Historic Preservation Commission adopts SF Survey findings for Outer Sunset and Parkside

The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission unanimously adopted draft findings from the San Francisco Citywide Cultural Resources Survey (SF Survey) for the Outer Sunset and Parkside neighborhood commercial districts on May 21, 2025.

The finding package, presented by Planning Department staff member Alex Westhoff, covers evaluations for 838 properties in the two neighborhood commercial districts. Staff recommended adoption of the draft determinations so they can be used in future environmental review and design-review processes; the motion to adopt passed 7-0.

SF Survey is a multi-year Planning Department program to identify and document sites of cultural, historical and architectural importance across San Francisco. Westhoff told commissioners the survey's intent is both to inform regulatory processes such as CEQA and to make historic-resource evaluations available citywide so property owners and communities need not shoulder the upfront research costs. He 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 department has already adopted findings for over 12,000 properties.

Staff described the Outer Sunset and Parkside findings as preliminary, "living documents" that can be revised as additional community input or future historic-context statements are completed. In the packet Westhoff said the survey identified 23 properties as historic resources and 674 as not historic resources; he also said the slide listed an additional 150 properties but the transcript did not specify their final category. The findings package identifies two eligible historic districts: the Burt Stelling/Lawton Street eligible historic district (four contributing storefronts) and the H.C. Baumann Noriega Street eligible historic district (three contributing buildings). Westhoff said other potential historic districts may emerge once the Chinese American historic context statement is finished.

Members of the public and neighborhood groups pressed the commission for more outreach before adoption. Eileen Bokin of SPEAK (Sunset Parkside Education and Action Committee) said SPEAK and many merchants only learned of the survey this month and urged the commission to continue the item until the department's liaison returns. Bokin listed merchant groups that she said were unaware of the survey and said merchants recall past losses of neighborhood commercial districts.

Planning staff replied that outreach included community partners and multiple events. Westhoff outlined partnerships with the Sunset Chinese Cultural District, Sunset Mercantile, Ortega branch of the San Francisco Public Library, the Chinese Historical Society of America, WaMei, the United Irish Cultural Center and the Western Neighborhoods Project, and said the department hosted five public events and one focus group, with about 316 total event participants. He said the department notifies property owners and occupants and maintains a community-input dashboard used to aggregate and track feedback. Commissioners asked staff to follow up specifically with the merchant associations noted by SPEAK; staff agreed to do so.

Commissioners discussed the connection between SF Survey outcomes and the city's housing programs. Westhoff said the survey itself is independent of the Housing Element process but that resource determinations inform CEQA reviews and therefore can affect future project potential. Multiple commissioners emphasized the benefit of the survey being a living document and asked staff to bring future updates to the commission as additional context statements are adopted.

Motion and vote: A motion to adopt the SF Survey findings for the Outer Sunset and Parkside neighborhood commercial districts was made and seconded (mover and seconder not specified in the record). The motion passed unanimously, recorded 7-0.