OCII approves plan amendment to allow 400-foot tower on Transbay Block 1, citing 40% on-site affordability

Summary

The commission approved a plan amendment and CEQA addendum that increases Block 1's maximum height from 300 to 400 feet, a change staff says will add 73 homes overall and raise on-site affordability from 35% to 40%. Commissioners voted 4'1 (1 absent) to pass items 5B and 5C after extensive public comment both for and against.

The Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) Commission voted to approve a plan amendment that would raise the maximum height on Transbay Block 1 from 300 feet to 400 feet and adopt related environmental findings under the California Environmental Quality Act. The vote on items 5B and 5C passed 4'1 with Commissioner Mondejar absent.

Staff said the 400-foot alternative would increase the overall number of homes on Block 1 from 318 to 391 and raise the share of on-site below-market-rate housing from 35 percent to 40 percent, adding 73 additional units overall and 44 more affordable units. Marie Munson, senior development specialist with OCII, said the development program includes a 39-story tower, two 65—80-foot podium buildings, townhomes, shared underground parking and roughly 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Jose Campos, OCII's manager of planning and design review, presented urban-design visualizations and a CEQA addendum that focused on shadow and wind effects from a 100-foot height increase. Campos said visualization studies from central city vantage points showed the 400-foot massing would be…

OCII approves plan amendment to allow 400-foot tower on Transbay Block 1, citing 40% on-site affordability

Summary

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