i purchased the uphill property from 1269 lombard street. all three properties can be seen on the chart here, which you have looked at before. they were first put up for sale individually after having been under common ownership for many decades. that caused some of the problems will talk about. my wife and i met, were married, and lived in our home for years. until we moved a few blocks away to have more space to raise our family, we have been active managers, improving the property and maintaining it ever since, along with our sons, one of which is here. both of them would like the opportunity some time to live there. i am close friends with the people that bought 1269 lombard street in 1975. i understand their need to take the rabbit hutch of tiny rooms inside and turn it into a family living space, which they did. we were not in support of them moving it forward into the only common aspect of our hill, which is the mid-block open space. they realized the error of that themselves, and moved away shortly thereafter. those changes eliminate

this shows what lombard street looks like. other than one property, and every other house on that block is one-three units. much like the rest of the neighbors, i propose this project because of the sheer density. the rooftop structure i do not understand. it is a four-unit building. the developer which is to give every people -- every person access to the rooftop. this significantly increases the height of the overall building. i do not understand why it is that a structure needs to be built such that it would allow all four units within that building access to the rooftop. >> there are no more speaker cards. >> hello, commissioners. i lived four houses up from the proposed development. i was not going to say this. we would not be here on less the cottage was demolished. i spoke to the woman who lives here. her name is michelle. she had said, and she states in writing as part of the record, prior to the cottage being demolished, we had a severe letdown that lasted several days. upon looking, i sought that this was rushing out

lastly, the 1271 lombard building, owned by mr. costa, has nothing to do with this. it had its own approval after the 1998 commission approval. it did not contain conditions stating that my client's lot -- future residents had to pass through that lot. further, the building permit had to be final after approval of the permit. there was construction in accordance with the permit and an issuance by the planning department and the board and the building department of a certificate of final completion for that structure on 1271, without pathways cross and it from my client's -- crossing it from my client's property. president chiu: any questions to counsel? at this time, why don't we hear from members of the public? i have several speaker cards. frederick knapp, tina moylen, p.j. hanlen, and carol anne rodgers. first speaker. >> my name is tom burwell. i represent redwood mortgage. my brother and i and several others now run the small, private mortgage lender. the current owner of 1269 lombard street is in a limited partnership of which many of our investors are members.

it moves the penthouse and opens up the view for 1262 lombard street. that offer was rejected, and it is a good proposal. when 1262 went and applied for their roof deck, they faced much of the same opposition from the same neighbors as the project sponsor is facing now. finally, the comments about the holes in the roof -- i happened to be there one day, talking to commissioner deborah walker. she climbed up the stairs and booked for those holes in the roof and did not find them. president olague: thank you. is there additional public comment? anyone who has not spoken can speak for two minutes. >> i am a resident of san francisco. i am more like a fly on the wall. i do not live in the neighborhood, but i do walk through the area. i have to say that knowing -- looking at what you have projected here on screen, and having been in my own neighborhood, sometimes we have seen architectural designs that were going to be interested. someone is always going to be bruised somewhere along the way. it isal looking at this come up with my graphic knowledge and back

the case before you is located at 1268 lombard street. they want to construct four units on the subject lot. it is owned rh3. -- it zoned rh3. they want to construct a four- story building on a vacant lot. there are many neighbors opposed to the product. the russian hills neighbor group is opposed to the project. the penthouse and roof? would negatively impact adjacent neighbors. the units would be to -- too much density for the lot. they would also support the construction of a three-story home at the rear of the lot. an adjacent neighborhood directly appeal from the project is also opposed and has provided opposition. at this time, the department recommends approval of the conditional use with conditions. the project is necessary and desirable as the project has the density with the neighborhood. the project is of a scale and mass that is compatible with other construction in the neighborhood. the new building would be considered an important landfill project. this is not found to significantly impact trafficke access or in pugh in the

he stated that 1271 lombard had been moved closer to the street. in fact, it was the garage, which was allowed to be inserted underneath it, that comes to the front property line. but that decision letter is missing and nobody can find it, so i guess we can't talk about that today. why did i have to ask four times for that document? why isn't planning looking for that document? look at the ftes over there. i am pro bono for 12 years. my daughters are in college. they were not even in school when this began. this is a historic district with an 1876 building. supervisor campos: thank you. president chiu: any additional questions to any of the parties? this hearing has been held and closed. items 14 through 16 are now in the hands of the board. discussion? supervisor farrell: thank you to everyone for coming today, in particular the appellant, mr. butler, the project sponsor, and the planning department. thank you for all your hard work on this project. i have to say i have been impressed by the enthusiasm on both sides of this issue. colleagues, give

