Commission adopts code amendment and approves 333 Harrison Street project with public‑access park and conditions

The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved a proposed planning‑code amendment to restore the commission’s ability to consider minor height‑measurement modifications (Planning Code section 309.1) and, with staff modifications, granted discretionary approvals for the 333 Harrison Street project (Case Nos. 2007.125T; 2007.125X/V for 333 Harrison/105 Harrison).

Planning staff described the code amendment as a corrective measure to restore the commission’s discretionary authority for certain minor height‑measurement adjustments that had been omitted from the downtown code during earlier Eastern Neighborhoods amendments. Joshua Switsky explained the proposed language changes and said the amendment would allow the commission to grant limited height‑measurement exceptions on a case‑by‑case basis.

Ben Fu and project team members presented the 333 Harrison proposal as a seven‑story, 65‑foot building with up to 308 dwelling units, approximately 206 parking spaces in a single below‑grade mechanical parking level, and requests for three exceptions: a reduced parking ratio (0.66 spaces per unit), unit exposure exceptions, and a minor height‑measurement modification. Staff circulated revised conditions during the hearing requiring the project to shift 7–12 feet west to increase separation from adjacent Bridgeview condominiums and to re‑landscape a steep eastern slope as a buffer.

Emerald Fund representatives said the proposal would create substantial public open space: a roughly 23,500‑square‑foot park and related green space that staff said would be publicly accessible under the conditions the commission discussed. Oz Erickson of Emerald Fund summarized the team’s argument in favor of the joint development: "2 parks and a neighborhood that desperately needs them, 3 0 8 units of rental housing, and many, many jobs." He and others said the building also functions as a sound wall that would reduce freeway noise to meet Department of Public Health standards for park space.

Public testimony ran long and split between organized labor, housing‑advocacy groups and many residents who supported the project for jobs, affordable rental units and park space, and Bridgeview and 1 Rincon Hill residents who opposed the project on grounds that they were told the Caltrans parcel would become a park and that the building would remove a vegetated slope, cast shadows and reduce views. Several speakers submitted petitions and requested continuance; the commission discussed park ownership and noted the parcel was Caltrans property and that negotiations for city acquisition or in‑kind improvements would continue.

After questioning on air quality, shadow impacts, parking, and Prop 1C funding deadlines, commissioners moved and approved the amendment and the project with the staff’s revisions, including the westward shift, landscape buffer and a condition guaranteeing public accessibility to the open space. The commission also noted that the ultimate ownership and maintenance arrangement for the park would be determined in future negotiations and conditions of approval.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the conditions of approval and track required mitigation measures (including air‑quality and building filtration measures for residences as required by city ordinance), follow up on the in‑kind agreement or fee payment options for Rincon Hill infrastructure fees, and proceed with final permit processing and Prop 1C application preparations as requested by the developer.