Committee hears planning staff recommendation to serve Mills Act nonrenewal notice; public raises equity and benefit questions

The Government Audit & Oversight Committee on July 18 received a planning department recommendation to serve a notice of nonrenewal for a Mills Act historic-property contract covering a Market Street office tower and recommended the item to the full Board.

Clerk materials described the item as a resolution regarding nonrenewal of a Mills Act historical property contract with RCP LLC, the owner of "960 Market, The Chronicle Building". Planning staff Shannon Ferguson, however, described the same Mills Act contract as applying to "690 Market Street" during her presentation, citing the approval timeline (Planning Commission approval 03/20/2008; Board approval 11/18/2008; recorded 07/15/2009) and noting that rehabilitation work has been completed and maintenance is ongoing. Ferguson said the Planning Department recommended serving notice of nonrenewal to the property owner. (The transcript contains both address references; the record presented to the committee contained the clerk's item title and the planning presentation — the address discrepancy is noted in the record.)

Supervisor Erin Peskin framed the decision as a policy matter: the Board can serve a 10-year nonrenewal notice at its discretion and should review the city's 37 active Mills Act contracts to decide which to continue and which to terminate. "Insofar as they have now recouped all of their investment in that historic resource, I thought it correct and right that we terminate the Mills Act and recoup those dollars to the general fund," Peskin said.

Public commenters were split. Mr. Wright argued Mills Act protections should be indefinite when contracts truly protect historic resources, warning that fixed-term deadlines can lead to unintended loss of protection if notices are missed. Peter Cohen, representing neighborhood activism and speaking for the Council of Community Housing Organizations on other items, said the community was surprised when the restored Chronicle building's reuse included timeshares and luxury residences — a result some neighbors said did not provide the public benefit that had been anticipated when the Mills Act benefits were granted.

The Committee took public comment, heard no additional questions, and Supervisor Peskin said she would send the resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

Authorities cited in the hearing included the state-level Mills Act program as implemented through the city's Administrative Code chapter 71 (as referenced by planning staff). The transcript contains inconsistent address references for the subject parcel; staff and clerk materials should be checked for the official parcel/address before final Board action.