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SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1223 07252 3716 900 MINNESOTA STREET Final Environmental Impact Report Planning Department Case No. 2004.0027E State Clearinghouse No. 2005032024 DOCUMENTS DEPT. JAN ~ 9 2006 SAN FRANCISCO Draft EIR Publication Date: September 17, 2005 PUBLIC LIBRARY Draft EIR Public Hearing Date: October 20, 2005 Draft EIR Public Comment Period: September 17, 2005 through October 25 2005 Final EIR Certification Date: December 15, 2005 711.4097 N6221f San FranciscoPublicLibrary Government Information Center San Francisco Public Library 100 Larkin Street, 5th Floor San Francisco, CA 94102 REFERENCE BOOK Not to be taken from the Library December 15, 2005 File No: 2004.0027E 900 Minnesota Street Assessor's Block 4106, Lot 027 SAN FRANCISCO CITY PLANNING COMMISSION MOTION NO. 17164 ADOPTING FINDINGS RELATED TO THE CERTIFICATION OF A FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE PROPOSED 900 MINNESOTA STREET PROJECT MOVED, That the San Francisco Planning Commission (hereinafter "Commission") hereby CERTIFIES the Final Environmental Impact Report identified as case file No. 2004.0027E, 900 Minnesota Street Project (hereinafter "Project") based upon the following findings: 1) The City and County of San Francisco, acting through the Planning Department (hereinafter "Department") fulfilled all procedural requirements ofthe California Environmental Quality Act (Cal. Pub. Res. Code Section 21000 et seq., hereinafter "CEQA"), the State CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Admin. Code Title 14, Section 15000 et seq., hereinafter "CEQA Guidelines," and Chapter 31 ofthe San Francisco Administrative Code (hereinafter 'Chapter 31"). a. The Department determined that an Environmental Impact Report (hereinafter "EIR") was required and provided public notice of that determination by publication in a newspaper ofgeneral circulation on March 5, 2005. b. On September 17, 2005, the Department published the Draft Environmental Impact Report (hereinafter "DEIR") and provided public notice in a newspaper of general circulation of the availability of the DEIR for public review and comment and of the date and time of the Planning Commission public hearing on the DEIR; this notice was mailed to the Department's list ofpersons requesting such notice. c. Notices of Availability of the DEIR and of the date and time of the public hearing were posted near the project site on September 17, 2005. d. On September 17, 2005, copies of the DEIR were delivered to the State Clearinghouse for distribution to government agencies. On September 17, 2004, copies of the DEIR were mailed or otherwise delivered to a list ofpersons requesting it, to those noted on the distribution list in the DEIR, to adjacent property owners, and to government agencies. e. Notice ofCompletion was filed with the State Secretary ofResources via the State Clearinghouse on September 17, 2005. CITY PLANNING COMMISSION File No: 2002.0954E 1234 Howard StreetProject Assessor's Block 3728, Lot 014 Motion No. 17164 Page 2 of3 2) The Commission held a duly advertised public hearing on said DEIR on October 20, 2005, at which opportunity for public comment was given, and public comment was received on the DEIR. The period foracceptance ofwritten comments ended on October 25, 2005. 3) The Department prepared responses to comments on environmental issues received at the public hearing and in writing during the 38-day public review period for the DEIR, prepared revisions to the text of the DEIR in response to comments received or based on additional information that became available during the public review period, and corrected errors in the DEIR. This material was presented in a "Draft Summary of Comments and Responses," published on December 1, 2005, was distributed to the Commission and to all parties who commented on the DEIR, and was available to others upon request at Department offices. A 4) Final Environmental Impact Report (hereinafter "FEIR") has been prepared by the Department, consisting ofthe DEIR, any consultations and comments received during the review process, any additional information that became available, and the Summary of Comments and Responses all as required by law. Since publication of the DEIR, no new information of significance has become available that would require recirculation of the EIR under CEQA Guideline Section 15088.5. 5) Project Environmental Impact Report files have been made available for review by the Commission and the public. These files are available for public review by appointment at the Department offices at 1660 Mission Street, and are part ofthe record before the Commission. 