San Francisco HPC adopts SF Survey findings for Outer Sunset and Parkside commercial districts

The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on May 21 adopted the San Francisco citywide cultural resources survey findings for the Outer Sunset and Parkside neighborhood commercial districts, voting 7-0 to accept staff recommendations.

The adoption covers 838 properties surveyed in the two neighborhood commercial districts. According to Planning Department staff, staff found 23 historic resources, determined 674 properties were not historic resources, deferred evaluation for 150 properties that were not age eligible or not visible from the public right of way, and labeled 26 properties as pending further evaluation tied to historic context statements still in progress or planned.

Alex Westhoff, planning department staff, summarized the SF Survey program and the department's outreach: "The San Francisco citywide cultural resources Survey, SF survey for short, is a collaborative multi year program supported by the San Francisco Planning Department." He told commissioners the program aims to identify cultural, historical and architectural resources and to streamline historic-resource evaluation for regulatory processes including CEQA and building permits.

Westhoff said the department has adopted 15 historic context statements, has 25 in progress and 24 planned, has completed field work on more than 3,500 properties and that the Historic Preservation Commission has adopted findings for more than 12,000 properties. He said community engagement for the Outer Sunset and Parkside work included five public events, neighborhood outreach and partnerships with the Sunset Chinese Cultural District, Sunset Mercantile, the Ortega branch of the San Francisco Public Library, the Chinese Historical Society of America and other local groups.

Eileen Bokin of SPEAK (Sunset Parkside Education and Action Committee) told the commission the merchant associations that would be most affected said they had not learned about the survey until this month and urged the commission to continue the item until the department's liaison returns. "The merchants who would be most impacted by this survey were unaware of it," Bokin said.

Westhoff and other staff responded that the survey is a living document that can be revised as additional information and historic context statements become available. Westhoff said the department sends 20-day notifications to property owners and occupants and that staff will follow up with merchant groups that reported they were not notified.

Commissioners asked about the relationship between the survey and the city's housing element. Westhoff said the survey is conducted independently but noted its CEQA findings can affect what can be done with particular properties in the future and therefore can inform housing potential. Commissioners also pressed staff on outreach and documentation, with staff saying field workers conduct neighborhood chats, tabling and open houses, and that staff maintain a community input dashboard used to aggregate community information.

The commission's vote was recorded as Aye from Commissioner Barone, Commissioner Bridal, Commissioner Vergara, Commissioner Wright, Commissioner Foley, Vice President Nagas Warren and Commission President Matsuda. The motion to adopt passed unanimously, 7-0.

The adopted packet and the underlying data and community input are available on SF Cultural Heritage, and Westhoff said the department intends to return to the commission as additional context statements are completed so the findings can be updated.

Technical and regulatory context: the department noted that adopted findings are used for CEQA historic-resource determinations, may identify properties as A- or C-rated for design-review thresholds under Article 10 of the Planning Code, and make properties eligible for incentives, local landmarking and application of the California Historic Building Code.