Last month was so busy that I did not get a chance to write about the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission hearing from September 16th. The meeting started out with the first Architectural Review Committee gathering since the creation of the new Commission. The ARC is made up of Karl Hasz, Alan Martinez and Andrew Wolfram with Charles Chase acting as Ex-Officio. Since Andrew was not at the meeting Charles sat with the ARC. First, they reviewed the project for the Filbert Cottages. Buttrick Wong Architects proposes a relatively significant addition to this cute cluster of houses, including undergound parking. The proposal was well received. Controversial aspects of the design included an orange-colored rain screen for the addition and the extent of the set backs. The second item was heard even though the Committee was running over its one-hour allotted time. This next project included major construction to the Fairmont Hotel. It received a mixed review with Charles and Karl in general favor; Alan expressed concerns with the massive volume of the new work.
The full Historic Preservation Commission convened following these project reviews and the hearing schedule was rearranged. The next item was a planning training presentation that basically described the ins and outs of the planning department. This was followed by an informational presentation of the plans for Pier 70. I left the meeting during the middle of this presentation.
