San Francisco commission recommends landmark designation for Clay Theatre after debate over interior limits

The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on Jan. 5 voted unanimously to recommend landmark designation for the Clay Theatre at 2261 Fillmore Street, forwarding a draft ordinance to the Board of Supervisors after a staff presentation and public comments in support.

Planning staff described the Clay Theatre as one of the city’s oldest single-screen neighborhood theaters, built in 1913 and altered in subsequent decades. Pilar LaValle of the Planning Department said the building meets criteria for local landmark status because of its association with early neighborhood theaters and as an important exhibitor of foreign and independent films. “The Department recommends that the HPC approve the recommendation for landmark designation of the Clay Theatre,” LaValle said during the staff presentation.

Supporters framed the designation as a protection for a cultural institution. “We must protect our unique San Francisco cultural institutions,” said Stephanie Peake, a longtime resident, who asked the commission to designate the Clay as an Article 10 landmark under section 1,004.2 of the Planning Code. Woody Labounty of San Francisco Heritage urged commissioners to adopt the recommendation so the theater “can thrive once more in that role in the future.” Catherine Petrin, representing the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, said the foundation has tracked the Clay’s condition for more than a decade and strongly supports the nomination.

The building’s owner, represented by David Marlock of DNM Architecture, told the commission that while the owner supports preserving distinctive features such as the exterior façade, marquee and proscenium, the owner is concerned that listing interior elements like the lobby and the raked (sloped) floor could reduce the property’s value and hinder adaptive reuse. “We believe that we must leave open at least the possibility of adaptive reuse, and not inadvertently shut down some of the very paths which may lead to its success,” Marlock said, arguing that rigid requirements for interior finishes could preclude viable tenants that would fund restoration.

Commissioners probed whether landmarking would prevent adaptive reuse and what process would govern changes. LaValle said designation would require a Certificate of Appropriateness for building-permit-triggering work and that proposals would be reviewed against the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation; if a proposed project conforms, staff said it generally would not trigger a negative declaration or an environmental impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act. LaValle also said that when staff referenced the “lobby” in the ordinance, the intent was to identify the lobby as a volumetric space (the sequence of vestibule to lobby to auditorium) rather than particular finishes, and that the ordinance could be amended to make that clearer.

Commission discussion repeatedly returned to balancing protection of character-defining features — such as the proscenium, parapet and exterior ornamentation — with flexibility to allow reversible modifications that would permit a new use. Commissioner Black said she preferred retaining interior features but acknowledged the need for flexibility so the building could be economically sustainable: preservation that prevents any viable use risks long-term neglect.

After deliberation, Commissioner Sowell moved to approve staff’s recommendation, with the minor non-substantive edits to the draft ordinance proposed by staff; the motion was seconded and passed on a recorded roll-call vote. Two commissioners had recused themselves earlier from a separate consent item; the record shows the landmark motion passed unanimously 6 to 0. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

Votes at a glance: the commission also adopted the meeting minutes, elected officers (Commission President Matsuda and Vice President Nagas Warren), approved consent items for cases at 5 Third Street and 888 Tennessee Street (the former with conditions after recusal), and handled a procedural recusal motion that was recorded and will require recusal forms be posted on the Ethics Commission website within 10 days.

What happens next: the commission’s recommendation is a formal referral to the Board of Supervisors, which must act on the draft ordinance for the Clay Theatre to be designated as a local landmark. Staff and commissioners noted that future permit reviews would be the forum to reconcile preservation requirements with adaptive-reuse proposals.