. >> it is a rehearing request for the property at 1269 lombard street. we have a letter from joseph butler requesting a rehearing. on december 15, the board voted to uphold the granting of the front step back and a rear yard variances. the variants holder is tom burwell. >> president goh, my name is joseph butler. i am requesting a rehearing. subsequent to the hearing on december 15, 2010, which funded -- bound a recorded document on the adjacent parcel was not recorded against both properties. it was signed by both former project sponsors, both of whom borrowed money to do the project from the variance holder. if you grant this variance and do not give a rehearing, it will preclude a condition of approval but was assigned at by the san francisco planning department in 1998. i read to you from exhibit 4 of my brief. the parties acknowledge the overlapping would stare and landing which is the subject of this agreement and on the land of pro 69 lombard street was originally constructed to serve the upper storey and was recommended under conditions set by t

police say colleen waterman's body was found at one of the many motels on lombard street. it was discovered yesterday afternoon. it was three days after the couple was reported missing from riverside county. nbc bay area's maryann favro is live outside the police department to tell us where the investigation standing. >> reporter: tom, i just got an update from police. while they stopped short of calling this homicide, they do say that the death of colleen waterman is suspicious and tonight the search for her husband is intensifying. the manager of the ra mad da limited motel on lombard street in san francisco tells us colleen and billy waterman checked in saturday. police say an employee found colleen waterman's body in her room yesterday afternoon. >> at this point we're waiting for the autopsy results to determine how this person died. >> reporter: police are not yet calling her death a homicide, but they're searching for her husband bill waterman. they live near indian wells east of palm springs. yesterday the deputies skofred the suv parked off highway 1 near devil's

the lombard street hotel room is sealed and homicide inspectors were on the scene. the body of 47-year-old colleen waterman of riverside county was found in the room yesterday by housekeeping staff. >> interviewing a couple of people. i have no comment at this time. thank you. >> reporter: billy and colleen waterman were reported missing on monday by their daughter. soon after the body was discovered, the couple's car was found parked on highway 1 at devil's slide. there was no trace of the husband. >> we are still looking for billy waterman as a person of interest as well as following up on other investigative leads. >> obviously when you find a dead body in a hotel room, a relatively young woman -- she is only 47 years old -- it's suspicious. and to be there alone again suspicious. so we would like it talk to mr. waterman. >> reporter: san mateo county sheriff's deputies flew alongside the cliff off highway 1 to search for waterman. investigators are convinced if he had jumped, his body would not have hit the water because the slope area is graduated and the water

in the meantime the body of a woman was found in san francisco in a motel room on lombard street. billy waterman is wanted for questioning in that case which right now is only being called a suspicious death. we don't know how that woman died. we don't know who she is. could she be colleen waterman? and will they continue to search for the couple here in this area of san mateo county today? a lot of questions. we'll be following this for you today. sydnie. >> anne makovec at devil's slide, thank you. >>> the attorney for barry bonds is back in court this morning. he will be asking a judge to prohibit secret recordings of a conversation that took place in 2003. it involves a business partner and a sports trainer who talked about steroids and needles. today's hearing comes one day after federal prosecutors dropped six charges against bonds in his perjury case. the former giant is accused of lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. that trial is supposed to start march 21. >>> special patrols in the east bay. christin ayers is in richmond where bus drivers

meantime, the body of a woman was found in san francisco in a motel room on lombard street.erman is wanted for questioning in that case, which right now is being called only a suspicious death. so who exactly woman found in the hotel room was and will they continue the search here in this area, a lot of questions remaining this morning. frank. >> okay, anne makovec, thank you. >>> gunmen have been shooting at buses in the east bay and now armed escorts are going to be trying those buses on a route in north richmond. christin ayers shows us the new and very unusual safety measure. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a.c. transit bus drivers fed up with violence in the north richmond area are actually refusing to drive one particular bus line without the assistance of those armed escorts. a sheriff's deputy tailed bus line 376 for the first time last night. the armed deputy will follow the bus line starting at 7:45 of night. a dramatic move after a string of violent attacks aboard a.c. transit buses in this area over the past two years. on wednesday a group of hooded men

