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Planning Commission continues 701 Hampshire review amid tenant displacement concerns
Summary
Commission continued review of a proposed seismic retrofit, ADUs and fourth‑floor addition at 701 Hampshire after lengthy public testimony alleging renoviction, loss of tenant amenities and light impacts; applicants agreed to written tenant protections and agreed to continue the item to June 21.
The San Francisco Planning Commission on April 19 continued review of a controversial proposal at 701 Hampshire Street after residents, tenant advocates and adjacent neighbors said the project threatens existing tenants’ homes.
Project owners Christina Tran and Mark Colwell proposed seismic upgrades, two accessory dwelling units created from garage space, interior reconfigurations and a vertical addition that would add a fourth floor. Planning staff described the project as code‑compliant as revised and said it would add housing to the city stock.
Tenants and tenant‑rights groups said work would require temporary relocation, accused the owners of serving aggressive buy‑out notices and argued that the plan would remove parking and other amenities included in leases. Jennifer Feber of the San Francisco Tenants Union said many tenants received 3‑day notices after the owners’ purchase and urged the commission to deny the project, saying: “If we let this right go, what’s next?”
Neighbors and tenant residents detailed sunlight and privacy impacts from the vertical addition, showing photographs of light wells and skylights they say would be shaded. Resident Nina Dobner said the proposed top floor would “throw all of those windows into shade” and could make downstairs rooms dark year‑round.
The project team said it had significantly revised plans in response to concerns, removed an earlier larger roof element, and hired a construction manager who produced a sequence analysis the owners said would limit relocation to about 60 days and that they would cover relocation costs. Owner Christina Tran said tenants would be allowed to return at their prior rents and that the team was willing to put that commitment in writing.
Commissioners raised two recurring issues: whether proposed ADUs would be created by taking spaces that are part of existing tenant leases (for example, parking), and whether adding a fourth floor made the work effectively a more invasive renovation that increases the likelihood tenants would be displaced. Several commissioners said the procedural record supplied to them was incomplete and requested clearer drawings and written tenant agreements.
The commission voted to continue the matter to June 21, 2018, directing the applicant to provide clearer plan sets, written relocation and return‑of‑rent commitments to affected tenants, and documentation about whether parking spaces or other housing services are bound to current leases.
