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Commission approves zoning and permit requests: St. Boniface rezoning initiation, Nike and Cafe du Nord conditional uses, Cronquist Court merger approved
Summary
The Planning Commission moved several items forward: initiated a general-plan amendment for St. Boniface (to enable rezoning), approved a Nike retail conditional use at 2071 Union Street and an expansion at Cafe du Nord (Swedish American Hall), and approved a dwelling‑unit merger on Cronquist Court to create a single-family home for a multigenerational family.
At its Jan. 9, 2014 hearing the San Francisco Planning Commission advanced several land-use items across zoning, conditional-use authorization and discretionary review.
St. Boniface (133–135 Golden Gate Ave): Staff asked the Commission to initiate a General Plan amendment to modify the Downtown Area Plan to include St. Boniface Church so the site can be rezoned from RC-4 to C3-G and participate in the city’s Transfer Development Rights program. The Commission initiated the amendment and set a hearing for Jan. 23; staff noted the Historic Preservation Commission will review the landmarked building as well.
Nike store (2071 Union St.): Planning staff presented a conditional use authorization (CUA) for a Nike retail concept occupying approximately 3,500 square feet in the Union Street neighborhood. Staff reported outreach and letters of support from the Union Street Association, the Golden Gate Valley Neighborhood Association and several local merchants. Tom Neuner, Nike’s real-estate director, described the company’s community outreach and the store concept; the Commission approved the CUA with conditions unanimously (7–0).
Cafe du Nord / Swedish American Hall (2168–2174 Market St.): Planning staff recommended approval of a CUA to expand the Cafe du Nord operation to three levels and to exceed the 2,999 sq. ft standard for a single-level restaurant use. Proponents described plans to install an elevator to improve ADA access, reopen currently dormant retail spaces and increase public access to historic event rooms. The Commission voted to approve the conditional use with conditions (7–0).
Cronquist Court (23–29 Cronquist): The Commission considered a discretionary review and a dwelling‑unit merger application to merge two adjacent single‑family dwellings into one larger single‑family home to accommodate a multigenerational family. Opponents said the merger reduces the city’s housing stock and raised notice and construction‑impact concerns. The zoning administrator had administratively approved the merger under Planning Code Section 317 (demonstrably not affordable); after deliberation the Commission declined to take discretionary review and approved the project as proposed. The final recorded vote on the motion to approve was 6–1 (Commissioner Moore dissenting). Commissioners discussing this item also requested staff and other city departments review the code section and policy issues around lot/unit mergers and affordability.
The Commission scheduled follow-up hearings and implementation steps as required by each case (historic review for St. Boniface, building permits for the Cafe du Nord renovation, and the administrative lot/merger filings required to record the Cronquist lot merger).
