Potrero Hill advocates ask preservation commission to revisit California Register status for historic mill buildings

Rod Minot of the neighborhood group Save the Hill urged the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on Wednesday to schedule a hearing to reconsider the California Register status codes for two buildings on Seventeenth and Mississippi Streets, arguing newly gathered research supports restoring a 3CS designation.

Minot said his group provided commissioners with a memo and a 269‑page report that documents the historical and cultural significance of the complex and asked staff to reinstate the planning staff’s prior recommendation to assign 3CS status to two of the three buildings. He explicitly cited the California Environmental Quality Act, section 15064.5, saying CEQA requires historic‑status listings be based on "substantial evidence in light of the whole record."

Architect F. Joseph Butler, who said he worked with Minot on the documentation for 1200–1210 Seventeenth Street, described the site’s association with the Pacific Rolling Mill Company and its ties to Patrick Noble and Edward Noble. Butler said the company operated at the site in the 20th century, worked on major Bay Area projects and supplied cranes used in wartime production, and argued the surviving buildings still "convey the feeling of the industrial use." He said these associations meet CEQA criteria for historic resources.

Commission staff acknowledged the new materials and agreed to review the information. Tim Frey (department staff) told the commission that the property had been discussed during the Showplace Square survey adoption and that staff would examine the newly submitted evidence and report back during a future staff report. Commissioners did not take a formal vote or schedule a hearing during the meeting.

What happens next: staff will review the materials submitted by Save the Hill and present findings to the commission in a future staff report; no hearing date was set at Wednesday’s meeting.