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Board affirms planning department's categorical exemption for 953 Treat Avenue after contested hearing
Summary
After a two-hour public hearing with expert witnesses on both sides, the Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 to uphold the Planning Department's finding that demolition and new construction at 953 Treat Avenue are categorically exempt from further CEQA review.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on April 25 voted 7-4 to affirm the Planning Department's categorical exemption (CE) for a proposed project at 953 Treat Avenue, allowing the demolition of a one-story 1887 cottage and construction of two new four-story residential buildings with a total of six units.
The item drew an extended public hearing and expert testimony on whether the existing cottage qualifies as a historic resource under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Appellants argued the building, constructed in 1887 and described in a 2010 survey record, contributes to the neighborhood's historic fabric and should trigger further environmental review and preservation alternatives. Planning staff and peer reviewers maintained the property is not eligible for listing in the California Register and concluded it does not meet CEQA's criteria for a historic resource.
"This appeal is not an attempt to stop development," architectural historian Catherine Petron told the board, arguing the project could be…
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