Philip A. Ginsburg, General Manager Dawn Kamalanathan, Director, Capital & Planning Division

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1 Date June 3, 2015 To: Through: From: Subject: Recreation and Park Commission Capital Committee Philip A. Ginsburg, General Manager Dawn Kamalanathan, Director, Capital & Planning Division Stacy Bradley, Planner, Capital & Planning Division Alex Wolk, Planner, Capital & Planning Division 950 Gough Street, Evaluation of Shadow on Jefferson Square Agenda Wording Jefferson Square Shadow Impact from Proposed Project at 950 Gough Street. Presentation and discussion only that the new shadow cast upon Jefferson Square by the proposed project at 950 Gough Street will not have a significant or adverse impact on the use of the park pursuant to Planning Code Section 295 (the Sunlight Ordinance). Background Section 295 of the Planning Code, adopted in 1985 pursuant to the voter mandate of Proposition K and also known as the Sunlight Ordinance, requires the Planning Commission, prior to approving a project exceeding a height of 40 feet, to make a finding that any shadow cast by the project onto property under the jurisdiction of the Recreation and Park Department is insignificant. Under Section 295, the Planning Commission shall not make this determination until the General Manager of the Recreation and Park Department in consultation with the Recreation and Park Commission has had an opportunity to review and comment to the Planning Commission on the proposed project. In 1989, the Recreation and Park Commission and Planning Commission jointly adopted a memorandum (the 1989 Memo ) which identified quantitative and qualitative criteria for determinations of significant shadows in parks under the jurisdiction of the Recreation and Park Department. (Planning Commission Resolution No )

2 The 1989 Memo provides the following qualitative criteria to analyze a building s shadow on a park: time of day, time of year, size of shadow, duration of shadow, location of shadow and public good served by the shadow caster. The Memo states that for smaller parks (less than 2 acres) which are already shadowed 20% or more of the time during the year, it is recommended that no additional shadow be permitted. The Memo also states that for larger parks (greater than 2 acres) with existing shadow loads of less than 20%, an additional 1.0% of shadow is recommended as permitted if the specific shadow meets the additional qualitative criteria. Project Description 950 Gough is located in the northeast quadrant of San Francisco in the Downtown/Civic Center neighborhood, west of Van Ness Avenue (Assessor s Block 0744 / Lot 010). The project block is bounded by Eddy Street to the north, Franklin Street to the east, Turk Street to the south, and Gough Street to the west. See Attachment A for a Project Location map. This parcel was the longtime location of the Saint Paulus Lutheran Church, built in 1894 and destroyed by a fire on November 5th, The lot has remained undeveloped since that time, however, between 2010 and early 2014, the vacant lot served as a temporary urban agriculture site run by The Free Farm ( At present, farming actives are neither ongoing nor planned at this location. The proposed project is an eight-story, mixed-use development containing eighty-seven residential units, a 10,038 square foot (sf) church (the new site for the Saint Paulus Lutheran Church) and a sixty-five car parking garage. It will have two distinct massing elements: a lower base massing at 50 feet in height, and upper massing set back from Gough Street. The southern interior property line has a maximum height of 80 feet. It includes a four-foot, six-inch tall parapet plus a fifteen-foot tall elevator penthouse for a total maximum building height of ninety-five feet, as measured from the ground floor. See Attachments B and C for Project Renderings, Site Plan and Elevations. Surrounding Properties and Neighborhood The zoning on the subject block is RM-4 (Residential - Mixed, High Density) with nearby blocks zoned RM-4, RM-3 (Residential - Mixed, Medium Density), and NCT-3 (Moderate Scale Neighborhood Commercial Transit District). Existing development in the area consists of a mix of multi-family residential and institutional/office/commercial uses. Aside from a few smaller structures, the majority of the existing development in the area is between 3 and 8 stories in height. Park Description Jefferson Square Park is a 5.64 acre (245,778 sf) urban park located in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco on Assessor s Block 0745 / Lot 001. It is bounded by Eddy Street to the north, Turk Street to the south, Gough Street to the east, and Laguna Street to the west, Page 2 of 6

3 and is under the jurisdiction of the RPD. The park is not fenced, but the official hours of operation are from 5am to 12am. The park contains grassy and landscaped areas, paved walkways and stairs, eight benches, areas for active and passive uses and a designated off-leash dog play area. The terrain slopes uphill to the northern side the park and is primarily comprised of open grassy areas punctuated by approximately eighty trees, which range from saplings to fully mature with dense canopies. The center of the park is a flattened, paved, semicircle. Public entrances and exits are located on each of the four corners of the park as well as mid-block on the northern and southern frontages. The southern entrances branch in three directions: diagonally bisecting the lower half of the park, and parallel to the public sidewalks along Laguna, Turk and Gough Streets respectively. The pathways stemming from the northern entrances run parallel the public sidewalks. See Park Diagram in Attachment D. Analysis of Project Impact on Jefferson Square A technical memorandum, prepared by PreVision Design and approved by the Planning Department, analyzed the potential shadow impacts of the 950 Gough Project. The memorandum concluded that the project would cast approximately 5,444,934 square-foothours (sfh) of new shadow on Jefferson Square, equal to approximately 0.595% of the theoretically available annual sunlight ( TAAS ) on Jefferson Square. The project underwent some design modifications after the shadow analysis was complete that reduced the shadow on the park. The attached shadow analysis includes a cover memo and table that provide the updated, reductive numbers from the design change. See Attachment E for PreVision Design s Shadow Analysis. Shadows on Recreation and Park Department land are measured in square-foot-hours (sfh) to identify time and shape of the shadow. Existing structures currently shade Jefferson Square by 1.059% of the year, with an existing shadow load of 9,690,186 sfh. Shadow with Proposed Project Existing Conditions Conditions with Proposed Project TAAS 914,638,249 sfh 914,638,249 sfh Shadow 9,690,186 sfh 5,444,934 sfh % of TAAS 1.059% 1.65% % change % The Shadow Analysis was based on a June 21 st to December 20 th solar year to provide a sample of representative sun angles throughout the solar year. Sun angles during the other side of the calendar year mirror the sun angles analyzed so a multiplier was used to put the results into Page 3 of 6

