Thanks to everyone who testified or submitted letters for the February 2 Planning Commission hearing on Articles 10 & 11. Because of your support for strong and inclusive historic preservation protections, the Planning Commission unanimously adopted a compromise resolution that echoes the HPC version approved the day before. The collective resolutions finally send Articles 10 & 11 to the Board of Supervisors, marking a major milestone in the three-plus year effort to implement Proposition J. Although many of Supervisor Wiener’s proposals remain, the most controversial amendments were either modified or sent back to the drawing board. Under both the HPC and Planning Commission versions:
- The HPC must consider historic district nominations supported by a majority of property owners, but there is no minimum owner support requirement for the HPC to initiate designation.
- Both owners and renters will be polled by the Planning Department for their views on proposed historic districts.
- All proposed work must comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards or local interpretations thereof.
Both commissions endorsed an economic hardship provision in concept, but removed Supervisor Wiener’s proposed language that would have potentially exempted residential projects for households up to 150% area median income. The Planning Commission advised the Board of Supervisors to craft new language with input from the community and other interested parties. Heritage looks forward to working with Supervisor Wiener, the Board of Supervisors and others to develop economic hardship language that reflects best practices in other cities. Of course, we will continue to closely follow the legislation as it works its way through the Land Use Committee and to the full Board for adoption.
