Planning Commission delays decision on expanded Ocean Avenue dialysis clinic after neighborhood safety, loading concerns

SAN FRANCISCO — The Planning Commission on Thursday continued a conditional‑use request from Fresenius to relocate and expand a dialysis clinic at 1760 Ocean Avenue after neighbors, the supervisor’s office and commissioners raised unresolved safety and loading concerns.

Planning staff described the project as an interior tenant improvement within an existing storefront (approximately 15,300 square feet) that would expand capacity from the sponsor’s current location. Staff recommended conditions including a driveway‑loading and operations plan (DLOP), coordination with SFMTA on loading zones, and a condition requiring a dedicated on‑site loading attendant to manage paratransit vehicles and prevent double‑parking.

Supervisor Matt Haney’s (via legislative aide Jen Lowe) office urged extra conditions and monitoring, citing Vision Zero and repeated local safety incidents. “When vehicles are double parking, idling — that’s the point where they’re blocking the intersection,” Lowe said, asking for staged operation if loading capacity can’t be provided.

Neighbors and merchant groups pressed the commission for a continuance to require a fuller technical package: a staging/van‑count diagram from Transdev (the paratransit contractor), a review of garage clearance (the onsite garage has 8'2" clearance and cannot safely accept paratransit vans), a plan for a dedicated traffic/parking coordinator and monthly community meetings. The Ocean Avenue Association and Ocean Gardens Homeowners Association said parking, idling diesel engines and backup beepers disturb early‑morning residents and exacerbate safety risks at the nearby Muni island.

Fresenius’ operations representative explained the reason for a 5:00 a.m. opening: early start times stagger patient drop‑offs and can avoid peak hour congestion. “If we start at 05:00 ... the turnaround where they pick patients up and drop new patients off is delayed until about 08:30, and it wouldn’t affect traffic as much as a rush‑hour drop‑off,” a Fresenius operations speaker said.

Commissioners expressed that the technical issues are substantive and asked staff to seek additional analysis from SFMTA and Transdev to verify whether the DLOP and attendant approach will reliably prevent roadway conflicts. Commissioner Fung said he had requested detailed staging diagrams and garage cross‑sections and had not yet received adequate documentation.

Motion to continue the item to November 5 carried unanimously.