Lower Proposed Zoning Heights for Seawall 330

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To:  SF Planning Commission and SF City Supervisors

We the undersigned (residents at the Watermark, other residents living in and around sea wall 330 and local businesses) request the Planning Commission to consider a plan modification related to the Eastern Soma plan.

We request that the SF Planning Commission lower the proposed building heights on Seawall 330 from the current planned limit of 105’/65’ to 45’. The Watermark, the only current building on Seawall 330 is 22 stories tall, is situated more than 200 feet from the Embarcadero. Thankfully, it restricts views of very few area residents or pedestrians due to its unique location at the far corner of the lot away from SF Bay and adjacent to the Bay Bridge. The remainder of Seawall 330 which is available for development is immediately adjacent to the Embarcadero and therefore should have very low building height limits in place.

We believe the height of any new construction on Seawall 330 should be limited to 45 feet for the following reasons:
• To preserve the natural views and beauty of the waterfront for all area residents and visitors.
• Chances of shadows covering up the planned Brannan Street Wharf and the Embarcadero sidewalks will be reduced.
• Earlier plans for Seawall 330 called for heights in the current draft plan (105’) but were predicated on development of the SF Cruise Ship Terminal on Pier 30/32. Since that project has been canceled, adjacent height limits should definitely be lowered.
• The lower height reduces traffic congestion and contention for street parking. More than 250 existing parking spaces on Seawall 330 are used by area residents, people who work in the area and people attending baseball games and other special events in the area. Eliminating this parking while adding residential buildings higher than 45’ will significantly increase the fight for already limited parking and will result in more congestion.
• The lower height will provide important design continuity with other developments of a similar 45 foot height in the immediate vicinity (e.g., Bayside Village, Delancey Street, etc.)

A unique sense of open space and natural views (e.g., San Francisco Bay, the Canary Island Palms and other trees along the Embarcadero, Twin Peaks, etc.) are important “green” benefits to everyone who lives in and visits this area. We think it is extremely important that this open and environmentally conscious character of the San Francisco waterfront be preserved.

We appreciate the challenges the Commission faces balancing many disparate needs and opinions related to finalizing the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan. The results of your decisions will impact many people for a long time to come. As such, we respectfully request that you carefully consider our request.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Lower Proposed Zoning Heights for Seawall 330 Petition to SF Planning Commission and SF City Supervisors was created by and written by Marc Erlandson (marc@accessatmenterprise.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.