SF Supervisors Throw Shade on Nob Hill Townhouse Project

In a rare decision, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has overturned the Planning Commission’s approval of a 10-townhome development on Nob Hill that would replace a single-family home, citing shadow and soil concerns.

In a 7-4 decision, the board sent the 1151 Washington Street project back to planning for additional environmental review, with Board President Aaron Peskin leading the charge, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The 50-foot-tall project could cast shadows on the Betty Ann Ong Recreation Center and basketball court, which is heavily used by nearby Chinatown residents, said Peskin, who represents the district.

“This is the only recreation community center that Chinatown has,” he said at the meeting. “This is a precious, unique public resource that is used heavily by the Chinese community.”

Peskin’s vote came just as he and Mayor London Breed announced proposed legislation to get the city’s housing pipeline moving by dramatically reducing developer fees and affordability requirements.

There were additional concerns about possible contaminated soil at the site that swayed Supervisor Myrna Melgar, according to the Chronicle, who voted with the majority to oppose the project. Supervisors Ahsha Safaí, Catherine Stefani, Matt Dorsey and Joel Engardio were in the minority that wanted to move the project forward.

Designed by San Francisco-based Macy Architecture, the proposed project would replace a single-family home on the sloping lot with 10 townhomes, the largest of which is more than 2,000 square feet. Developers used the State Density Bonus to increase the number of units allowed on the site in exchange for offering one townhome as affordable for a household earning 110 percent of area median income. Breed and Engardio have an ordinance coming before the Planning Commission this week that would ease approvals for state density projects, but the legislation would not impact environmental reviews.

That legislation ties directly into the city’s state-mandated Housing Element goals of creating 82,000 new housing units in the next eight years. At the board meeting, YIMBY Action’s Jane Natoli told supervisors that actions such as denying the townhouse project could make the state get even more involved.

“If we continue to abuse local control, we’re going to lose local control,” Natoli said.

—Emily Landes