ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT TOWNSEND STREET PROJECT 178 San Francisco Planning Department Case No, 2005.0470E State Clearinghouse No. 2007012109 Draft EIR Publication Date: December 22, 2007 Draft EIR Public Hearing Date: January 31, 2007 Draft EIR Public Comment Period: December 22, 2007 - February 5, 2008 •••• Written comments shouldbe sent to: q A/ycko, Acting Environmental Review Officer • San Francisco Planning Department nbr ™ «1 097 1650 Mission Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA94103 0nl92d DOCUMENTS DEPT. " DEC 2 6 2007 SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY 5/S San Francisco PublicLibrary Government information-Center SanFrancisco Public Library 100Larkin Street. 5th Floor SanFrancisco, CA 94102 REFERENCE BOOK Not to be taken from the Librar\> SAN FRANCISCO PLANNING DEPARTMENT DATE: December 15, 2007 1650MissionSt. Suite400 TO: Distribution List for the 178 Townsend Street Project Draft Focused SanFrancisco, CA94103-2479 Environmental Impact Report Reception: FROM: Bill Wycko, Acting Environmental Review Officer 415.558.6378 SUBJECT: Request for the 178 Townsend Street Project Draft Focused Environmental Impact Report (Case No. 2005.0470E) Planning Information: 415.558.6377 This is the Draft Environmental ImpactReport (EIR) for the 178 Townsend Street Project. A public hearing will be held on the adequacy and accuracy of this document. After the public hearing, we will prepare and publish a document titled "Comments and Responses" that will contain a summary of all relevant comments on this Draft EIR and our responses to those comments. It may also specify changes to this Draft EIR. Those who testify at the hearing on the Draft EIR will automatically receive a copy of the Comments and Responses document, along with notice of the date reserved for certification; others may receive such copies and notice on request or by visiting our office. This Draft EIR, together with the Comments and Responses document, will be considered by the City Planning Commission in an advertised public meeting(s) and certified as a Final EIR ifdeemed adequate. After certification, we will modify the Draft EIR as specified by the Comments and Responses document and print both documents in a single publication called the Final EIR. The Final EIR will add no new information to the combination of the two documents except to reproduce the certification resolution. It will simply provide the information in one, rather than two, documents. Therefore, if you receive a copy of the Comments and Responses document in addition to this copy of the Draft EIR, you will technically have a copy of the Final EIR. We are aware that many people who receive the Draft EIR and Summary of Comments and Responses have no interest in receiving virtually the same information after the EIR has been certified. To avoid expending money and paper needlessly, we would like to send copies of the Final EIR to private individuals only if they request them. If you would like a copy of the Final EIR, therefore, please fill out and mail the postcard provided inside the back cover to the San Francisco Planning Department, indicating whether you would prefer a hardcopy of the document or a copy on CD in Adobe Acrobat format, within two weeks after certification of the EIR. Any private party not requesting a Final EIR by that time will not be mailed a copy. Public agencies on the distribution list will automatically receive a copy ofthe Final EIR. Thank you for your interest in this project. vvww.sfplanning.org TOWNSEND STREET PROJECT 178 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT San Francisco Planning Department Case No. 2005.0470E State Clearinghouse No. 2007012109 3 3 39 Written comments shouldbe sent to: Wycko, Acting Environmental Review Officer • San Francisco Planning Department 1650 Mission Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94103 Digitized by the Internet Archive 2014 in https://archive.org/details/178townsendstree2220eipa Summary I. Table of Contents summary i. I-l A. Project Description (P.II-l) I-l B. Environmental Effects (P. III-l) 1-2 C. Mitigation and Improvement Measures (P. IV-1) 1-12 D. Alternatives (P. VI-1) 1-17 E. Areas ofControversy and Issues tobeResolved 1-22 PROJECT DESCRIPTION II. II-l A. Project Location II-l B. ProjectCharacteristics II-l C. ProjectSchedule 11-19 D. ProjectSetting 11-19 E. ProjectObjectives 11-22 F. ProjectApprovals 11-23 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTS III. III-l A. Cumulative Land Use III.A-2 B. HistoricArchitectural Resources III.B-1 C. Transportation III.C-1 IV. MITIGATION AND IMPROVEMENTMEASURES IV-1 V. OTHER CEQA ISSUES V-l A. Growth Inducement V-l B. "GreenHouseGas" Emissions V-2 C. Significant Environmental Effects that CannotbeAvoided ifthe Proposed Project is Implemented V-4 D. Areas ofControversy and Issues tobeResolved V-6 VI. ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT VI-1 A. AlternativeA: No Project VI-1 B. AlternativeB: Mixed-UsePDR VI-2 C. AlternativeC: PDR-Only VI-4 D. Environmentally SuperiorAlternative VI-6 VII. REPORTPREPARERS AND PERSONS CONSULTED VII-1 VIII. DRAFT EIR DISTRIBUTION LIST VIII-1 Appendices Appendix A: Initial Study Appendix B: 178Townsend Street TripGeneration CaseNo.2005.0470E DraftEIR t i 178TownsendStreetProject December2007 Summary I, Tables Table 1 Project Description II-9 Table 2 New Construction Housing Need by IncomeCategory (January 1999 -June2006) III.A-10 Table 3 Intersection Level ofService Existing Conditions-WeekdayPM PeakHour III.C-6 Table4 Nearby WeekdayMuni Service III.C-7 Table5 Muni Ridership and CapacityUtilization atMaximum Load Point Existing Conditions- Weekday PM Peak Hour III.C-8 Table 6 Off-Street Parking Supply and Utilization III.C-11 Table7 On-Street Parking Supplyand Utilization III.C-12 Table8 Proposed Project Person-Trip Generation III.C-15 Table9 Proposed ProjectTrip Generation by Mode-Weekday PM Peak Hour III.C-16 Table 10 Trip Distribution Patterns III.C-16 Table 11 Intersection Level ofService Existing plusProjectConditions-Weekday PM Peak Hour III.C-17 Table 12 Proposed Project Parking Demand III.C-20 Table 13 Proposed ProjectDelivery/Service Vehicle-Tripsand Loading SpaceDemand III.C-23 Table 14 Intersection Level ofService 2025 CumulativeConditions-Weekday PM Peak Hour..III.C-26 Table 15 Project's Contribution to2025 CumulativeTrafficVolumes PM Peak Hour Conditions III.C-27 Figures Figure 1 Project Location Map II-2 Figure2 Site Plan II-3 Figure3 Conceptual Design II-4 Figure4 Proposed Massing II-5 Figure5 Proposed Townsend Street and Clarence Place Elevations II-7 Figure6 Proposed BuildingSections II-8 Figure7 Architectural Concept/Aerial Perspective 11-10 Figure8 Proposed Modifications to ExistingStructure 11-11 Figure9 First (Grade) Floor Plan 11-13 Figure 10 Second Floor Plan 11-14 Figure 11 Third Floor Plan 11-15 Figure 12 FoUrth FloorPlan 11-16 Figure 13 Fifth Floor Plan 11-17 Figure 14 RoofPlan 11-18 Figure 15 Basement Floor Plan 11-20 Figure 16 Eastern Neighborhoods Planning Areas III.A-4 Figure 17 BoundariesoftheSouth End HistoricDistrict (Identified as ")") III.B-3 Figure 18 Existing Exteriors III.B-10 Figure 19 Study Area and Analysis Locations III.C-2 CaseNo. 2005.0470E DraftEIR 11 178TownsendStreetProject December2007 ) SUMMARY I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION A. (P. 11-1 The project site at 178 Townsend Street is occupied by the California Electric Light Company Station B building, a contributory building within the South End Historic District. The Project Sponsor proposes to rehabilitate and convert thebuilding from its currentuse as a valetparking garage to a residential use with up to 85 housing units and accessory off-street parking for the residential uses. The proposed project also includes ground-floor retail uses. The proposed uses would be housed in a five-story building that would be constructed within the footprint of the existing building on the site, totaling approximately 98,900 gross square feet (gsf), with up to 71,500 gsf in residential uses and up to 1,050 gsf in retail uses as well as parking space, open space, common area, and building service space. New construction would include a partially below-grade parking garage, a five-story structure containing the residential and retail components, and street improvements along Clarence Place. The proposed new structure would be contained within the walls of the existing historic structure and would be set back 40 feet from the Townsend Street facade. The new building would rise above the historic structure's existing 23- to 42-foot tall roofline to a maximum height of 50 feet. The ground-floor level would include an enclosed entry courtyard accessible from the Townsend Street entrance, leading to a central hallway