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SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1223 07394 0265 275 10TH STREET SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROJECT Environmental Impact Report Planning Departnnent Case No. 2005.0634E DOCUMENTS DEPT. State Clearinghouse No. 2006042067 SEP - 8 2006 SAN FRANCISCO Draft EIR Publication Date: September 2, 2006 PUBLIC LIBRARY Draft EIR Public Hearing Date: October 12, 2006 Draft EIR Public Comment Period: September 2 through October 13, 2006 DOCUMENTS DEPT. SEP 0 5 2006 SAN FRANOia^ PUBLieiJBRA^ San Francisco PublicLibrary Government Intormation Center San Francisco Public Library 100 Larkin Street, 5th Floor San Francisco, CA 94102 REFERENCE BOOK Not to be taken from the Library 1 ^ PLANNING DEPARTMENT Cityand CountyofSanFrancisco • 1660Mission Street,Suite500 • SanFrancisco, California • 94103-2414 MAINNUMBER DIRECTOR'SOFFICE ZONINGADMINISTRATOR PLANNINGINFORMATION COMMISSIONCALENDAR (415)558-6378 PHONE:558-641 PHONE:558-6350 PHONE:558-6377 INFO:558-6422 4THFLOOR 5THFLOOR MAJORENVIRONMENTAL INTERNETWEBSITE FAX:558-6426 FAX:558-6409 FAX:558-5991 WWW.SFGOV.ORG/PLANNING DATE: September2, 2006 TO: DistributionList forthe 275 10th Street Supportive HousingProjectEIR FROM: PaulMaltzer, Environmental Review Officer SUBJECT: Request for the Final Environmental ImpactReport forthe 275 10th Street Supportive Housing Project (CaseNo. 2005.0634E) This is theDraftofthe Environmental ImpactReport (EIR) forthe 275 10th Street Supportive Housing Project. Apublic hearing willbeheldon the adequacy and accuracyofthis document. Afterthepublichearing, our officewillprepare andpublish a document entitled "Comments andResponses,"whichwill contain a summary ofall relevant comments onthis DraftEIR and ourresponses to those comments, along withcopies ofthe letters received andatranscript ofthepublic hearing. The Comments and Responses documentmay also specify changes to this DraftEIR. Public agencies andmembers ofthepublicwho testify atthehearing onthe Draft EIRwill automaticallyreceive a copy ofthe Comments andResponses document, along with notice ofthe date reserved for certification; others mayreceive such copies andnotice onrequest orby visiting ouroffice. This DraftEIR, togetherwith the Comments andResponses document, will be consideredbythe Planning Commission inan advertisedpublic meeting, andthen certifiedas a Final EIR ifdeemedadequate. Aftercertification, wewill modifythe Draft EIR as specifiedby the Comments and Responses document and printbothdocuments in a singlepublication calledthe Final Environmental Impact Report. The Final EIR will addnonew informationto the combinationofthe two documents exceptto reproduce the certification resolution. Itwill simplyprovide the information in one ratherthantwo documents. Therefore, ifyoureceive a copy ofthe Comments andResponses document inaddition to this copyofthe DraftEIR, youwill technically have acopy oftheFinalEIR. We are awarethatmanypeople whoreceive the DraftEIRandComments andResponses documenthave no interestinreceivingvirtuallythe same informationafterthe EIRhas been certified. To avoid expending money andpaperneedlessly, wewould like to sendcopies oftheFinal EIR, inAdobeAcrobat format on a compact disk(CD), toprivate individuals onlyiftheyrequestthem. Therefore, ifyouwould like a copy ofthe Final EIR, please fill outandmail thepostcardprovided inside the backcoverto the MajorEnvironmental Analysis divisionofthePlanning Departmentwithintwo weeks aftercertification ofthe EIR. Anyprivate party not requesting aFinal EIRbythattimewillnotbemailed a copy. Thankyouforyourinterest inthisproject. 275 10TH STREET SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROJECT Environmental Impact Report Planning Department Case No. 2005.0634E State Clearinghouse No. 2006042067 Draft EIR Publication Date: Septennber 2, 2006 Draft EIR Public Hearing Date: October 12, 2006 Draft EIR Public Comment Period: September 2 through October 13, 2006 Thisdocumentprintedonrecycledpaper. 