this is a public hearing for a project located at 16 -- 1269 lombard street is exempt from the environmental review. item 14 is affirming the determination by the planning department. item 15 is reversing determination by the planning department. item 16 is a motion directing the clerk to prepare findings reversing exemption. >> there is an appeal by the planning commission that the project is categorically exempt from environmental review. for this hearing, we will determine the accuracy of the determination. beige book beewhaour course andf the american institute of architects. -- >> i am a member of the american institute of architects. i would like to present my reasons why the plane department. the developer loaned the money to buy these two properties. both buildings are from the 1870's. the building next door is in the back. i will pass this around so you can see the deal they want out of. a class 3 exemption for new construction applies here because this is two units and you are allowed three. there are no other unusual circumstances around the project which would suggest a reasonabl

conditions of approval which it is including restoring the side and therefore along with that permit. 1271 lombard st. is a historically source. we don't believe that this would render the building in eligible for the california restaurant and therefore would not change the status of the building in any way, shape, or form. in conclusion, the department cond

conditions of approval which it is including restoring the side and therefore along with that permit. 1271 lombard st. is a historically source. we don't believe that this would render the building in eligible for the california restaurant and therefore would not change the status of the building in any way, shape, or form. in conclusion, the department conducted an in-depth and thorough analysis and found that the building is not a historic resources. the project would not have an adverse impact to the district. the appellate has not provided any substantial evidence to refute the conclusions of the department. for reasons stated in this presentation, the ceqa determination finds the project is appropriately exempt from environmental review. the department recommends the board of hold the determination of exemption from environmental review and deny the ceqa determination. supervisor campos: through the chair, a quick question. any response to this argument that what we are dealing with is a dispute among experts, and therefore you bear on the side of having an environmental review? i do not know

at the van ness project would add dedicated bus lines to van ness avenue between mission and lombard street. it giving us his priority on the 2 mi. stretch. the san jose project is also included in the proposal. that money would help clear the way for the $2.3 billion bart extension which could begin construction in 2012. on this map you see were the extension will go. the bart station in fremont along the union pacific railroad of north san jose. christine conley, kron 4 news. >>jacqueline: were going to see plenty of rain, heavy rain tonight into tomorrow. will talk about a coming up in just a few minutes. >>jacqueline: cloudy skies, we've been seeing them through the day. the rain hasn't moved in but it is starting in the north bay. we see areas of more moderate rainfall near san rafael and santa rosa. the storm is finally starting to push down to the south. santa rosa, not seeing heavy rain in the city but just around. this will pale in comparison to what was the over night. on future cast, we are seeing the band of heavy rain pushing through the north bay. a p.m. widespread heav

. >> here we are at the base of telegraph hill on lombard street. this is owned by the city. behind you is a large piece of something exposed. you are looking at a large class that was xextricated in a quarry about hundred years ago. this is a secretive sandstones, shales, accumulated debris. essentially it ended up piled up here. the quarry activity was so intense and they used some much at dynamite that the kind of over blasted. 10 feet of the face was left shattered. you can see the fresh colors and a pile of debris which is precariously perched on the edge of a cliff up there. it is more fresh and more recent than the rest. it stands out because there's no vegetation. there is no weathering of material. those are the kinds of things you look for. >> there are many types of slides. there is the bedrock slides which we are looking at in is a combination of a block slide and where the material is just out of balance and is falling off. rainfall pushes from the ground water and out of the cliff. as you can see, the slides artistic one of many types of landslides or slope fail

colleagues, given that 1269 lombard street is in district two, i have spent a good deal of time reviewing the project, meeting with the planning department and project sponsor, to understand all the issues. what we have before us is a request to overturn the planning department ruling on the cadx. at this point, the project has been in front of the planning commission, the historic preservation commission, the board of appeals, and now the board of supervisors. these bodies have approved the permits and variances. for me, the historic planning commission having unanimously approved or stated this is not a historic resource -- ultimately, i have not found sufficient reason to overturn their findings, and specifically overturn the cadx. this project will ultimately have some detractors. i appreciate the comments and enthusiasm. it does have support from the vast majority of the people i've spoken with, especially the russian hill neighbors, which is an important neighborhood group. in particular, we will replace a large eyesore that has existed for quite some time now. if there are any othe

