Neighbors appeal Sacramento Street project’s CEQA exemption and conditional‑use approval; board continues cases to Feb. 5

San Francisco supervisors on Jan. 29 heard hours of testimony from neighbors, business owners and a concentrated community of psychotherapists who urged the board to reject the planning department’s Class 32 categorical exemption and to overturn a planning commission conditional‑use authorization for a proposed four‑story project at 3637–3657 Sacramento Street.

What the project proposes: Demolish three existing buildings and build a 40‑foot‑tall, four‑story building with about 6,500 square feet of ground‑floor retail, roughly 10,000 square feet of second‑floor medical/office space and 18 residential units on the third and fourth floors. The sponsor also sought conditional‑use approvals for (1) a development lot size greater than 5,000 square feet, (2) a nonresidential use larger than 2,500 square feet, and (3) non‑accessory parking.

Why the neighborhood appealed: Appellants said the project’s scale was out of context for the mid‑block Sacramento Street commercial district and argued the planning department incorrectly applied the CEQA “Class 32” infill exemption. Neighbors and a large coalition of local therapists told the board…