206062 Digitized by the Internet Archive 2014 in https://archive.org/details/27510thstreetsup2200sanf I TABLE OF CONTENTS 275 10th Street Supportive Housing Project Draft Environmental Impact Report Page SUMMARY I. 1 M. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 8 A. Site Location and Project Characteristics 8 B. Project Setting 16 C. Approvals Required 16 D. Project Sponsor's Objectives 18 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTS 20 III. A. Land Use, Planning, and Population 20 B. Historical Resources 37 C. Growth Inducennent 62 D. Other Items Not Included in the Initial Study Checklist 63 IV. MITIGATION MEASURES 66 V. SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS THAT CANNOT BE AVOIDED 71 IF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS IMPLEMENTED VL ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT 73 A. No Project 73 B. Preservation Alternative 74 C. Partial Preservation Alternative 76 VII. DRAFT EIR DISTRIBUTION LIST 79 APPENDICES VIII. A. Initial Study B. Historical Resources Background Reports IX. EIRAUTHORS AND CONSULTANTS CaseNo. 2005.0634E ii 275 10thStreet TABLEOFCONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES 1. Project Location 9 2. Site Plan 10 3. Ground Floor Plan 12 4. Typical Floor Plan 13 5. Elevations 14 6. Sections 15 7. Land Use 23 8. Potential SoMa Historic District (approximate boundary) 45 9. Buildings on the Project Site 49 10. Historic Resources Survey Area 53 1 1. Partial Preservation Alternative 77 Paqe LIST OF TABLES 1. Properties Within Historic Resources in Survey Area 52 2. Projects That Could Affect the Potential SoMa Historic District 60 Case No 2005.0634E Hi 275 10th Street CHAPTER I Summary A. Project Description (p. 8) Theproject sponsor. Episcopal Community Services ofSanFrancisco (ECS), a non-profit social service agency dedicatedto helping homeless and low-income people movetowards self-sufficiency,proposes to develop, in conjunctionwith its developmentconsultant, the Housing Services Affiliate ofthe Bemal HeightsNeighborhoodCenter, 134 units ofsupportivehousing (permanenthousingwithon-site social/vocational services) forformerlyhomeless andextremelylow-income adults and families inthe City's SouthofMarketneighborhood. Theprojectwouldbe developed onthree contiguous parcels located at 275 10th Street, 1350 Folsom Street and 64-72 Dore Street, andwould involve demolition of the three existingbuildings on theproject site and construction ofanew five-story, 50-foot-tallbuilding. Theprojectwouldcomplywiththe requirementspfthe Service/LightIndustrial/ResidentialMixedUse (SLR) Use District andthe 50-X Height and Bulk District in which itis located. Theproposedprojectwouldcontain 134 single-room occupancy ("SRO") affordable housingunits, one manager's dwellingunit, client supportive services (i.e., medical, counseling, andtraining services and the like), communal space anda courtyardprovidingopen space forproject residents, and 11 off-street parking spaces, alongwith ground-floorcommercial spaceonthe Folsom Street frontage. Theproject wouldbe locatednearthenortheast comerof10thandFolsom Streets. The invertedL-shaped sitewraps aroundtwo existingbuildings at the comer. Project construction is estimatedtotake about 17 months, withoccupancyplanned for2008. Once complete, theprojectwouldbe operatedby ECS, which currentlyprovides, alone or inpartnership with otheragencies, supportivehousing at 11 SanFrancisco locations. B. Main Environmental Effects Land Use, Planning, and Population (p. 20) Theprojectarea is characterizedby amix ofuses, withproduction, distribution, andrepair (PDR), residential, andretail usespredominating. Theproposedprojectwould change the character oftheproject site andimmediate vicinity, butwouldnot fundamentally alterits existing mix ofuses: theneighborhood currently containsbothlarge-scale, supportive