IeA ID coulv~, SAN FRANCISCO PLANNING DEPARTMENT Letter of Determination 1650 Mission St. Suite 400 San Francisco, CA 94103-2479 September 25, 2013 Mr. 95 Brady Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Reception: 415.558.6378 Fax: 415.558.6409 Planning Information: 415.558.6377 Site Address: 12 22 4th Street - dba Hotel Palomar Assessor s Block/Lot: 3705Z/001, 003 Zoning District: C-3-11 (Downtown Commercial, Retail) District Staff Contact: Kate Conner, 415-575-6914 or kate.conner@sfgov.org Dear Mr. Badiner: This letter is in response to your request for a Letter of Determination for the property at 12-22 4th Street. The parcel is located in a C-3-R (Downtown Commercial, Retail) Zoning District and 120-X Height and Bulk District. The Letter of Determination request is to resolve whether the addition of twelve (12) tourist hotel rooms to an existing 196-room tourist hotel constitutes a significant expansion to a previously authorized Conditional Use and whether such addition requires approval of a new Conditional Use Authorization by the Planning Commission. According to your letter, the owners of 12-22 4th Street are preparing for minor interior reconfigurations on the upper four floors of the hotel building, known as the Hotel Palomar. The space to be remodeled is on the southwest corner of the building on the 6th-9th floors. Specifically, the proposal is to convert approximately 3,000 square feet of interior space into up to 12 hotel guestrooms oriented to a create a new light well. This space is currently used for meeting and conference rooms. Also included in the proposal is the removal of an approximately 85 square-foot rooftop mechanical penthouse. This proposed reconfiguration will increase the number of guestrooms from 196 to 208. The reconfiguration will reduce the area of the building by approximately 435 square feet resulting from the proposed lightwell and the removal of the rooftop mechanical equipment. The hotel use was approved by the Planning Commission on March 20, 1997 under Case No. 96.610ECX. Motions 14337 (Conditional Use Authorization) and 14338 (Downtown Project Authorization) included information about the number of rooms in the Findings section but did not specify the number of hotel rooms in the Conditions of Approval. The Findings described the Project as:
Mr. September 25, 2013 Letter of Determination 95 Brady Street 12-24 4th Street San Francisco, CA 94103.levels five through nine plus some area in the lower levels would be converted to an approximately 235 room hotel, while retail use would be maintained in the basement and first level. The hotel currently contains 196 rooms and the proposed reconfiguration would result in 208 rooms, below the 235 room description in Motions 14337 and 14338. The proposed room count complies with the Project Description in both Motions. Planning Code 178(c) states that "A permitted conditional use may not be significantly altered, enlarged, or intensified, except upon approval of a new conditional use application;" however, there have been numerous Planning Code Interpretations which define "significant." An interpretation from December 1998 states that the following expansions are significant: -Expansion of an existing establishment into an adjacent storefront which had been occupied by a nonconforming use in a different use category. -Expansion of more than 25 percent of the floor area or more than 500 square feet, whichever is less. -Expansion of an extraordinarily large development over 500 square feet, but less than 25 percent of the floor area. The proposed reconfiguration results in a loss of floor area. Some hotel provisions, however, are based upon the number of guestrooms, rather than the total floor area of the hotel. Since parking facilities are similarly regulated based on the quantity of spaces rather than the total floor area of the facility, an interpretation regarding parking lots could be similarly applied to subject tourist hotel. This interpretation of Planning Code Section 178(c) from March 2002 allows the addition of up to 25% of the number of parking spaces without it being considered a "significant" alteration. A 25% addition of hotel rooms would result in an additional 58 rooms. Based on the aforementioned interpretations, the existing 196-room tourist hotel may be expanded by 12 guestrooms, for a total of 208 guestrooms, without it being considered a "significant" expansion, either in terms of total floor area or number of guestrooms. Since such an expansion is not considered "significant," it does not require a new Conditional Use Authorization. SAN FRANCISCO 2 PLANNING DEPARTMENT
