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Planning Commission approves CPMC Pacific Campus sign program after neighbor debate over lighting and monument signage
Summary
After neighbor concerns about illuminated monuments at Sacramento and Buchanan, the commission approved California Pacific Medical Center’s Pacific Campus sign program with conditions and a commitment to pursue off‑campus directional signs agreed with DPW and neighborhood representatives.
San Francisco — The Planning Commission approved on May 29 a revised sign program for California Pacific Medical Center’s Pacific Campus after extended public discussion and negotiated changes with neighborhood representatives.
Planning staff presented a program to add seven campus signs — five freestanding monument signs, one projecting (fin) sign and one wall‑mounted sign — to improve wayfinding for visitors and emergency vehicles. Staff said only two of the proposed signs would be illuminated and that the lighting would be limited to letters directing visitors to the emergency entrance. The department recommended approval with conditions and with a strengthened condition that CPMC fund and install off‑campus directional signs in coordination with the Department of Public Works and interested neighbors.
Neighbors on the Sacramento‑Buchanan corner opposed a six‑foot‑nine‑inch monument at that intersection and urged limiting illumination to a single emergency fin. "We wonder if the monument is necessary for any valid reason; it looks like advertising," a neighbor said during public comment. CPMC representatives replied that a monument at that corner is needed to help motorists make a close turn onto Sacramento and that the lighting design would illuminate only letters, not entire sign panels.
Signage contractor representatives showed an example of the proposed letter‑only illumination at Eden Medical Center and said the luminous area would be a small portion of the sign face. Pacific Heights Residents Association supported reductions to bulk and height in several corners, and staff incorporated changes to two signs and a stronger off‑campus signage commitment, including a 60‑day target for implementing agreed wayfinding components when feasible.
After initial debate and a brief continuation, commissioners voted to approve the conditional use application, with staff ensuring the revised sign sizes and the off‑campus wayfinding program would be coordinated with DPW and neighborhood representatives prior to installation.
