Planning commission keeps CPMC’s master plan open after marathon hearing; schedules Nov. 19 follow‑up

California Pacific Medical Center planners presented a multi‑campus Institutional Master Plan to the San Francisco Planning Commission on Oct. 15, 2009, and the meeting stretched into the night as residents, nurses, physicians, labor and neighborhood groups spoke for and against the proposal. Commissioners left the public hearing open and continued the item to Nov. 19 so CPMC can provide clearer, written responses to specific issues raised at the meeting.

The hospital team — led by Jeffrey Nelson, director of enterprise development, and Judy Lee, CPMC vice president for community benefit and health‑care innovation — framed the plan as a multi‑year strategy to replace aging seismically‑vulnerable facilities, consolidate certain specialty services and improve access to specialty women’s and children’s care. Nelson said consolidation is intended to retain clinical capabilities that are “clinically superior and financially achievable,” and the submission included program descriptions for Cathedral Hill, St. Luke’s, Davies and Pacific campuses.

But the hearing focused less on that rationale than on questions from neighbors and public‑interest groups. Tenants and small‑business owners near CPMC properties on the 1100 block of Geary told commissioners they face displacement; Chinatown Community Development Center and tenant advocates said CPMC’s packet did not yet include a binding relocation plan and urged “no demolition until replacement housing is available.” A tenant from 1036 Geary asked that any relocation provide “a nearby replacement unit at similar rent and accessible by transit,” saying a one‑time cash payment would not cover the long‑term needs of elderly, low‑income residents.

Nurses and physicians at St. Luke’s and other campuses pressed the commission on clinical detail, especially the status of skilled‑nursing and inpatient psychiatric beds. Several clinicians warned that reductions in SNF and psych beds citywide would shift pressure onto public safety‑net services. Labor and construction representatives and some neighborhood business groups urged commissioners to move ahead so seismic‑safe hospitals can be financed and built, pointing to the risk of catastrophic loss in a major earthquake.

Commissioners said the plan raised legitimate questions that the IMP process is meant to surface. President Miguel and several colleagues asked for more specificity about where outpatient and medical‑office capacity would be located and how CPMC will avoid a net loss of affordable housing. Commissioner Antonini said he would accept a limited continuance to allow written replies; Commissioner Moore and others asked CPMC for more concrete commitments on how St. Luke’s would remain a viable campus within the system.

CPMC told the commission it will return with targeted responses and clarifications. Hospital representatives said they are working with the mayor’s Office of Housing and community organizations to insure one‑for‑one replacement of units the hospital will demolish, and pledged to return with a timeline and a clearer description of ongoing negotiations about skilled‑nursing partnerships and outpatient space. CPMC also asked the commission to set a date certain; commissioners set the continuation for Nov. 19.

What’s next: The Nov. 19 session will reopen the public hearing; commissioners asked staff to compile written questions from the commission and transmit them in advance so CPMC can provide written responses. Any entitlements — conditional uses, variances or coastal/land‑use approvals — will still require later, separate public hearings and environmental review. That means the Nov. 19 hearing will not approve construction but will be an opportunity for hospital staff and the public to clarify outstanding policy and mitigation issues.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke at the Oct. 15 hearing; statements attributed to hospital staff are from the CPMC presentation and responses recorded at the hearing.