Shipley Street building approved; a step toward more Treasure Island homes

Two cases were proposed to be postponed: a conditional use authorization to remove an unauthorized ground-floor dwelling unit in a three-unit building at 85 Liberty Street, and a discretionary review request over a third-floor addition at 3837 18th Street. The clerk said 85 Liberty was proposed for continuance to November 12, 2026, and 3837 18th Street to November 5, 2026. No one spoke in public comment. 00:01:22

• Motion to continue both items as proposed, made after the clerk recognized Sean McGarry (Commissioner); seconded. Result: continued, 7-0. 00:02:25

Draft minutes for the September 24, 2026 and October 1, 2026 hearings. No public comment. 00:02:42

• Motion to adopt the minutes, made after the clerk recognized Sean McGarry (Commissioner); seconded. Result: passed, 7-0. 00:03:04

Commissioners' open time. A commissioner asked for an update on single-stair building reform, and the clerk said the next week's hearing would likely be canceled, giving the commission a two-week break. 00:03:24

• A commissioner asked, with the director absent, for staff to give the commission an update at its next hearing on single-stair reform, noting press coverage and a code advisory committee meeting the day before 00:03:29
• A commissioner said an update would do for now, with a possible agendized hearing later 00:04:15
• The clerk said nothing was on the advance calendar for the next week and that the hearing would likely be canceled unless something urgent came up before the agenda was issued 00:04:31
• The clerk noted the October 29 hearing is a scheduled cancellation because it falls on a fifth Thursday, so a two-week break is likely 00:04:31

The Planning Director's regular report. No announcements were made. 00:05:06

Staff's regular report on Board of Supervisors, Board of Appeals and Historic Preservation Commission actions. The clerk said there were no reports. 00:05:17

• The clerk said there were no reports for the commissioners 00:05:17

Bay FC, the Bay Area's National Women's Soccer League team, is building a practice facility on Treasure Island that was approved on December 2, 2025. It asked for major modifications from the Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island Design for Development's sign rules: a larger identifying sign, a wall sign with the team and sponsor logo facing the parking lot, and 13 fence signs plus one freestanding sculpture sign where none are permitted. Staff said a major modification is any deviation of more than 10% from a quantitative standard and only the Planning Commission can approve one. The item was taken ahead of item 7 at staff's request. 00:06:33

• Motion to approve the major modifications, made after the chair recognized Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission); seconded. Result: passed, 7-0. 00:20:57

• City staff explained the request concerned only the project's signage program 00:06:45
• City staff said the identifying sign would be 40 square feet, 20 square feet more than permitted 00:06:45
• City staff said the project proposes 13 fence signs and one freestanding sign, where the design rules permit zero freestanding signs 00:07:49
• City staff recommended approval, citing the facility's need for team and sponsor signage, and said the department had received no letters for or against 00:07:49
• A guest presenter said for the team that the facility is scheduled for completion in January 00:09:00
• A guest presenter said local residents account for 30% of project hours worked by the general contractor and subcontractors 00:10:05
• A speaker described the wall and identifying signs, for the project architect, as low-profile backlit metal signs as allowed under the design rules 00:11:36
• A commissioner supported the project, calling the signage tasteful and restrained 00:16:31
• City staff said the land across from the facility is proposed to be a public park 00:18:07
• A commissioner supported the project and suggested adding a public art element to the sculpture sign, preferably by local artists 00:18:15
• A commissioner said she was concerned about the fence signs because Treasure Island signage is not meant for major advertising, but found it appropriate for this facility 00:18:59
• A commissioner noted future housing nearby will look at the signs, and called the restrained approach in the rendering reasonable 00:18:59
• A commissioner called the changes major on paper but minor in practice, and necessary for the facility's success 00:20:23

The commission was asked to initiate, not adopt, amendments to the Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island Area Plan in the General Plan. The amendments would remove two detailed maps (Map 3, the setback plan, and Map 4, a street wall calculation example) and renumber the rest, with those details kept in the Design for Development. This is part of a larger package of amendments that staff said could allow about 2,800 more housing units within existing height limits, on top of the 8,000 approved in 2011. Initiating the amendments lets the commission schedule an adoption hearing, which would also take up changes to the Design for Development and the Special Use District. 00:20:57

