Planning Commission approves faux-eucalyptus cell tower at Palace of Fine Arts over community objections

The San Francisco Planning Commission on March 20 approved a conditional use authorization for new wireless telecommunications facilities at the Palace of Fine Arts, permitting a disguised monopole styled as a eucalyptus tree in the parking lot.

The commission voted 6 to 1 to approve the application with conditions, with Commissioner Williams casting the lone No vote. The project sponsor and department staff said the location best meets public-safety and coverage needs and that other rooftop or rooftop-adjacent locations were evaluated and rejected.

Mary Woods, Department of City Planning staff, told the commission the Palace of Fine Arts building is a designated city landmark and that Recreation and Park and Department of Public Health had reviewed and approved the proposal as part of certificate-of-appropriateness coordination. “The Recreation and Parks Department owns the land, and the Recreation and Parks Department has been working with the project sponsor AT&T regarding the proposed new wireless telecommunication facilities for many years,” Woods…