Board affirms final EIR for Masonic Center renovation after contested Nob Hill hearing

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 voted to affirm the Planning Commission’s certification of the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed renovation of the Masonic Center at 1111 California Street, closing a six‑year dispute between neighbors, the project sponsor and neighborhood organizations.

The hearing drew detailed legal and technical arguments from both sides. Appellants — including homeowner Barrett Mu, the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods and Nob Hill Neighbors — argued the EIR was inaccurate and incomplete because it did not properly analyze land‑use constraints imposed by the Nob Hill Special Use District, the scope of nonconforming uses, parking and traffic impacts, and whether Planning Code section 182 could lawfully be used to allow an intensification of entertainment use on Nob Hill. Appellants also raised concerns about…