Planning staff outlines schedule to revive San Francisco's preservation element; commission and heritage groups urge edits and public engagement

Planning Department staff presented a plan on April 16 to revisit and update the city's preservation element and to conduct a public-engagement and CEQA schedule leading to final draft review in mid-2015.

Tim Frey summarized the history: the preservation element was drafted previously but shelved during budget cuts; recent funding reinstatement allows staff to resume CEQA review. Frey told the commission that the draft is organized into nine topic areas (identification and documentation, preservation and protection, archaeological resources, application of standards, professional qualifications, incentives, education and public awareness, sustainability, disaster/emergency preparedness) and that staff proposes breaking the element into three chunks for hearings over the summer and developing a public participation plan by winter. He said the department expects to start CEQA analysis in fall/winter and aim to complete CEQA review by spring/summer 2015 so the commission can endorse the element and forward it to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

Commissioners suggested segmenting the hearings, adding more emphasis on social and cultural heritage, strengthening ties to existing land-use documents (residential design guidelines, garage and window guidelines) and pruning lengthy preamble text to improve usability. Commissioner feedback included requests for staff recommendations on specific rewording and for the preservation element to lean less heavily on CEQA references and more on locally tailored preservation policy.

During public comment Desiree Smith of San Francisco Heritage welcomed the effort but said the draft as written was difficult to read and recommended that the relation-to-land-use-planning section be expanded to reference standard guidance documents used in daily planning reviews. She offered to provide detailed comments in writing and to work with staff on language for social and cultural resources.

Staff recommended pacing the review across multiple hearings and returning with revised language for the commission's guidance. The commission generally agreed with the stepped approach and requested staff circulate the presentation materials and provide longer lead time for commissioners to review the materials before future discussions.

Next steps identified by staff: circulate the presentation and revised draft materials to commissioners in advance; schedule three hearings (one to start in June) to review the element in parts; begin CEQA scoping and analysis in late 2014; and aim to return with a final draft and CEQA clearance in spring/summer 2015.