6) On December 15, 2005, the Commission reviewed and considered the FEIR and hereby does find that the contents of said report and the procedures through which the FEIR was prepared, publicized and reviewed comply with the provisions of CEQA, the CEQA guidelines and Chapter 31 ofthe San Francisco Administrative Code. 7) The Planning Commission hereby does find that the FEIR concerning File No. 2004.0027E: 900 Minnesota Street Project reflects the independentjudgment and analysis ofthe City and County ofSan Francisco, is adequate, accurate and objective, and that the Summary of Comments and Responses contains no significant revisions to the DEIR, and hereby does CERTIFY THE COMPLETION ofsaid Final Environmental Impact Report in compliance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines. 8) The Commission, in certifying the completion of said FEIR, hereby does find that the proposed project described and evaluated in the EIR and as preferred by the project sponsor would have the following unavoidable significant environmental impact that could not be mitigated to a level ofnon-significance: (a) The proposed project would result in demolition of four buildings listed as contributory resources to the Dogpatch Historic District, included in Article 10 ofthe Planning Code. This would be a significant impact that could not be mitigated to a less-than-significant level. With the implementation of mitigation measures outlined in Chapter IV, Mitigation Measures, all potential significant impacts would be reduced to a less-than-significant level, with the exception ofeffects on historical and architectural resources: the project would result in a significant, unmitigable impact CITY PLANNING COMMISSION File No: 2002.0954E 1234 Howard StreetProject Assessor's Block 3728, Lot 014 MotionNo. 17164 Page 3 of3 by demolition of four buildings that are contributory to the Dogpatch Historic District, listed in Article 10 ofthe Planning Code. I hereby certify that the foregoing Motion was ADOPTED by the Planning Commission at its regular meeting ofDecember 15, 2005. Linda Avery Commission Secretary AYES: 4 NOES: 0 ABSENT: Commissioners Bradford-Bell, Alexander, and Olague ADOPTED: Environmental ImpactReport Certified 3 1223 07252 3716 900 MINNESOTA STREET Final Environmental Impact Report Planning Department Case No. 2004.0027E State Clearinghouse No. 2005032024 Draft EIR Publication Date: September 17, 2005 Draft EIR Public Hearing Date: October 20, 2005 Draft EIR Public Comment Period: September 17, 2005 through October 25, 2005 Final EIR Certification Date: December 15, 2005 Changes f-om the Draft EIR text are indicated by a dot (•) in the left margin (adjacent to the page number for figures). Thisdocumentprintedonrecycledpaper. 204161 Digitized by the Internet Archive 2014 in https://archive.org/details/900minnesotastre1520sanf TABLE OF CONTENTS 900 MINNESOTA STREET FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT Page SUMMARY I. 1 A. Project Description 1 B. Environmental Effects 2 C. Areas ofControversy and Issues to be Resolved 8 D. Mitigation Measures 8 E. Alternatives to the Proposed Project 10 PROJECT DESCRIPTION II. 13 A. Site Location and Project Characteristics 13 B. Project Sponsor's Objectives 28 C. Project Approval Requirements and General Plan Policies 29 III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTS 32 A. Land Use, Plans, and Policies 32 B. Visual Quality 42 C. Transportation, Circulation and Parking 51 D. Shadow 71 E. Historical and Architectural Resources 78 F. Growth Inducement 91 MITIGATION MEASURES IV. 92 A. Mitigation Measures fromthe EIR 92 B. Mitigation Measures from the Initial Study 93 V. SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS THAT CANNOT 95 BE AVOIDED IF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS IMPLEMENTED VI. ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT 96 A. Alternative A: No Project 96 B. Alternative B: Preservation Alternative 97 VII. DRAFT EIRDISTRIBUTION LIST 100 VIII. SUMMARY OF COMMENTS AND RESPONSES C&R.l IX. APPENDICES A. Initial Study X. EIR AUTHORS AND CONSULTANTS; PERSONS CONSULTED 900MinnesotaStreet 11 CaseNumber2004.0027E 204161 1 TABLEOFCONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES 1. Project Location 14 2. Existing Site Plan 15 • 2A. Existing Site Plan Showing Proposed Alterations 17a • 3. [Revised] Proposed Project: Level 1 18 4. Proposed Project: Level 5 19 5. Elevations- Winery Building (Minnesota Street) 20 6. Elevations - Bottling Warehouse (Indiana Street) 22 7. Elevations ofNew Buildings 23 8. Composite Minnesota and Indiana Street Elevations 24 9. Project Rendering Along Minnesota Street 25 10. Parking Level 1 27 11. Existing Views ofthe Project Site 45 12. Existing Views ofthe Project Site 46 13. Existing Views from Esprit Park 47 14. Public Transportation Network 55 15. Nearby Existing Bicycle Routes and Lanes 57 16. Existing Views ofEsprit Park 74 17. Existing Views ofEspritPark 75 18. Maximum Extent ofNew Shadow on Esprit Park 77 • 19. Sketch Plan ofAlternative B 97a LIST OF TABLES 1. Person Trips PerTime Scenario 6 2. Mode Split for PM Peak HourTrips 62 3. Summary ofLevels ofService (LOS) at Study Intersections 63 4. Project Percentage ofCumulative Traffic Volume Increases 65 5. Parking Supply, Demand, and Code Requirements 66 6. Construction Phase Descriptions 70 900 Minnesota Street 111 CaseNumber2004.0027E 204161