Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Laurel Heights/3333 California project continued after neighbors raise tree and scale concerns; tentative‑map appeal left open
Summary
The board continued multiple hearings on the proposed mixed‑use project at 3333 California Street to Nov. 12 after developers and community members agreed to continue; neighbors criticized proposed tree removal, added commercial space and loss of neighborhood character and presented a community‑preferred alternative.
The Board of Supervisors voted to continue the public hearings and associated motions for the proposed mixed‑use development at 3333 California Street to the November 12 meeting, after residents and advocates pressed supervisors about tree removal, neighborhood scale and the size of the project's commercial component.
The project, which includes 675 residential units and 64,000 square feet of commercial space as described in the agenda briefing, was the subject of a multi‑part special order (items 31–42) covering certification of an environmental impact report, appeals of a conditional use authorization and a tentative map for a 15‑lot vertical subdivision. At Tuesday’s meeting, the parties on the record asked the board to continue the items to Nov. 12; supervisors voted 10–0 to continue the hearings.
Multiple members of the public spoke during the reopened public comment period and urged the board to require the developer to preserve trees and reduce the scale of the retail/commercial footprint. Chrysanthe (spelled Chrysanthe/Grisanti in the record) Desby, who said she lives three blocks from the site, told the board the developer’s plans would “bulldoze the hill, remove the trees, extend in a concrete walkway, cram in two towers and other buildings” and likened the project to a changed vision similar to Los Angeles development.
Neighbor Kathy Peck and other residents presented a community variant they said would produce housing (including senior and affordable units) with less commercial space and preserve the site’s mature trees and character. Peck said the community alternate would provide housing faster than the developer’s timeline and would not require removal of “200 plus magnificent trees,” and she cited canopy metrics for the neighborhood in arguing for preservation.
Deputy City Attorney John Givner advised the board that, because of statutory deadlines tied to the tentative‑map appeal, the board should continue the tentative‑map items as an open hearing so public comment can continue at the next meeting; the board followed that advice and continued items 39–42 as an open hearing.
The board will hear the matters again on Nov. 12. No final approvals were taken at Tuesday’s meeting.
