Board affirms Planning Department’s categorical CEQA exemption for 3300 Clay Street garage, rejecting appeal

The Board of Supervisors on Jan. 9 voted 8-2 to affirm the Planning Department’s categorical exemption under CEQA for a proposed ground-floor garage and access opening at 3300 Clay Street, rejecting an appeal that argued the garage’s impacts should be considered together with previously approved lot-line/conditional-use work on an adjacent parcel.

Appellant Doug Kane told the board the building is a designated historic resource and contended the permit for the east-side garage opening was improperly segmented from other work affecting the same building’s historic features. He argued that earlier conditional-use drawings for the adjacent parcel showed removal of character-defining elements — the entry portal, columns and trellis — and that these impacts should be evaluated cumulatively under CEQA.

Lisa Gibson of the Planning Department told the board staff found the building is a historic resource but concluded the proposed alteration would not cause a significant adverse impact. “Because there’s no substantial impact on the historic resource, the project would be exempt under CEQA section 15301 (Class 1),” Gibson said in response to the appeal.

Planning staff acknowledged the lot-line adjustment and prior conditional-use approval for an adjacent lot but said there was no application to construct a house on the adjacent site that would require demolition of the entry portal or other character-defining features. Staff said the lot as approved retains a setback that would allow the resource’s western facade and portal to be retained if future development occurs; they also noted that any future development would be subject to preservation review.

After public comment and rebuttal the board voted to affirm the Planning Department’s determination. The clerk recorded 8 ayes and 2 noes. The decision leaves the categorical exemption in place and permits the sponsor to proceed under the exemption; any future proposal that would alter the historic fabric of the adjacent lot would trigger appropriate review and environmental analysis, the Planning Department said.

What happens next: The project sponsor can proceed under the affirmed categorical exemption. Planning staff retains authority to require environmental review if a future permit proposal would demonstrably affect the historic resource.