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S.F. supervisors uphold emergency exemption to remove Vaillancourt Fountain, 10–1
Summary
After a two‑hour hearing with competing expert testimony and more than 50 public speakers, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10–1 to affirm the planning department’s emergency CEQA exemption and allow the Recreation & Parks Department to disassemble and store the Vaillancourt (Embarcadero) Fountain pending further analysis.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors on Jan. 13 affirmed a planning‑department finding that the Vaillancourt Fountain’s deteriorated condition constitutes a safety emergency, approving the measure 10–1 and tabling related motions that would have returned the matter for fuller CEQA review.
The vote followed a lengthy public hearing in which preservation advocates urged the board to require full environmental review before the city removes the 1971 civic artwork, and city staff and engineers presented structural evaluations documenting corrosion, missing reinforcement and a 10‑ton cantilever arm that is reportedly resting on an adjacent arm.
“None of the expert reports before you have recommended approval,” said Susan Brant Holly, an attorney representing the appellants, arguing that the fountain’s condition is the predictable result of deferred maintenance and not a sudden emergency. “The city should not bypass CEQA under the premise of an emergency.”
Planning department staff told the…
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