Board of Supervisors affirms EIR for 3400 Laguna project, modifies historic and use approvals after appeals

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 17 affirmed the planning commission's certification of the final environmental impact report for the proposed 3400 Laguna Street project, then approved changes to how the project will be reviewed before building permits are issued.

The 1.6-acre Marina District site is the Heritage on the Marina property, anchored by a century-old Julia Morgan–designed mansion that was designated a city landmark in 2024. The project would demolish two non‑historic structures, build two new 40-foot buildings, add an underground parking garage and a new vehicle driveway, and increase residential care suites from 86 to 109 (a net gain of 23 units) while adding roughly 58,000–60,000 square feet of institutional space, according to planning department materials and participants at the hearing.

Why it matters: Neighbors and preservation advocates argued the addition would overwhelm the landmark, remove rent‑controlled housing from the neighborhood by folding adjacent units into the institution, and that the Historic Preservation Commission’s (HPC) conditional requirement that final massing and architectural details be reviewed by its Architectural Review Committee (ARC) was both necessary and lawful. The project sponsor and the planning department said the project complies with applicable standards, that the EIR meets CEQA requirements, and that the HPC condition should be clarified to reflect existing review processes and state timelines.

Most important actions and votes

- EIR (items 25–28): The board voted 11–0 to affirm the planning commission’s certification of the final EIR (motion to approve item 26; items 27–28 were tabled). The motion was made by Supervisor Sheryl (motion) and seconded by Supervisor Dorsey (second). The roll call showed 11 ayes: Sautter, Cheryl, Walton, Chan, Chen, Dorsey, Engadio, Fielder, Mahmood, Mandelmann, Melgar.

- Conditional Use Authorization (items 29–32): The board amended and then approved the planning commission’s conditional use authorization with modified language. The amendment removed a cross‑reference directing further review by the HPC’s ARC and instead directed planning department preservation staff to complete a final review and return to the planning commission as an informational item. The board approved the amendment and the amended motion by recorded votes of 10–1 (Supervisor Chan voting no).

- Certificate of Appropriateness (items 33–36): The board amended the HPC’s condition 1 to replace an open‑ended ARC referral with a requirement that “planning department preservation staff shall review and approve final project…