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City staff outlines multi-year plan, Arches platform and phased approach for citywide cultural-resources survey
Summary
Planning department staff presented a multi-year citywide cultural-resources survey using the Arches platform, estimating 31,000 properties already surveyed and 80,000–100,000 properties yet to be reviewed; commissioners and public pressed for faster staffing and funding amid concerns about pending state housing legislation.
San Francisco planning department staff delivered an informational briefing on Feb. 6 outlining a proposed multi-year, context-based citywide cultural-resources survey and the department’s plan to use the Arches open-source platform for data collection and management.
Staff said the city has roughly 31,000 properties documented to date and that, after filtering duplicates, post-1974 buildings and vacant parcels, the department estimates about 80,000–100,000 properties may remain to be surveyed. The presenter explained the department chose Arches — developed with technical support from the Getty Conservation Institute and Farallon Geographics — because it supports geospatial inventorying and linking legacy documentation. Staff described a Haight-Ashbury pilot in summer 2018 that collected field data on approximately 800 properties and produced user feedback used to refine methodology.
The proposed methodology focuses on resources constructed on or before 1974 that are associated with historic themes or contexts; staff said the survey will create a record for each resource that includes photographs, a physical description from dropdown menus, context/theme linkage and an integrity assessment. Public nominations would be accepted and reviewed for eligibility if they met the age threshold and other criteria.
Staff outlined phasing variables that prioritize physical hazards (sea-level rise, liquefaction, high shaking intensity), underrepresented communities and building types at risk (nonductile concrete). A draft Phase 1 area targeted high-hazard and underrepresented neighborhoods — including parts of the marina and Bayview — with the final phasing to be refined through an advisory group and public input.
The department presented staffing scenarios tied to different completion schedules. With a proposed in-house staffing level of about 3.15 FTE (combining dedicated staff and interns) funded in the FY 2019–20 budget, staff estimated completing up to 100,000 properties in six years; higher-staffing options (more planner FTEs and interns) could reduce the schedule to roughly 3.5 or 2.5 years, but at greater cost and training overhead.
Public commenters and commissioners pressed for urgency. Commissioner Richards warned that state legislation such as SB50 and related bills could reduce local CEQA protections and urged the commission and staff to prioritize surveying areas likely to be impacted first, to accelerate listings and protect resources. Richards said neighborhood groups are already contracting to complete surveys locally and urged consideration of faster staffing and funding options.
Commissioners discussed coordination with the Board of Supervisors, potential outside funding models (citing SurveyLA as an example), neighborhood partnerships to enter data directly into Arches, and the need to refine the consultant scope for intangible cultural heritage. Staff said the department plans to form an advisory group in summer 2019, solicit a consultant for intangible-heritage methodology in spring 2019, pilot fieldwork in summer 2019, and present a draft methodology for commission review in January 2020 with Phase 1 results in spring 2020.
No formal action or vote was taken on the survey at the hearing; the session served as an informational briefing and a forum for commissioners and the public to raise priorities and resource requests.