4 calendar year units. The use of a multiplier does not change the percentages or findings of the report. In accordance with Section 295 and the 1989 Memo, the time of analysis starts one hour after sunrise and concludes one hour before sunset, or the solar day. The Shadow Analysis concluded the following findings: The new shadow from the proposed project would occur throughout the year in the first few hours after sunrise plus one hour. New shadow ranges from 0 minutes to 185 minutes and the average duration of the shadow would be 120 minutes. The largest shadow cast by the proposed project is 46,040 sf on June 21 st for approximately 172 minutes from 6:48 to 9:48am. Note that the last 30 minutes of shadow would fall primarily on the northern portion of the eastern sidewalk along Gough Street. The largest shadow would be cast on the public entrance at Eddy Street and Gough Street, pedestrian pathways, grassy areas, and a total of 3 park benches. Jefferson Square is considered a large park with greater than 2 acres and is currently shadowed 1.059% of the time. This project would add an additional 0.595% for a total of 1.65% of shadow. See Attachment F for a Full-Year Aggregate Shading diagram. Impact Fees and other Public Benefits The project will result in increased funding to the city for important services, such as education and public infrastructure by way of development impact fees. The project will generate a school fee of approximately $145,000 as well as a Transit Impact Development Fee (TIDF) of approximately $265,000. Project Outreach On February 25th, 2015, the project sponsor held an informal meeting with Stuart Nachtsheim representing the Friends of Jefferson Square Park and a few additional members of the neighborhood, with no opposition voiced regarding the potential for project-generated shading of the park. A formal pre-application meeting with the broader community was held on March 9th, Environmental Review The Planning Department is responsible for conducting any needed environmental review for the project. The Planning Department finding from the Preliminary Mitigated Negative Declaration ( E: 950 Gough Street) dated May 20, 2015, is that this project could not have a significant effect on the environment. Potential Future Shadow on Jefferson Square Page 4 of 6

5 The cumulative shading from the proposed project, when combined with the pipeline project at 807 Franklin Street, would result in an increase of 5,469,277 sfh of shading on Jefferson Square Park as opposed to 5,444,934 sfh from the proposed project alone. This represents a cumulative annual shading total of 1.66%, a cumulative increase of 0.598%, which is still below the potentially permissible quantitative limit of 1.0%. The increase in shading between the proposed project as compared to the proposed project plus pipeline is 0.01%. Shadow Impact Finding Jefferson Square is greater than two acres in size and existing structures cast shadows on the park that total 1.059% of the TAAS. The increase in shadow from the proposed project would be 0.595%, or less than 1.0% of the current TAAS. This increase maintains a TAAS well below the guidance provided for large parks with existing shadow loads of less than 20% in the 1989 Memo. The following tables summarize the quantitative and qualitative summary of the shadow analysis: Quantitative Summary of Shadow Findings TAAS 914,638,249 sfh Existing Shadow 9,690,186 sfh New Shadow 5,444,934 sfh Total Shadow with Proposed 15,135,120 sfh Project Park Size 245,778 sf or 5.64 acres Percent Change 0.595% Qualitative Summary of Shadow Findings Time of Day First few hours after sunrise plus one hour Time of Year Throughout the year Duration of Shadow Ranges from 0 minutes to 185 minutes Average is 120 minutes Size of Shadow Greatest amount of shadow occurs June 21 st Duration is 172 minutes, shading approximately 19% of total park area at 6:48am (falling to 7% at 7:45am). Location of Shadow Northeastern portion of the park Page 5 of 6

6 The shadow study evaluated the extent of the building envelope modification that would need to be reduced to eliminate all new shadows on Jefferson Square Park during Section 295 s sunrise plus one hour standard. Given the proposed project s location immediately to the east of the park, the volume would need to be restricted to a single story (12-15 feet in height, stepping down along Gough Street) with a 20-foot setback along the Gough Street (western) frontage. This would result in the reduction of seven stories from the project as currently proposed, and would not fulfill the development objectives of the project sponsor. Staff Recommendation Making a finding on a shadow impact on a park from a proposed development project is a policy decision for the Commission; as such, staff does not have a recommendation. Supported By: Stuart Nachtsheim and Friends of Jefferson Square Park Opposed By: Unknown Attachments: Attachment A: Project Location Map Attachment B: Project Rendering Attachment C: Project Site Plan and Elevations Attachment D: Park Diagram Attachment E: PreVision Design s Shadow Analysis Attachment F: Maximum Area Shadow Image Attachment G: Comment Letter Page 6 of 6