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Draft EIR finds significant unavoidable impact to 550 O'Farrell historic resource; public comment period open
Summary
Planning staff presented a draft environmental impact report for a proposed mixed-use project at 550 O'Farrell Street; the DEIR concluded demolition would cause significant unavoidable impacts to an individually-eligible historic resource and proposed mitigation including HABS documentation and interpretive materials. Staff sought public comment on adequacy and accuracy under CEQA.
The Planning Department presented the draft environmental impact report for a proposed mixed-use project at 550 O'Farrell Street and opened the document for public comment under CEQA.
Jennifer McKellar, the department's EIR coordinator for the project, told the commission the DEIR analyzes a proposed project that would retain the building facade but demolish most of the interior garage structure to build a roughly 105–130-foot mixed-use building with between 111 and 116 dwelling units (22–23 inclusionary units depending on the variant). "The draft EIR concluded that both the proposed project and the project variant would result in a substantial adverse change to the significance of the individual historic resource at 550 O'Farrell Street, which would result in a significant unavoidable impact," McKellar said.
The DEIR identifies mitigation measures intended to reduce the historic-resource impact, including preparation of a Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) level documentation and a permanent interpretive display about the building and its relationship to the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District. Staff noted that while those measures reduce the project's effects, the impact to the individual resource would remain significant and unavoidable. The department also summarized alternatives analyzed in the DEIR — including a no-project alternative, full preservation, and partial preservation options — and noted the Historic Preservation Commission had reviewed alternatives and found the analysis adequate.
Public commenters raised concerns about parking loss, neighborhood demographic impacts and requested more socioeconomic analysis of how new units would affect the nearby population. Staff said the public review period runs through 5 p.m. on July 7, 2020, and responses to verbal and written comments will be compiled in a written response-to-comments document expected later in the year; certification of the EIR is anticipated in early 2021.
Why it matters: The DEIR's finding that demolition of the building would cause a significant unavoidable impact to an individually eligible historic resource is a material environmental conclusion; it shapes later mitigation obligations, public review, and the timeline for potential certification.
What’s next: The commission received public comment on adequacy and accuracy through the public review period; written comments will be addressed in a response report to be published later in the year.
