Committee backs North Beach and Castro historic districts, advances landmark designations

The Land Use and Transportation Committee voted 3-0 on Monday to recommend two new San Francisco historic districts, one in North Beach and one in the Castro, sending both to the full Board of Supervisors and starting a community process that will set what each district covers and what rules apply inside it.

Both are initiating resolutions, the formal first step rather than the final rules. Members described them as the launch of community engagement to draw boundaries and preservation conditions, with an ordinance establishing each district coming back later. Property owners who do not want to be included will be able to opt out, members said. The clerk told the room that items acted on Monday are expected to reach the full Board on November 10.

The North Beach resolution drew support from speakers tied to cultural districts and a heritage organization, who urged the committee to keep local historic districts separate from the existing national register district, saying the two carry different rules and different incentives. The neighborhood's supervisor, who introduced the item, called North Beach one of the city's most storied neighborhoods and said the process would be community driven and true to its history. He argued that historic recognition and new housing are not in conflict, and that the city can honor its past while building homes for longtime residents and new neighbors.

The Castro proposal takes in the neighborhood's main commercial street and part of a side street, and planning staff traced the area's LGBTQ history for the committee. Staff said the property list is not final and more changes are expected before the ordinance returns. Members backed the designation as a preservation tool that should not be used to block housing, and one said it was urgent given threats to LGBTQ people, and to transgender people in particular, nationally. Several speakers supported it, citing cultural and architectural value and its usefulness in tenant protection; one warned that historic status should not freeze change in the neighborhood.

With no member objections, both resolutions went to the board on unanimous three-vote roll calls.

Earlier, the committee moved two batches of individual landmark designations, twelve in one district and nine in another, after amendments, a continuance and a withdrawal reshaped them. The twelve, led by the Allen-Weaver-Durant-Smith Auto Showroom, came up as a group. Planning staff told the committee that three of the properties are tied to African American history, and one member of the public spoke in favor of a theater designation in the batch.

The committee continued a mansion designation to its November 30 meeting at the owners' request and tabled a garage designation after its owners withdrew. It adopted staff amendments to two ordinances, one narrowing a residential designation to the historic house only and one correcting a theater's landmark name. The rest went to the full Board with a positive recommendation, 3-0 on each motion.

The second batch of nine covers Chinatown, North Beach, Telegraph Hill and Union Square. The area's supervisor described it as the first round of landmarking there and framed the designations as recognition of LGBTQ entertainment history, Italian-American gathering places and Chinatown buildings, arguing that the activity inside a building is what shaped the city. Staff described each property in turn, among them Finocchio's, an early venue for female impersonation; the Italian Athletic Club; the Maybeck Building; Mona's Candle Light; and the George Perine House. Speakers endorsed the whole batch and singled out the LGBTQ-linked venues and North Beach's layered history. No member asked a question, and the nine went to the board on a 3-0 vote.

Landmark status under the Planning Code adds a layer of review before owners can make certain exterior changes. The committee asked staff no questions about the review rules on either batch, and no member objected to any of the designations it advanced.

The committee also continued an ordinance that would amend the Planning Code to clarify how landmarks and historic districts are designated. The sponsoring supervisor asked for a two-week continuance to the November 16 meeting, saying more time was needed to reach consensus on several provisions. Public comment was opened and no one came forward. The motion to continue passed 3-0.

The two historic district resolutions still need the full board's approval, and then an ordinance that fixes each district's boundaries and preservation standards before the rules take effect.