• Motion to initiate the General Plan amendments and schedule an adoption hearing on or after November 19, 2026, made after the clerk recognized Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission); seconded. Result: passed, 7-0. 00:31:36

• City staff explained the commission was only initiating the amendments today, and adoption would come at a future hearing 00:22:08
• City staff said the 2011 approvals authorized 8,000 housing units 00:23:09
• City staff reported about a thousand units built so far, including 243 affordable units and 54 more inclusionary units, plus about a billion dollars in infrastructure 00:24:09
• City staff said adjusting certain development standards could make room for 2,800 more units within existing height limits 00:24:09
• City staff listed other proposed updates: Yerba Buena Island parking standards, bulk and massing controls, and setback and street wall rules 00:24:09
• City staff said the amendments would remove Maps 3 and 4 from the area plan and renumber the remaining maps 00:28:24
• City staff outlined next steps: an environmental impact report addendum, introducing the Special Use District ordinance at the Board of Supervisors, and taking the disposition and development agreement amendments to the Treasure Island Development Authority board 00:29:25
• A commissioner called the request straightforward and urged moving it forward since it will return for comment 00:30:54
• A commissioner supported initiating, calling the two maps redundant 00:31:22

Neighbors asked the commission to use its discretionary review power on a proposed 75-foot, seven-story building with 13 homes on a vacant SoMa lot, built under the state density bonus program. Staff said it would have six one-bedroom, five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units, about 21,812 square feet, up to seven parking spaces and 13 bike spaces. The requesters didn't seek to stop the project. They wanted conditions on soil and foundation work in a liquefaction zone, fire access on narrow Shipley Street, shadow, glare, and fire safety for existing property-line windows at neighboring Jennifer Place townhomes. Staff recommended not taking discretionary review, saying the project is code compliant and that structural, geotechnical and fire issues are reviewed by the Department of Building Inspection. 00:39:41

• A commissioner moved to not take discretionary review and approve the project as proposed; a commissioner seconded. Result: passed, 7-0. 01:21:43

• City staff described the project as a 75-foot, seven-story, 13-unit building on a vacant lot under the state density bonus program 00:40:29
• City staff reported 23 letters in opposition and two in support received since the packet was printed 00:43:34
• City staff said seven stories has precedent in the neighborhood, with nearby buildings up to nine stories 00:44:36
• City staff said structural, geotechnical and fire concerns are outside the planning department's purview and are reviewed at the building permit stage 00:45:36
• City staff recommended not taking discretionary review and approving, finding no exceptional or extraordinary circumstances 00:45:36
• A speaker asked, speaking for an absent requester, that waivers be limited to what is needed and that shadow and wind studies compare the project with a less massive alternative 00:46:25
• A resident cited the project's geotechnical report placing the site in a liquefaction zone over compressible bay mud, and asked for binding foundation and monitoring conditions 00:49:56
• A resident raised emergency access during construction, noting Shipley is only 35 feet wide and is the site's only frontage 00:52:03
• A resident noted that a 2020 three-alarm fire at the warehouse once on the lot required a large response 00:52:03
• A resident asked for light-colored, non-glare finishes on the Shipley side, and said she had withdrawn two of her conditions and the wind study request 00:54:08
• A speaker said as a requester that six windows in his home, including bedroom windows, sit on the property line the new building will be built against, and asked that the developer be made responsible for closing them safely 00:55:50
• A speaker said, as the project's architect, that excavation for the parking stackers had been removed from the project 00:57:34
• A speaker said, as the project's architect, that the team held a pre-application meeting with the fire department on emergency vehicle access 00:59:38
• A speaker said, as the sponsor's attorney, that the sponsor committed early to pay for infilling the neighbors' property-line windows, beyond its legal obligation 01:02:06
• A speaker argued, as the sponsor's attorney, that state housing laws bar the city from redesigning or conditioning the project in ways that reduce density without findings she said don't apply here 01:02:06
• A speaker argued in rebuttal for a requester that the building would sit against 12 openings in two occupied homes that would no longer meet fire code 01:05:19
• A speaker said in rebuttal that a concealed gap between the buildings has no fire-stopping detail, and asked for conditions before the permit issues 01:05:19
• A commissioner asked the architect whether the window glazing would cause glare 01:08:58
• A speaker answered, as the project's architect, that the building would use standard low-e glazing and that no glare study had been done 01:09:28
• A speaker said, as the project's architect, that he would be willing to look into products that reduce glare 01:11:50
• A commissioner asked the sponsor about fire code separation for the neighbors' property-line windows, which have existed since 2000 01:12:11
• A speaker said, as the sponsor's attorney, that the building department's rules for approving lot-line windows require recorded restrictions acknowledging they may be closed 01:12:52
• A commissioner voiced concern that the neighbors bought and have lived in their homes for years and now face changes 01:13:36
• City staff said lot-line windows aren't protected under the Planning Code and owners who build them sign an affidavit acknowledging they could be infilled 01:15:45
• Mike Chen (Commissioner) argued the fire and safety concerns are building inspection issues outside the commission's purview 01:16:25
• Mike Chen (Commissioner) noted the project's affordable unit is set at 50% of area median income, roughly $65,000 for a two-person household, as the trade-off for the density bonus 01:18:28
• Mike Chen (Commissioner) recalled that in 2018 the commission tried to redesign a density bonus project and the state sent San Francisco a warning letter 01:18:28
• Mike Chen (Commissioner) cited the commission's July 24 hearing on an 85-foot project at 230 Anza Street as precedent 01:19:30
• A commissioner agreed, saying the project is code compliant and a lot of the concerns are about buildability, which is outside the commission's purview 01:20:57

