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Commission pauses St. Dominic’s pastoral center proposal amid concerns over demolition of historic school
Summary
Facing preservation concerns about a Gothic‑Revival school on the St. Dominic’s block, the commission voted unanimously to continue the pastoral‑center proposal indefinitely and urged the sponsor and staff to explore alternatives that avoid demolition and consider block‑wide options and CEQA review.
The Planning Commission on May 24 declined to endorse the demolition of St. Dominic’s 1929 Gothic Revival school building and instead continued the project indefinitely while directing staff and the sponsor to explore alternatives.
Planning staff recommended disapproval of the current proposal, arguing the school building is an individually eligible historic resource and urging adaptive reuse or alternate siting on the broader block. Staff said the department had recommended retaining the building in earlier project assessment guidance and that demolition would likely trigger an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
Andrew Junius, counsel for St. Dominic’s and a representative of the parish, told the commission that the parish relies on expanded facilities for outreach programs (shelter, jail ministry, youth programs) and asked the commission not to disapprove the project outright but to allow staff to continue CEQA processing and return a complete EIR for future deliberation. Parishioners and longtime community volunteers testified they value the parish’s services and asked the commission to preserve the project’s viability while exploring options.
Commissioners acknowledged the sensitivity of proposals that would demolish a historic resource and instructed staff and the sponsor to develop alternatives that avoid demolition, to study the entire block for program fit (including parking and other parcels), and to pursue CEQA processing if demolition remains proposed. The commission’s motion to continue indefinitely with those directions passed unanimously 6‑0.
Next steps: staff and sponsor will pursue alternatives and fill gaps in the project record; if the parish ultimately proposes demolition the commission and staff expect an EIR and a fuller set of alternatives to be analyzed.
