Planning Commission approves Sunnydale HOPE SF design updates and Block 7 height adjustment
September 14, 2023 | San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California
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SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Planning Commission on Sept. 14 approved amendments to the Sunnydale HOPE SF Design Standards and Guidelines that officials said will remove a technical barrier to a block currently constrained by grading and measurement rules.
The commission voted 7-0 to adopt the staff-recommended changes, which include rezoning Block 7 from 40 to 50 feet, a series of 17 editorial and clarifying changes to the DSG, and provisions to allow modest flexibility for street design, setbacks, and limited additional height bonuses for stoops and tall ground-floor spaces.
Matt Snyder, planning department staff, told commissioners the amendments respond to a construction-phase grading condition that had effectively restricted part of a building to three stories and that the DSG language could be revised to avoid that problem in the future. "The proposal is to completely rebuild the existing 50 acre site, introducing market rate housing, completely new street grid, new parks and green space network," Snyder said in his presentation summarizing the project scope and the reason for the Block 7 change.
Related California and Mercy Housing, the project sponsors for Sunnydale, provided an update on construction. Tu Nguyen of the sponsor team said recent phases have delivered new affordable units and community facilities and that Block 7 is under review with planning staff; sponsors described the change as a technical cleanup that will allow staff-level review of block-specific design applications.
Commissioners who spoke in support described the amendments as reasonable adjustments to keep the redevelopment moving. After the presentation and brief public comment (no remote callers were heard), Commissioner Mark moved to approve and the motion passed unanimously.
The approvals do not change the overall redevelopment agreement that governs Sunnydale; subsequent detailed approvals for individual blocks will proceed through phase applications and design review as described in the development agreement.
The commission placed the Sunnydale amendments under the commission matters for implementation and concluded the item after the unanimous vote.
The commission voted 7-0 to adopt the staff-recommended changes, which include rezoning Block 7 from 40 to 50 feet, a series of 17 editorial and clarifying changes to the DSG, and provisions to allow modest flexibility for street design, setbacks, and limited additional height bonuses for stoops and tall ground-floor spaces.
Matt Snyder, planning department staff, told commissioners the amendments respond to a construction-phase grading condition that had effectively restricted part of a building to three stories and that the DSG language could be revised to avoid that problem in the future. "The proposal is to completely rebuild the existing 50 acre site, introducing market rate housing, completely new street grid, new parks and green space network," Snyder said in his presentation summarizing the project scope and the reason for the Block 7 change.
Related California and Mercy Housing, the project sponsors for Sunnydale, provided an update on construction. Tu Nguyen of the sponsor team said recent phases have delivered new affordable units and community facilities and that Block 7 is under review with planning staff; sponsors described the change as a technical cleanup that will allow staff-level review of block-specific design applications.
Commissioners who spoke in support described the amendments as reasonable adjustments to keep the redevelopment moving. After the presentation and brief public comment (no remote callers were heard), Commissioner Mark moved to approve and the motion passed unanimously.
The approvals do not change the overall redevelopment agreement that governs Sunnydale; subsequent detailed approvals for individual blocks will proceed through phase applications and design review as described in the development agreement.
The commission placed the Sunnydale amendments under the commission matters for implementation and concluded the item after the unanimous vote.
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