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Planning Commission OKs amendment to allow a ninth residential floor at Pier 70 within existing height limit
Summary
The Planning Commission approved an amendment to the Pier 70 Design for Development allowing a ninth residential story within the project’s existing 90-foot envelope to improve feasibility after changes to state fire-code interpretation and rising construction costs.
The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved an amendment to the Pier 70 Design for Development on Feb. 6 that allows an additional residential level within the project’s existing 90-foot height limit.
Michael Christiansen of the Planning Department told commissioners the proposed change would alter Standard 6.4.0.2 of the D4D to permit a ninth story where buildings had been limited to eight stories. The amendment would not increase the site’s maximum total building height in feet or the overall development capacity authorized by the project’s environmental review, Christiansen said.
Project sponsors said the change responds to two practical problems. Construction costs have surged, reducing financial feasibility, and a recent State Fire Marshal interpretation counts roof decks as occupiable floors when determining the highest occupiable floor. That interpretation could push some buildings under high-rise construction requirements unless the design gains flexibility to redistribute floor plate and ceiling heights, the sponsor said.
Sponsor representatives and staff emphasized the amendment preserves the approved 90-foot limit. The extra floor would likely be achieved by slightly reducing floor‑to‑floor heights rather than raising rooftop elevations, they said. Commissioners pressed for details about ground-floor ceiling heights, potential effects on required open space and whether the additional floor would trigger different building-code classifications; staff and the sponsor said the department had analyzed those issues and that the proposal remains consistent with the project’s FEIR and the D4D.
Commissioners voted 5–0 to approve forwarding the amendment for subsequent Port Commission review.
The project will next proceed to the Port Commission for its separate review and any permit-level approvals. The Planning Department said it will document the amendment in a note to file for the environmental record.