An informational presentation, required by state law (SB 423), on a proposal to replace a single-family home with three homes on 25th Street near Rhode Island Street. The commission took no action and, as a commissioner noted, has no authority over the project. The item was postponed earlier in the hearing while the sponsors waited for their architect. 01:21:43

• A speaker described the plan for the sponsor: replace an existing single-family home with three units, with three bedrooms, three parking spaces and a bike rack 01:22:54
• A speaker said the homes would range from about 1,235 to 1,375 square feet, on three stories above a semi-subterranean garage, and that a formal application would follow 01:23:59
• A commissioner welcomed the project for replacing one small underused house with three homes 01:25:03
• Mike Chen (Commissioner) noted the commission has no authority over the project, which is presented only because state law requires it 01:25:39

• General public comment: no speakers.
• Items 1–2 (continuances), 3 (minutes), 7 (Treasure Island General Plan amendments) and 9 (2213 25th Street): no public speakers.
• Item 8 (Bay FC signage): one speaker, a board member of a Treasure Island nonprofit, supported the signage and the team's presence on the island. A second person came forward about 173 Shipley Street and was asked to wait for that item.
• Item 10 (173 Shipley Street): in public comment, one neighbor on Jennifer Place asked for a shadow study showing how much daylight their home would lose. Separately, a speaker called up as a discretionary review requester said she didn't oppose the project but wanted studies of light reflection, massing and fire-truck access on Shipley. Staff reported 23 letters opposed and two in support received since the packet was printed.

• A commissioner asked for a staff update on single-stair reform at the commission's next hearing, with a possible agendized hearing later.
• The clerk said the October 22 hearing would likely be canceled. October 29 is a scheduled fifth-Thursday cancellation, so a two-week break is likely.
• 3837 18th Street discretionary review continued to November 5, 2026.
• 85 Liberty Street conditional use authorization continued to November 12, 2026.
• Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island: adoption hearing on the General Plan amendments to be scheduled on or after November 19, 2026, together with Design for Development and Special Use District amendments. Steps before then, per staff: publish Addendum 2 to the final environmental impact report, introduce the Special Use District ordinance at the Board of Supervisors, and take the disposition and development agreement amendments to the Treasure Island Development Authority board. The Board of Supervisors has final consideration.
• 2213 25th Street: the sponsor said it will keep working with the planning department before filing a formal application.
• 173 Shipley Street: approved as proposed. Per staff, structural, geotechnical and fire review will happen at the building permit stage with the Department of Building Inspection.