connecting to three smaller internal courtyards that would be open to the floors above. Approximately 5,373 gsf of common usable open space would be provided in the entry courtyard and on a roof-top deck. Balconies would provide an additional 3,754 gsf of private open space for 38 of the up to 85 proposed units. A one-level, 13,200-gsf, partially underground parking garage would include 74 parking spaces for use by the project's residents, with 72 spaces provided by two-car stackers, as well as 33 bicycle parking spaces in stacked lockers. The garage would be accessed through an existing opening in the facade on ClarencePlace. The project site is located in an SLI (Service/Light Industrial) District and 50-X Height & Bulk District within the current South of Market Base District and Area Plan. The intent of the SLI district is to retain light industrial uses by excluding general office and most residential uses. Although market-rate housing is not a permitted use on most sites in the SLI district, pursuant to Planning Code Section 803.5(c), any use which is permitted as a principal or conditional use (CU) within the Service/Secondary Office (SSO) District may be permitted as a CU in contributory buildings within any designated historic district within the South of Market Base District, a classification that includes the project site. Market-rate dwelling units may be CaseNo.2005.0470E DraftEIR 1-1 178TownsendStreetProject December2007 Summary I. authorized with a CU in the SSO district, and therefore may be authorized with a CU at the project site as well. The proposed project would require approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness under Planning Code Section 1006 for alteration of a contributory building in the South End Historic District and Conditional Use Approval by the Planning Commission (Commission); variance approval by the Zoning Administrator; issuance of building permits by the Department of Building Inspection (DBI); and issuance of street improvement permits by Department ofPublic Works (DPW) for pedestrian improvements to the Clarence Place right-of-way. Existing land uses in the immediate vicinity of the project site include a mix of high-density residential, recreation, retail, and office uses, with limited light industry and warehouse uses. Three blocks north of the project site across Brannan Street is South Park, a neighborhood park surrounded by a mix of residential, retail, and small office uses. AT&T Park, the San Francisco Giants ballpark, is on King Street, one block south of the project site. The northeasterly portion of the Mission Bay area, a 303-acre portion of the city being developed with mixed-use residential, commercial, medical and bioscience research, office, and community facilities, is near the project site, beginning at Third Street and Townsend Street. The project site is served by several MUNI bus lines as well as two MUNI Metro light rail lines and the Caltrain heavy rail line at the King Street station. To encourage new housing while preserving sufficient lands for the projected future growth of Production, Distribution and Repair (PDR) businesses and activities, the Planning Department (Department) has proposed changes in the Planning Code (zoning) controls, as well as amendments to the General Plan, for a 2,345-acre area on the eastern side of San Francisco officially referred to as the "Eastern Neighborhoods". The project site is included in the planning area of the East South of Market (SoMa) Area Plan, one of the four Area Plans being prepared as part of the Department's larger Eastern Neighborhoods planning and rezoning effort.1 ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS B. (P. 111-1) On the basis of the Initial Study published on January 27, 2007, the San Francisco Planning Department determined that the following effects of the project would either be insignificant or would be reduced to a less-than-significant level by mitigation measures identified in the Initial 1 The plan area is bounded generally by Folsom Street on the northwest, the Rincon Hill Plan area (Second Street) on the east, Townsend Street on the south, and Fourth Street on the west, with an extension to the northwest bounded by Harrison Street, Seventh Street, Mission Street, Sixth Street (both sides) Natoma Street, Fifth Street, and Folsom Street. CaseNo.2005.0470E DraftEIR 1-2 178TownsendStreetProject December2007