Commission approves modified 10 South Van Ness project and brief extension; residents press shadow and unit-mix concerns

The Planning Commission voted unanimously on Jan. 19 to approve a modified 10 South Van Ness project and to grant the sponsor an extension of the entitlement performance period. The project sponsor described massing adjustments to the tower that increase the total unit count by 46 units (from 966 to about 1,012) and reduce retail area. The sponsor also noted it had acquired and donated a parcel on 1979 Mission to meet affordable-housing obligations.

Staff said the modified design reduces instances of units that do not meet exposure rules and that the project largely conforms to the previous CEQA certification; a note to file was prepared to document the limited environmental changes. The Acting Zoning Administrator approved a related variance for an opening width exception.

Several nearby residents spoke during public comment to urge caution. A resident who lives across Market Street said the added tower mass would darken morning sunlight for residents in a neighboring building of older and vulnerable tenants, and raised wind-safety concerns for sidewalks near the powerhouse corridor. Commissioners pressed staff and the sponsor about trade-offs in dwelling-unit mix: the modified project reduces 2- and 3-bedroom units in favor of studios and one-bedrooms. Sponsor representatives said market conditions at the Van Ness transit hub and rental-market experience at nearby NEMA informed their unit-mix decisions, and that the sponsor had already made a substantial off-site affordable-housing contribution.

Commissioners stressed the importance of interim stewardship of Twelfth Street and asked the sponsor to engage in neighborhood upkeep while construction is pending. The commission adopted shadow findings and approved the requested project modifications, conditions and the performance-period extension; the acting zoning administrator approved the variance. Vote was 7–0.

What happens next: The sponsor will continue technical work and permitting; staff will ensure mitigation measures and conditions are tracked and the project will move forward through building permit reviews as financing and market conditions allow.