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Commission approves Larkin Street’s plan to rebuild Diamond Youth Shelter amid heated neighborhood debate
Summary
After hours of testimony from neighbors, service providers and Larkin Street staff, the Commission approved a conditional‑use plan to replace and modernize the Diamond Youth Shelter (536 Central Ave.) with a code‑compliant facility maintaining the same use and maximum bed count, adding specific conditions to address neighborhood concerns.
The Planning Commission voted to approve Larkin Street Youth Services’ proposal to demolish and replace the existing Diamond Youth Shelter at 536 Central Avenue with a three‑story, code‑compliant building designed to serve the same population and maintain the shelter’s maximum bed capacity (staff noted the legal cap of 20 beds, with operational flexibility up to that number). Mary Woods (Planning Department) summarized the proposal and listed neighborhood letters for and against the project; Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street, told commissioners the replacement would improve safety, accessibility and living conditions for youth who use the facility.
Architect Sam Davis described design work that reconfigures dormitory sleeping spaces into bedrooms, adds a rear yard and improves the street‑facing elevation to better match neighborhood scale. Davis said the existing dormitory spaces provide roughly 30 square feet per youth and the project aims to provide bedrooms with more privacy and natural light.
Neighbors raised continuing concerns. Nearby residents cited fears the larger building footprint and three‑story massing would reduce light to adjacent properties, increase traffic and service vehicle activity, and worsen existing quality‑of‑life problems on the block (double‑parking, perceived loitering and drug activity). One resident said the block has “a full‑blown crack house” nearby and urged the commission to deny the expansion. Other neighbors submitted a list of requested conditions, including limits on deliveries, landscaping and management of loitering.
Larkin Street and supporters from nonprofit and public health organizations emphasized continuity of mission and the necessity of upgraded shelter space. Perry Vermillion, program manager for Diamond, described the site as a short‑term crisis shelter with average stays of about 15 days and said staff expect most occupants to transition quickly to longer‑term placements. Supporters noted Larkin Street’s record of moving youth into stable housing and the project’s fundraising progress; a board member said about $2.5 million of an estimated $3.5 million project cost had been raised.
Commissioners negotiated several amendments to the recommended conditions before voting. The commission strengthened a provision to require targeted measures preventing loitering by "residents of the shelter" (rather than a generic, city‑wide loitering prohibition), directed staff to sharpen language on construction staging (including a good‑faith effort to avoid on‑street parking loss), requested a named community liaison and an outreach program with at least two neighborhood meetings in the next quarter, and asked staff to coordinate with the police regarding a nearby problem property. The commission also agreed to replace the frequent steam‑cleaning request with quarterly steam cleaning of sidewalks around the facility and clarified performance standards tied specifically to the shelter’s residents.
On balance, commissioners described the choice as between the existing, undersized facility and a safer, seismically compliant replacement that would preserve the shelter’s function in the neighborhood. The motion to approve the conditional use with amendments passed unanimously.