Mr. September 25, 2013 Letter of Determination 95 Brady Street 12-24 41h Street San Francisco, CA 94103 APPEAL: If you believe this determination represents an error in interpretation of the Planning Code or abuse in discretion by the Zoning Administrator, an appeal may be filed with the Board of Appeals within 15 days of the date of this letter. For information regarding the appeals process, please contact the Board of Appeals located at 1650 Mission Street, Room 304, San Francisco, or call (415) 575-6880. Sincerely, Scott F. Sanchez Zoning Administrator cc: Kate Conner, Planner Property Owner, Neighborhood Groups Block Book Notifications SAN FRANCISCO PLANNING DEPARTMENT
fl (P t, Ii 6k 95 Brady Street it f L.U&L. &.XJ San Francisco, CA 94103 Phone: (415) 865-9985 E-Mail: larry@badinerurbanplanning.com Web: badinerurbanplanning.com July 26, 2013 Mr. Scott F. Sanchez Zoning Administrator San Francisco Planning Department 1650 Mission Street Suite 400 San Francisco, California 94103-2479 RECEIVED JUL 2 6 2013 COUNTY OF S.F..NN(NG DEPARTMENT - RECEPTION DESK Site Address: 12-224 th Street - Palomar Hotel - Assessors Block/Lot 3705/001 - - Zoning District: C-3-R (Downtown Commercial, Retail) District Height and Bulk District: 120-X Downtown Preservation: Category I RE: Request for Letter of Determination Determination that Adding 12 Hotel Rooms to an approximately 235 Room Hotel Does Not Constitute a Significant Expansion Dear Mr. Sanchez: We respectfully request a Letter of Determination, pursuant to San Francisco Planning Code Section 307 (a), acknowledging that the Palomar Hotel may add up to 12 hotel rooms to the existing approximately 196 room hotel without this modification constituting a "Significant" expansion under Planning Code Section 178 ("PC Sec.") and requiring and amendment to the Conditional Use Authorization (The Project"). I represent Ramblers Owner LLC, the owner of the hotel property. Background The owners of 12-22 4th Street are preparing for minor reconfigurations on the upper four floors of the hotel building, known as Pacific I. The space to be remodeled is on the southwest corner of the building on the 6th9th floors, and is next to the blank wall Pacific II of the San Francisco Center. This space is not visible from the exterior of the complex and the only exterior alterations will be the removal of an approximately 85 sf rooftop mechanical room on the roof. Specifically, the proposal is to convert approximately 3,000 square feet of interior space on each of these floors into up to 12 hotel guestrooms oriented to a newly created light well. This space is now used for meeting rooms. This proposed reconfiguration will increase the number of guestrooms in the hotel by approximately 5% up to 247 rooms but will actually reduce the area of
-1 KM, 12-22 Fourth Street July 24, 2013 the building by approximately 435 square feet because a new Iightwell will be cut into the building inside of the exterior wall and the removal of the rooftop mechanical space. On March 20, 1997, the Planning Commission approved a project to "renovate and reactivate the existing building for a proposed hotel/restaurant" (Case No. 96.61OECX - Motion No. 14337 (CU) and 14338 (309) - Building Permit Application No. 9623907S). Motion Nos. 14337 and 14338 described the project in the findings as:.levels five through nine plus some area in the lower levels would be converted to an approximately 235 room hotel, while retail use would be maintained in the basement and first level. While the Condition 1.A. Land Use/Density states: This approval is for a retail and office and hotel complex at the southwest corner of Market and Fourth Streets (Block 3705, Lot 48), through renovation of existing buildings. The Project would contain approximately 144,000 square feet of retail space, approximately 209,000 square feet of office space, approximately 132,000 square feet of hotel space, and approximately 79,000 square feet of parking, loading and mechanical space... There was no mention of the number of rooms in the Conditions of Approval. Discussion Up to 235 Rooms Are Permitted by the Motion. Motion No. 14337 is clear on the minimum number of rooms permitted by the approval. While the Findings state that there will be "approximately 235 rooms" there is no mention of rooms in in the Conditions, merely a square footage. Therefore, the project could have up to 235 rooms by the letter of the motion without any interpretation of the Code. An Increase of Up to 25 Percent in the Number of Rooms is not a Significant Expansion and is Permitted. Previous interpretations have held that Conditional Uses based upon unit numbers such as parking spaces or hotel rooms may increase the count by up to 25 percent without the increase being considered Significant" and requiring an amendment to the Conditional Use Authorization. Under this previous interpretation, the hotel could increase the room count by 25 percent from 235 rooms, or to 293 rooms. At the very
