through the approval of a conditional use. section 303 criteria are outlined in your me have owe from november 10th. they ensure any project subject to a conditional use be found necessary and compatible with the neighborhood and the

community and not be detrimental to of projects themselves can be consistent with the general plan. primary concerns [speaker not understood]. the commission found just that. the project is both necessary and desirable and compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. the commission found the project to be desirable because it provides high-quality well designed infill housing and a residentially zoned neighborhood. it provide contextual housing on a lot vacant 13 years. the current [speaker not understood] low density market rate housing, many with off-street parking that will relate to the topography of the hill. this is compatible with that pattern. the project meets with [speaker

not understood] section 101.1 of the planning code. with regard to the second concern, the planning commission found the project would conserve and protect existing housing and neighborhood character. it will renovate and restore the existing vacant cottage. the project will improve the dilapidated vacant lot with high quality residential development. the new building is compatible with the density, scale, and massing of surrounding properties. the sponsors are also commit today working with dpw and other relevant agencies for the landscaped area to the north of the sill bert street stairs. and the project will be setback to add landscaping and public value to the stairs. the residential units that will be added to the market as part of the project will not generate substantial commuter traffic but impede transit service or restore overhead parking. by providing three off-street parking spaceses, [speaker not understood]. lastly, the project will not adversely affect any public parks or open spaced. the project site is located

significantly below coyt tower and telegraph hill and not obstruct the public views within those spaces. the a [speaker not understood]. the scale of the proposed building is compatible with the height and depth of the surrounding buildings. the new building will be designed to appear from the street as three single family dwellings. each of the three -- this is consistent with the whiping, and scale of [speaker not understood] relative to the hill just as the general plan ask. each [speaker not understood]. further reducing the mass, the three previously proposed stair penthouses have been removed from the project. the building also respect thed made [speaker not understood]. the