. >> the person was found on lombard avenue. the problem is no one seems to know where that address s none of the people at the hotel could confirm anything like that happened there. let's take you over to devil slide right now. that's where a search is getting underway any moment for the search of a man who is believed to be with the woman in that; death. they're looking for a man. the man is billy waterman, 51. he and his wife colleen were reported missing on monday. this all began on monday when people reported billy and colleen waterman missing. they came top -- to san francisco. less are doing an autopsy on the body found in the hotel. it may or may not be that of colleen waterman. they found the car just off devil slide and believe that belly waterman may be in the area. now, of course, they conducted a search off devil slide yesterday. it started around 6 and went until 9:30. if mr. waterman fell or is trying to escape, he could still be in the area. they don't believe he survived the fall or he is not dead. they believe

that is for a 1258 lombard street. >> commissioners sugaya has to make a comment. >> good evening, president and members. >> i think i need to reveal contacts that i have had. the original historic building was demolished. the whole episode took place following the demolition, i do not know how many weeks later, we received a telephone call and a request that we examine the salvaged pieces of the building. they are out that a site. i personally went out and took a look to put together a proposal for architectural services. subsequently, one of the architects in the office went out and took a second look at the salvage pieces. this is mainly the front part of the building. subsequent to

police say colleen waterman's body was found in the motel on lombard street in the city's marina district yesterday afternoon. it was three days after the couple was reported missing from riverside county. nbc's marianne favro now joining us outside the san francisco police department. and mary ann, where exactly do we stand as of right now? >> reporter: raj, police are calling this a suspicious death, and tonight they need your help to find the victim's husband. an employee here at the ramada limited motel on lombard street found the body of 47-year-old colleen waterman yesterday afternoon. >> at this point we're calling it a suspicious death only because the circumstances surrounding the discovery and the whole incident as far as a missing person goes. until the medical examiner rules it a homicide, we're not going to call it a homicide. >> reporter: police are now searching for colleen's husband, billy waterman, calling him a person of interest. the watermans live east of palm springs. colleen's daughter reported the couple missing on monday. san mateo county sheriff's deputies discove

the van ness project would add dedicated bus lines to van ness avenue between mission and lombard street. that money would help clear the way for the $2.3 billion bart extension which could begin construction in 2012. on this map, you can see where the extension will go. the bart station in fremont along the union pacific railroad in north san jose. news. today the central subway issue came up before the transportation authority board. people on both sides spoke out. >> we feel that much of state and local money, which is already currently allocated locally can be better served to transform the system city-wide rather than 1.7 mi. of the system. >> 82 percent of households in chinatown don't own cars. the transit to get to their doctors appointments, work, see their family, do groceries. they need reliable on-time efficient transit. >>pam: the board approved the project which was one more fertile but it had to overcome. in another sign of the times. newsweek is out with a list of the top 10 u.s. cities that it says are dying cities. at the top of the list new arlen's which lost nearly 27

with cup success and they finally broke the deadlock in the fourteenth minute of extra time to frank lombard only for leighton baines to level five minutes later so it went to penalties and captain phil neville calmly and that is the winner for the toughies one that has championship side reading in the fifth round on chuse day i should ask if it was chelsea's seventh in a row elsewhere they were two premier league versus thirty two year tony is in the fifth round no surprises his batting and beat sheffield wednesday three nil and stoke also with three us leaders brighton but in the late game can only call it down are looking to create one of the biggest ever upsets as they have gone to lunch and wanted to make david versus goliath match up and it's much united who are leading one of the moments. even display now and league leaders bosler you know we're going to sunday's match with athletic bilbao aiming to end a two game winless run the council on giants hosts this place bill bad looking for all three points after seeing their lead over arch rivals well madrid sixty five points at the top of

this week the full board of supervisors heard an appeal for 1269 lombard street. we had a categorical exemption for this property and the property involves demolition of an existing single-family house and construction of two new single family residential buildings at the front and rear of the property. the department has determined that although the subject building is within an area potentially eligible for listing on the california register as an historic district, the building does not retain significant historic integrity to convey the association with the district. therefore, it does not contribute to the historic significance of the district and could not be considered a historic resource. the new construction would be compatible with the larger and smaller districts and preserving the fuelling of the resources. the board listened to all parties and voted to uphold the department's legislation. an ordinance introduced by supervisor ferrell at prosidyo avenue and to amend the height map from 40 to 55 field fooet and reflect the boundaries of the special use