72 Townsend Residential Project PDEIR
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San Francisco Redevelopment Agency 72 TOWNSEND STREET RESIDENTIAL PROJECT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT ER12.15.05 State Clearinghouse No. 2006012057 EIR Publication Date: April 19, 2006 EIR Public Hearing Date: May 16, 2006 EIR Public Comment Period: April 19, 2006 – June 5, 2006 Written comments on this document should be sent to: Stanley Muraoka, Project Manager San Francisco Redevelopment Agency 1 South Van Ness Avenue, Fifth Floor San Francisco, California 94103 April 19, 2006 72 Townsend Street i Draft Environmental Impact Report TABLE OF CONTENTS 72 Townsend Street Draft Environmental Impact Report Table of Contents Page I. Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 1 A. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 B. Project Description .................................................................................................................... 1 C. Main Environmental Effects...................................................................................................... 2 D. Mitigation Measures.................................................................................................................. 8 E. Significant Environmental Effects That Cannot be Avoided if the Project is Implemented........................................................... 14 F. Alternatives to the Proposed Project........................................................................................ 14 G. Areas of Controversy and Issues to be Resolved..................................................................... 18 II. Project Description.......................................................................................................................... 21 A. Project Sponsor's Objectives ................................................................................................... 21 B. Project Location ...................................................................................................................... 21 C. Project Characteristics ............................................................................................................. 23 D. Project Approval Requirements............................................................................................... 30 III. Environmental Setting and Impacts............................................................................................ 31 A. Historical Resources................................................................................................................ 32 B. Land Use, Zoning, and Plan Consistency................................................................................ 50 C. Transportation.......................................................................................................................... 62 D. Growth Inducement ................................................................................................................. 81 E. Areas of Controversy and Issues to be Resolved..................................................................... 82 IV. Mitigation Measures Proposed to Minimize the Potential Adverse Impacts of the Project........................................................................... 83 V. Significant Environmental Effects That Cannot be Avoided if the Project is Implemented........................................................ 89 VI. Alternatives to the Proposed Project .......................................................................................... 91 A. Alternative A: No Project Alternative .................................................................................... 92 B. Alternative B: Preservation Alternative.................................................................................. 93 C. Alternative C: Reduced Alternative........................................................................................ 95 D. Environmentally Superior Alternative..................................................................................... 96 VII. Draft EIR Distribution List ........................................................................................................... 97 April 19, 2006 72 Townsend Street ii Draft Environmental Impact Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Page VIII. EIR Authors, Project Sponsor’s Team, and Persons Consulted ....................................... 103 IX. Appendices ...................................................................................................................................... 105 A. Notice of Preparation/Initial Study B. Intersection Level of Service Designations List of Figures Figure 1 Proposed Project Location....................................................................................................... 22 Figure 2 Proposed Ground Floor Plan ................................................................................................... 24 Figure 3 Proposed Podium Level Floor Plan ......................................................................................... 25 Figure 4 Proposed Residential Floor Plan.............................................................................................. 26 Figure 5 Proposed Project Elevation...................................................................................................... 27 Figure 6 Proposed Project Sections ....................................................................................................... 28 Figure 7 Transportation Study Area....................................................................................................... 63 Figure 8 Transit Network....................................................................................................................... 69 List of Tables Table 1 San Francisco General Plan Street Designations..................................................................... 64 Table 2 Intersection Levels of Service (LOS) Existing and Existing plus Project Conditions – Weekday P.M. Peak Hour...................................................................... 67 Table 3 Intersection Levels of Service (LOS) Existing and 2025 Cumulative Conditions – Weekday PM Peak Hour ......................................................................................................... 79 April 19, 2006 72 Townsend Street iii Draft Environmental Impact Report I. SUMMARY A. INTRODUCTION This Draft Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) was prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) for the proposed redevelopment of the existing single-story warehouse building at 64-72 Townsend Street, between Second and Colin P. Kelly Jr. Streets, into a nine-story, 99-foot-high, approximately 147,320-gross-square-foot (“gsf”) building providing 74 dwelling units and 74 above-grade parking spaces. The new project site address will be 72 Townsend Street. On the basis of the Initial Study, dated January 13, 2006, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (“Agency”) determined that an EIR is required. (See Appendix A, Notice of Preparation/Initial Study.) This EIR is intended to provide information on the environmental effects of the proposed 72 Townsend Street project to allow the Agency to make an informed decision on the project. B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The project site is in the northeast quadrant of San Francisco, in an area known as South Beach. The rectangular project site is on the west side of the City block bounded by Townsend, Colin P. Kelly Jr., Brannan, and Second Streets. The project site is located at 64-72 Townsend Street, on Assessor's Block 3789, Lot 3. The 29,098-square-foot site (approximately 0.67 acre) currently contains the 31- foot-tall, single-story Hooper’s South End Grain Warehouse building (“Hooper’s Warehouse”) that was constructed in 1874 and survived the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed most of the area immediately north of the site. The existing building contains approximately 28,175 gross square feet and is currently vacant. The Hooper’s Warehouse building is listed in local and state surveys of buildings that could be considered historic resources: the State Office of Historic Preservation (“OHP”) Status Code 2S2 indicates that the building has been found eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic April 19, 2006 72 Townsend Street 1 Draft Environmental Impact Report I. SUMMARY Places (“National Register”) and has already been listed in the California Register of Historic Resources (“California Register”); the building is listed in Splendid Extended (the Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage's extended survey of Downtown San Francisco); and the building is recognized as a Contributory Building to the South End Historic District. The project sponsor, Lambert Development LLC, proposes to retain the existing historic warehouse building occupying the entire site, except for the roof, and to construct seven residential stories on top of the existing building, creating a nine-story building. The first two levels (in the shell of the existing building) would contain two levels of above-grade parking with 74 spaces, as well as 5,000 square feet of ground-floor neighborhood-serving retail space. The upper seven floors would contain 37 one-bedroom units and 37 two-bedroom units for a total of 74 units. Vehicular access to the parking garage would be on Colin P.