Planning, Preservation Commissions approve EIR and send Heritage on the Marina design back to ARC for final massing

The San Francisco Planning Commission certified the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the Heritage on the Marina redevelopment at 3400 Laguna Street on April 17 and adopted CEQA findings, while the Historic Preservation Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness subject to further design refinements by the Architecture Review Committee (ARC).

The Heritage on the Marina — the Julia Morgan–designed building owned by the San Francisco Ladies Protection and Relief Society — seeks to demolish two non‑contributing buildings on the property, add two new buildings and a below‑grade garage, renovate the landmarked Julia Morgan and Perry buildings, and expand the facility’s resident capacity to about 109 units. Planning staff recommended certification of the final EIR and adoption of CEQA findings; staff said all identified impacts can be mitigated to less‑than‑significant levels.

Why it matters: the project would retain the site’s institutional use as a residential care facility while adding capacity intended to stabilize the nonprofit operator’s finances. Opponents say the proposed massing and reorientation will visually overwhelm the Julia Morgan building and erode the site’s historic open space; supporters — including residents and the project sponsor — argue expansion is necessary to preserve the organization and continue care for seniors in the Marina.

Planning staff and EIR findings Megan Kalpin, environmental review coordinator for the Planning Department, told commissioners the draft EIR was published Aug. 28, 2024, and that the department received 25 commenters during the draft comment period. Kalpin said the city published responses to comments on April 3, 2025, and that the draft and response documents together constitute the final EIR. She said: “Implementation of the project would not result in any significant unavoidable impacts as all impacts could be mitigated to less than significant.” (Megan Kalpin, Environmental Planning Division, Planning Department.)

The planning staff noted the project site is approximately 68,000 square feet with roughly 83,200 gross square feet of existing building area…