Board trims proposed Guy Place park 'beacon' from 20 to 10 feet, conditions permit

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Aug. 9, 2017, granted an appeal of a Public Works minor‑sidewalk encroachment permit for the Guy Place Mini Park and conditioned the permit on reducing the height of a proposed 3‑by‑3‑by‑20‑foot metal column to 10 feet.

The change came after residents and appellants said the 20‑foot column would be out of scale on the narrow, 14‑foot‑wide Guy Place, could protrude above second‑floor windows for nearby condominiums and posed seismic concerns at the edge of a liquefaction zone. Appellant Matthew Steen asked the board to deny the permit or, alternatively, to require the column be replaced with a tree or shortened to 10 feet.

Department of Public Works representative Brent Cohen told the board the permit (16MSC‑0603) covered specific encroachments — the column, a drinking fountain and sidewalk adjustments — and that the metal column had been designed and reviewed by a licensed structural engineer and the city’s disability access coordinator and city engineer. Brett Demaris, project manager for the Guy Place Mini Park at the Recreation and Parks Department, said the column is intended as a marker and that the Arts Commission approved the design through civic design review. He also said the department substituted a non‑toxic California grapevine for a previously proposed Boston Ivy and added trees elsewhere in the park following public feedback.

Neighbors said notification materials were incomplete (they noted the mailed packet lacked a diagram), that recent SFMTA parking changes altered the context shown in earlier renderings and that the column would obscure views into the new park during the several years it will take for the vine to mature. A renter across the street said the posted illustrations did not reflect current parking configurations and that residents had not received clear, updated diagrams.

Commissioners discussed both technical and aesthetic points. Several commissioners said the 20‑foot column was disproportionate to the alley context and favored a shorter marker. Vice President Frank Fung moved to grant the appeal and issue the permit only with the condition that the column height be reduced from 20 feet to 10 feet; the board voted unanimously, 5–0, to carry the motion.

The board’s action amends the Public Works conditional approval of permit 16MSC‑0603, leaving other encroachment elements unchanged. The parties were directed to proceed consistent with the board’s condition.