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Commission certifies EIR for 1601 Larkin but signals intent to deny project approvals after heated public debate
Summary
After hours of public testimony about demolition‑by‑neglect, preservation alternatives and neighborhood impacts, the Planning Commission certified the final EIR for 1601 Larkin 5–2. Later in the evening the commission voted an 'intent to disapprove' the project (conditional use authorization and variances) and staff/zoning administrator indicated some variances were unlikely to be granted.
A prolonged and often contentious public review of the environmental document and project design for 1601 Larkin Street dominated the Planning Commission’s June 28 hearing. The final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed replacement of the historic First St. John’s Methodist Church with a six‑story residential building was certified by the commission on a 5–2 vote after extensive public testimony and discussion of whether the revised EIR required recirculation.
Planning staff summarized the EIR history: a draft circulated in 2007 with a 45‑day comment period, a public hearing on the draft in 2007 and 2010, and revised materials submitted in 2012. Staff concluded the revisions did not add “significant new information” that would require CEQA recirculation; staff nevertheless acknowledged that demolition of the existing church would remain a “significant and unavoidable” impact and that any…
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