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Board sends Los Patos underpass removal back for further design, urges landscape and fence changes
Summary
The board continued concept review for the Los Patos underpass removal, asking staff and the applicant to reconsider fence placement, landscape treatment, and the form of any interpretive memorial once the historic structure is removed.
The Architectural Board of Review placed the Los Patos underpass removal project on indefinite continuance and provided several design and policy comments intended for the applicant, staff and the Historic Landmarks Commission.
City engineering staff described the proposal as removal of the Union Pacific Railroad‑owned Los Patos underpass — including sandstone abutments and steel girders — followed by placement of engineered fill and new track ballast so the railroad runs on fill rather than on a bridge. The project team said the removal is linked to broader Highway 101 improvements (HOV widening) and a planned Union Pacific bridge replacement; temporary “shoofly” tracks will be built north of the existing alignment to maintain rail operations during construction.
Staff noted the removal has already been the subject of review by the Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC) and will require an environmental impact report certification and HLC demolition findings. The HLC recommended mitigation measures in the draft EIR that include reuse of sandstone and steel if Union Pacific permits and a commemorative interpretive display; final language and materials will return to HLC for review.
At the ABR meeting, board members raised several concerns: relocating or minimizing the proposed chain‑link fencing and rolling gate (some members worried the fence could attract illicit activity or make the site appear hidden); considering planting and landscape treatment that would connect the site to the adjacent Andrew Clark Bird Refuge and reduce a “dead‑end” visual condition; and rethinking the scale and form of any commemorative display so it does not appear to memorialize a structure the city does not own or for which it may need to purchase material from Union Pacific.
Board members also asked staff to coordinate with Caltrans on how the former off‑ramp and approach areas will be treated, and asked designers to show shoofly track locations and construction staging in future materials. The board recommended relocating the fence to the railroad right‑of‑way line where feasible, simplifying gate design (swing gate rather than rolling gate), and elaborating a more sophisticated landscape termination for the end of Los Patos Way.
The board voted unanimously to continue the project indefinitely so the applicant and staff can return with revised schematics that address fence location, landscape design, memorial design alternatives and coordination with the related Highway 101/Caltrans work. The meeting record notes the project will return to HLC for demolition findings and to the Planning Commission for certification of the final EIR before ABR reviews it again for project design approval and final approval.