fl R.- Badiner Urban P anning, Inc. 12-22 Fourth Street July 24, 2013 least, the room count could increase by 25 percent from the existing 196 rooms to 245 rooms without a new Conditional Use Authorization. Planning Code Sec. 216(b)i and (b)ii requires Conditional Use Authorization for all hotels in the C-3 District. At the time of approval, this requirement was only for hotels of 200 rooms or more. As noted above, the Project received Conditional Use Authorization on March 20, 1997. Planning Code Sec. 178(c) states: (c) Enlargements or Alteration. A permitted conditional use may not be significantly altered, enlarged, or intensified, except upon approval of a new conditional use application pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of this Code... [Emphasis Added] An Interpretation dated 5/98 refers to the Interpretation for enlarging a Nonconforming Use: Code Section: 178(c) Subject: Significant enlargement/ intensification of a conditional use Effective Date: 5/98 Interpretation: See Interpretation 186.1(b) Code Section: 186.1(b) Subject: Nonconforming use, "significant" defined Effective Date: 12/88 and 5/98 Interpretation: This Section states that a nonconforming use in a Neighborhood Commercial District cannot be significantly altered, enlarged or intensified, except upon approval of a conditional use. Subsection 178(c) places the same limitation on conditional uses. The term "significantly" is not defined in the Code and is therefore subject to the Zoning Administrator s interpretation. The list below provides examples of those proposals, which are significant and therefore require a conditional use authorization and those which are not significant. Enlargements that are significant: -Expansion of more than 25 percent of the floor area or more than 500 square feet, whichever is less.
-1 K M, 12-22 Fourth Street Jury 24, 2013 4 -Expansion of an extraordinarily large development over 500 square feet, but less than 25 percent of the floor area. Enlargements that are NOT significant: -Expansion up to 25 percent of the floor area, but not exceeding 500 square feet, whichever is less. -Expansion of an extraordinarily large development over 500 square feet, but less than 25 percent of the floor area. I would note that the building is actually being reduced in square footage by about 435 square feet, and therefore qualifies as an "Expansion that is NOT significant". Some hotel provisions are based upon the number of units, particularly when the hotel rehabilitation was approved in 1997. At that time, hotels under 200 rooms were not subject to Conditional Use Authorization. If you wish to consider a determination based upon the number of hotel rooms as opposed to square footage, I would note the following parking interpretation which is relevant since it is based upon the number of parking spaces, much like the hotel controls are based upon the number of hotel rooms: Code Section: 178(c) Subject: Significant enlargement/ intensification of a conditional use (parking lots) Effective Date: 03/2002 Interpretation: This Section of the Planning Code states that a conditional use may not be significantly altered, enlarged, or intensified except upon approval of a new conditional use authorization. An interpretation was written to define what would be considered a significant enlargement, which is stated as an expansion of more than 25% of the floor area or more than 500 square feet, whichever is less. Since the intensity of a parking lot/garage is based on the number of parking spaces, an increase of more than 25% of the total number of existing parking spaces would be considered an intensification or enlargement of the existing conditional use. Therefore, parking lifts could be added to a parking garage or lot that was an automatic conditional use so long as they did not add more than 25% of the existing spaces. [Emphasis Added]
-1 KM, 12-22 Fourth Street Juty 24, 2013 Since a parking lot is based upon units other than square footage (parking spaces) and a hotel is based upon units other than square footage (rooms), this interpretation is directly applicable, and the project could add up to 58 (235 x.25) rooms. You issued a similar Letter of Determination for 55 Fifth Street on June 8, 2012. You found that the addition of 8 rooms to a 108-room hotel was not a Significant increase and did not require an amendment to the Conditional Use Authorization. The facts of that case were essentially identical to the Project, with variations in the number of rooms. The subject case would result in an even smaller room number percentage increase than 55 Fifth Street. Based upon this information, we respectfully request that you determine that adding up to 12 rooms in the same or a smaller envelope does not constitute a significant expansion, does not require a new Conditional Use Authorization and may be allowed by a building permit. Please do not hesitate to call me at (415) 865-9985 if you or your staff has any questions regarding this letter. Sincerely, c7 Badiner Urban Planning cc: Karel Steiner, Ajax Consulting Services Michael Stanton, FAIA LEED AP Enc: $601.00 check for the San Francisco Planning Department s Letter of Determination fee.