Ii I ~ 2 CIVIC CENTER STUDY Civic Center Draft for Citizen Review October 1994 San Francisco Planning Department , ~ I I , i Civic Center Study CiViC CENTER San Francisco Planning Department Civic Center Plan civic CENTER 2 2.1 Civic Center Plan . Improve the urban environment by increasing Policies. safety, maximing day and nighttme activities Proposed Master Plan Goals, Objectives and and facilitatig the sharig of public facilties. Civic Center Mission Statement . Preserve architectrally signficant strctures and The San Francio Civic Center fuctions as enhance the architectural character of the area the symbolic seat of the City and County govern- through proper design of new buildings, addi- ment. It is also host to monumental federal and state tions to existig buildings, open spaces and governent and judicial buildings and is a major streets, and signage. cultural, entertainent and educational center. It is the ceremonial public gatherig place in a city whose . Preserve and enhance view corrdors to Civic residents vigorously pursue and defend democratic ; Center. processes, often through ceremonial mass gatherigs: Civic Center is the City's symbolic "public space" for . Maintain sun exposure to public plazas and open ~ fairs, ralles, festivals, markets and parades for spaces and protect these spaces from unpleasat II residents, workers and viitors and for retired, winds. unemployed and homeless people. In support of this fuction and Mission, the City is commtted to creatig a safe, dynamc and Vision of Success for the Civic Center pleasant 24-hour 'campus' of the Civic Center and In the year 2000, the City anticipates that the environs. In doing so it should sek to acheve the Civic Center wil serve as the City's center for following Goals: governent offce and judicial activities, wil serve as the City's ceremonial public gatherig space, wil be · Maintain and reinorce the Civic Center as the the center for local legislative actvities, and wil host City's central place for governent admstra- nightte educational, recreational, entertinent tion, judicial services, and public gatherigs and and cultural activities and their associated residential as a center for art and culture. Facilitate the and commercial actvities. orderly expansion of educational intitutions, The Civic Center wil remain the most partcularly thos related to the art, law and attactive cluster of monumental and handsome public policy. Beaux Art public buildings in the nation. All facilties wil be safe, clean, pleasant, convenient and fully accessible to the City's residents, workers and visitors. 23 October 1994 · Draft for Citizen Review Civic Center Plan San Francisco Planning Department The Civic Center's plazas and open spaces Civic Center to facilitate public access and conve- wil be safe, clean, well-maintained, well-lit, and fully nience. accessible and wil be lined by a distict streetscape Cultural facilties, such as libraries, archives, design and pedestrian trail! circulation system. museum, galleries, theaters, nightclubs and concert The Civic Center wil be accessible by safe, halls, that attact a broad level of interest and day effcient, accessible, pleasant and affordable public and nightte attendance are also desirable partci- transit including day and nighttme local and pants in the Civic Center. They add interest and regional underground rail service, above-ground variety to the scope of activities occurrg in the ~ buses and trolleys, and taxis. Well-lit, clean, conve- Center, and provide weekend and nighttme use of nient and affordable parking for visitor and com- the area. ~ muter cars, vans and buses wil be maintained. To accomplish the objective stated above, six broad activity or use categories have been established . to provide general guidance for the future develop- . OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES ment of the Civic Center: : LAND USE 1. Administrative The Admistrative category includes legislative, -i ii OBJECTIVE 1 judicial, record-keeping, permit processing, Maintain and reinforce the Civic Center as the resource management, and legal activities of the I symbolic and ceremonial focus for the executive and judicial departments of govern- I admnistrative and civil judicial fuctions of the ment, and those public activities which provide . City, State and Federal Governents, and as a focal for the orderly management of the affairs of . point for cultural, ceremonial and political governent at the City, State and Federal levels. activities. It includes admistrative offces of governent . agencies and court facilties, but does not include l The fuction of the Civic Center area as a direct service clinics, laboratories, industral I governental services and admistrative distrct workshops or neighborhood-based services. i should be reinorced by locatig within the area . those City, State and Federal activities which require 2. Ars-Entertainment . a high degree of public and interagency interaction. The Arts-Entertainent category encompasses Public agencies which provide basic governmental those entertainment, amusement, sport, conven- l services, and partcularly those agencies used tion, library, recreational, artistic, musical and . intensively by the public, should be located in the theatrical activities which provide for the ... 24 I Civic Center Study CiVIC CENTER San Francisco Planning Department Civic Center Plan contiuing and increased public use and enjoy- consultants; food and beverage service establish- ment of the Civic Center area. ments; galleries and bookstores; parking; commercial recreation facilities; convenience 3. Public Gathering/Open Space retail stores; and personal service establishments. The Public Gatherig/Open Space category encompasses any major land area, open and Policy 1 unobstrcted, which provides passive or active Promote the effciency and convenience of govern- areas for public gatherig and recreation, and for mental agencies by locating governent legislative, any strctures incidental to and supportve of administrative and permt functions withn the Civic these priary uses. Center. 4. Educationa Institutions The Civic Center's most important fuction The Educational Intitution category includes is to provide a central point of contact between the day care, elementary, secondary and post- City's governental agencies and the public which J secondary schools, vocational schools and these agencies serve. employment traing program, partcularly The Civic Center should serve as a "one program closely related to the area's primary stop" center where the public can effectively and I uses such as schools of the art, law or public effciently tranct its business with governent. policy. Private activities such as title companes and design I and legal offces that deal with governent on a day- 5. Housing to-day basis are appropriate for the Civic Center and , The Housing category includes residential hotels, adjacent areas. Single Room Occupancy (SRO) unts, executive Governent at all levels, City, State and suites, apartents, flats, dormtories, board and Federal, which involve substatial public contact or l care facilities, transitional housing, temporary interaction should be located together within the shelters, court-related temporary detention Civic Center rather than dispersed throughout l facilities, and other similar residential facilities. adjacent areas in acquired, leased or rented proper- ties. Simlarly, agencies which maintain close and 6. Support Servces frequent contact with each other should be located The Support Services category encompasses together in a single building or in close proximty. ancilary commercial activities which support Because the Civic Center represents the governent offce, judicial and art activities nation's most complete cluster of monumental and such as offces of attorneys, architects and other landmark Beaux Art style public buildings, expan- 25 October 1994 · Draft for Citizen Review Civic Center Plan San Francisco Planning Department sion of governent admistrative activities within to City Hall whenever possible. Funds used for lease the Center must be carefully and sensitively accom- payments should be re-allocated to meet lease- modated. Public landmark offce buildings should purchase or other debt service costs for the constrc- be rehabiltated and restored and, in doing so, be tion of publicly-owned offce facilities. Although the made more effcient for offce use. Because the 16 magnitude of the present space needs may necessi- block Civic Center core area is largely 'built out", tate contiued leasing into the future, leased facilities new governent offce activities wil have to be should be confied to short- or intermediate-term accommodated in new buildings along the periphery offce use only, such as space for short-term grant- of the core area. Expanion of existig landmark fuded projects. Space for City agencies within these governent offce buildings is undesirable because it City-owned buildings should be organized into could harm the architectural integrity of the building fuctional clusters. Agencies with frequent contact and Center. Conversion of non-offce Beaux Arts should share space within a fuctional cluster. The buildings to offce use is, generally, ineffcient due to organiation of space and agencies by fuctional the diffculty of creatig offce spaces in buildings cluster could mize duplication of servces and with large halls and lobbies, tall ceilings and grand facilties, increase productivity of workers by creatig stairways. To accommodate effcient governent effcient work