andaffordable residential development andsmaller-scale, mostly older, market-rateresidential units. Theproposednewbuildingwouldbe tallerand more massive than the assemblage ofthree existing one- andtwo-story structures ontheproject site. Also, the proposed Case No. 2005.0634E 1 275 10th Street SUMMARY I. Structure would be ofa contemporary design, elements ofwhich are intended to relate to the predominately industrial architectural vernacularand visual mix ofthe larger South ofMarket neighborhood. Together, theproposedproject and the recentlybuiltFolsom Dore Supportive Housing project across fromtheproject site wouldconstitute a small concentration oflarger-scale, modem residential construction. However, the proposedprojectwouldconformto the existing 50-footheight limit, occupy a relatively small portion oftheblock, and include items ofvisual interest atthe ground floor, particularly on Folsom Street(retail space inthe case oftheproposed275 10th Streetproject; retention ofan olderbrickbuilding facade in the case ofthe Folsom Dore Supportive Housingproject). Therefore, even together, the two buildings wouldnotpresentapsychological orvisualbarriersubstantial enough to divide the neighborhoodorto adversely affect the characteroftheneighborhood. Theproposedprojectwouldnot substantially affect existingnearbyPDRbusinessesbecausephysical conflicts (e.g., traffic and loading in Dore Street) wouldbe expectedtoberelativelyminimal, the number ofpotentially affectedbusinesses wouldbe relatively small, andthe immediately adjacentbuildinghas its own off-siteparking area. Theproposedprojectwould increase the residentialpopulationontheproject site while decreasingthe number ofemployedpersons working atthe site, comparedto conditions whenthemostrecentbusiness onthe site was operating at fullproduction, displacing the remaining 14 employees ofthepriorPDRuser ofthe project site. Moreover, the types ofjobs available onthe site would change. However, the loss 14 PDRjobs would notbe considered displacement of"a large numberofpeople."Theprojectwould not displace any existingresidents. Inas much as theproposedproject wouldprovide supportivehousing for formerly homelesspersons, theprojectwouldconsist of 100percent affordablehousing, andtherefore the project woulddirectly reduce, albeit incrementally, the City'sneed foraffordablehousing. Interms ofcumulative impacts, particularlywithregard to the supply ofland andbuilding space available forPDRuses, theproposedprojectwoulddirectlydisplace an existing PDRuse andwouldcontribute to the anticipated loss ofbetweenabout 1,300 and2,600 PDRjobs by2025,basedonPlanning Department forecasts. While the approximately 14 PDRjobs to theproposedprojectwouldbe asmallportionofthe total, theproposedproject would, nevertheless contribute to this change. Moreover, theproposedproject, along with otherprojects, such as the recentlycompletedFolsom Dore Supportive Housing, could combine to indirectlyprompt furtherloss in PDRuses andjobs in theprojectvicinity, suchasby encouragingcontinuedclustering ofsupportive and affordable housing and social services intheproject area. Additionally, theproject site was notdesignated forhousingunderOptionB oftheproposedEastern Neighborhoods rezoning (thebaseline for a 2005 study that foundthe City would have adequate land, but not enough building space, to accommodate future PDR demand), but was instead designated as "Core PDR." Thus, loss ofPDR space on the projectblock would diminish the supply ofland available forPDR uses, compared to that forecast in the 2005 study, and could contribute to a lack ofsufficient landand building space to meet the future demand forPDRuses. Continuing decline inbuilding space and land available toPDRbusinesses would continue whathas beenan ongoingtrend, and could mean that some EasternNeighborhoods residents with limited education and some immigrants with limitedEnglish skills Case No. 2005.0634E 2 275 10th Street