Board amends Eastern Neighborhoods zoning to allow higher height on two Mission Street parcels to aid Mission Theatre restoration

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Dec. 9 approved amendments to the Eastern Neighborhoods zoning map that create a special allowance for two landmark theater parcels along Mission Street.

What passed: The board voted to sever two parcels (identified in the staff record as the El Capitan and the New Mission Theatre sites) from the larger zoning item and approved an amendment establishing an 85-foot (Mission frontage) / 65-foot (rear) height envelope for those parcels. The amendment to include the higher height designation carried on the floor (vote recorded as 6 ayes, 3 noes for the amendment), and the remainder of the Eastern Neighborhoods items (items 11, 12 and 14) passed. Item 13, the zoning map ordinance, was passed on first reading with the severed parcels handled separately for subsequent consideration.

Why it was proposed: Supporters, led by Supervisor Dufty, said increasing the allowable height on the Mission Street frontages for those specific parcels would help underwrite the cost of restoring and preserving the historic theater buildings and make mixed-use projects (theater restoration plus housing, childcare and ground-floor retail) financially feasible. Supervisor Dufty told the board that without a higher envelope the New Mission project could “very likely not be able to go forward” and that upzone would unlock housing units and public benefit fees.

Opposition and compromise: Several supervisors and community members urged caution. Supervisor Peskin argued the Eastern Neighborhoods process had been broad and community-driven and warned against “cherry-picking” parcels that would undermine that process. An alternative compromise from Supervisor McGoldrick proposing a 75-foot front height with a 15-foot step-back received a roll-call vote but failed (4 ayes, 6 noes). Ultimately the board approved Supervisor Dufty’s motion for 85/65 on the two parcels.

Process note: Planning Department staff and the Planning Commission remain involved: Planning director Dan Rich confirmed that any project at the theater sites would still require conditional use approval and, because the properties are landmarks, review by the Landmarks Commission as well. Supervisors and staff emphasized that specific project proposals would still be subject to the Planning Commission, Landmarks Commission, and public review.

Quotations: “Keeping the height at 65 feet eliminates 20 units of housing and renders the project perhaps infeasible, resulting in the loss of a million dollars in public benefit fees,” Supervisor Dufty said. Planning Director Dan Rich reminded the board that “this project would have to come before the Planning Commission for a conditional use and because it involves a landmark property before the new Landmarks Commission.”

Next steps: The severed file with the two parcels was treated as a separate item and will return for further hearings; item 13 (the zoning map amendments) advanced on first reading with the severed parcels handled in a new file for subsequent readings.