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Planning Commission recommends special-use district to let California College of the Arts expand in Potrero Hill
Summary
The commission unanimously recommended approval of a new Art & Design Educational Special Use District for California College of the Arts at 1111 Eighth Street, correcting an assessor block number and limiting student housing to up to 750 beds as described in staff materials.
The San Francisco Planning Commission voted unanimously April 25 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve an Art and Design Educational Special Use District (SUD) and an Institutional Master Plan (IMP) submitted by the California College of the Arts for its Potrero Hill campus at 1111 Eighth Street.
Staff and sponsor presentation: Planning staff member Diego Sanchez summarized the proposal and recommended approval with a clerical correction, noting the ordinance contained a typo referencing Assessor’s Block 3912 when the correct block is 3913. Sanchez told the commission the SUD would remove post‑secondary use size limits, authorize student housing subject to development standards and cap student housing allowed under the SUD at 750 beds.
Sponsor and community support: David Mechkel, Director of Campus Planning for California College of the Arts, described the college’s long-standing neighborhood role and gave details of outreach and site remediation; “We…are a private nonprofit 501(c)(3)…we have just over 900 students,” he said, while other materials and a commissioner later noted the college reported 1,900 students (staff/packet discrepancy). Representatives from SFMOMA, neighborhood associations and Save the Hill testified in favor of the SUD, citing cultural and neighborhood benefits.
Commission questions and action: Commissioners questioned student counts and temporary-structure procedures; staff clarified that temporary structures for events would be allowed without a public hearing but permanent facilities would follow UMU district entitlement and design-review processes. On a motion to recommend approval to the Board of Supervisors with the correction to Assessor’s Block 3913, the commission voted aye unanimously, 5–0.
Next steps: The commission’s recommendation and the corrected ordinance language will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for final action.
