Supervisors affirm categorical exemption for 26 Hodges addition despite neighbor cliff-stability concerns

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on May 19 unanimously upheld the Planning Departmentdetermination that a proposed small addition at 26 Hodges Alley is categorically exempt from CEQA, denying an appeal by adjacent neighbors who said the property sits on a near-vertical unstable slope and that the planned work requires fuller environmental review.

Appellant Melody Marr told the board the cliff behind 26 Hodges, 30 Hodges and several Vallejo Street addresses is unstable and has produced rockfalls and notices of violation in prior years. Marr said the four neighboring properties share the same slope and that remediation requires a coordinated geotechnical approach. "There is a continuing rock-slide/rockfall hazard with a high risk," she told the board, citing geotechnical reports and notices of violation.

Planning staff responded that the project is a modest vertical addition (about a 407-square-foot third-floor addition and a small second-floor side addition, as described in the planning record) that was reviewed by the Planning Commission, which approved the design unanimously after modifications. Staff said the project included supplemental geotechnical reports and that DBI will conduct a detailed permit review and require specific geotechnical mitigation, monitoring and construction controls as part of the building permit process.

Project counsel and sponsor representatives said the owner of 26 Hodges has proposed to undertake slope-stabilization work, has engaged geotechnical and specialty contractors, and is prepared to pay for slope repairs on adjacent properties as needed; counsel said slope work has been precluded only by the pending CEQA appeal.

Supervisor Julie Christensen moved to affirm the Planning Departmentcategorical-exemption determination and table related items; Supervisor Farrell seconded. The roll call was unanimous.

The boardaction affirms the Planning Departmentrecord that a Class 1/2 categorical exemption applies to the modest addition, while leaving the technical work on slope stabilization to DBI and the project's geotechnical specialists. Planning staff told the board that DBI will require monitoring and site-specific reports and that the Slope Protection Act review and the department's structural-advisory process apply within the mapped area.

Outcome: supervisors unanimously affirmed the Planning Departmentcategorical exemption for the 26 Hodges project (item 23).