Discretionary review at 1469 Pacific continues after neighbors call plan 'double‑dip' on nonconforming warehouse

Neighbors and the Planning Department returned to a discretionary review of a contentious proposal at 1469 Pacific Avenue on May 12, where the sponsor seeks to convert a two‑story warehouse into a nine‑unit mixed‑use building while retaining a large portion of the existing non‑conforming envelope.

Staff summarized the project history and explained revisions since the February hearing: the sponsor removed the rearmost 25 percent of the building depth to create a rear yard, reduced a proposed rear‑yard deck from five to three feet above the existing garage floor, added wider setbacks along side property lines, reconfigured the ground floor to emphasize a commercial storefront, and eliminated private stair penthouses. Despite those revisions, staff concluded the project retains non‑conforming walls and requires a rear‑yard variance to introduce residential use into the retained non‑compliant structure; staff recommended the…