While obtaining permits to remodel or renovate a property can be a costly and complicated venture, it can be even more so in a city like San Francisco, which makes preserving its past a priority. However, the San Francisco Planning Department expects that the completion of the South Mission Historical Resource Survey and its adoption by the Historical Preservation Commission will streamline the process for both private and public building projects in the Mission District.
At a workshop held on Sept. 25 at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, Planning Director Kelley Amdur addressed a group of about 30 homeowners who wanted to know what the survey meant to them. The survey, she said, would save Mission property owners time and money in knowing whether or not their property is eligible as a historical resource.
“Normally, if you wanted to propose a project for your building, we would have to go out and do this level of research on a property-by-property basis and so this is a head start for you and us,” Amdur said.
According to the Planning Department’s website, for a building to be considered a historical resource it generally has to be over 45 years old. Historical resources are not just limited to individual buildings or structures but can also include groups of buildings, works of art and flora like trees.
If a building is deemed a historical resource, a property owner who wants to make changes to the outside of the building (or areas visible from the public right of way) would need to meet criteria that preserves the historic nature of the building before receiving a building permit. But Amdur said that work done to the interior, such as a kitchen or bathroom remodel, would not require a historical review process.
“Having a historic status on building doesn’t mean you can’t make changes to the building,” said Project Manager Matt Weintraub, “but there will be additional scrutiny and it may take longer to review whether a permit may be granted.”
Weintraub made it clear that the surveys themselves do not result in any designations or listings on actual historic registers, as they are only “determinations for eligibility.” He said, “It is up to community members, the Historical Preservation Commission, or the property owners themselves to secure historic status for the building and gain incentives that are available to properties that are accepted into historic registers.”
Those incentives can include a 50 percent reduction in property taxes (under the Mills Act) in exchange for the rehabilitation, preservation, and long-term maintenance of historic buildings listed under specific categories. There is also a federal tax reduction if the property is income producing – such as a business – and a historic landmark. A historical resource building can also fall under a separate and more flexible building code so as to preserve or restore its original or restored architectural features.
The South Mission Survey was a huge undertaking. It started in 2007 and along with the architecture firm of Page and Turnbull Inc., 3,787 individual properties were documented and assessed. The survey covers the area bound by 20th Street, Cesar Chavez Street, Potrero Avenue and Guerrero Street. It is distinguishable from the northern section because the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires left the northern area mostly destroyed.
Project Manager Weintraub said the Mission District is San Francisco’s oldest settled area with its own rich cultural and architectural heritage. The South Mission housing stock was defined by two major periods of development: the Pioneer Settlement period which took place immediately after the Gold Rush (1855) and the Gilded Age, which is marked by streetcar suburb development and ended around 1900. Most pioneer residences were small, lightly framed, single-story cottages, often with porches, while buildings of the Gilded Age included the many different Victorian styles that are still mostly seen in the Mission District today.
Interestingly, old survey maps also document the Mission District’s working-class roots and the city’s early class division. Streetcar lines from the Mission District curved northeast to South of Market factories or to waterfront docks – completely bypassing the downtown financial and shopping districts.
During the question and comments portion of the workshop, one woman, who asked not to be identified, said she thought that the outreach to the Latino community was inadequate. She also asked why the housing stock from the Spanish-Mexican era was excluded from the survey.
Weintraub said the Spanish-Mexican ranchos played a significant role in the Mission District’s layout but that the adobe structures from that era had all been removed by 1930 except on the Mission Dolores.
Most property owners who attended the workshop were happy to learn that their properties were listed as eligible historical resources and were supportive of the survey. Elizabeth Hirose, whose family has owned a Victorian home in the Mission District since 1940, said they were pleased with the news that their house was on the list. She said, “If I had a lot of money, I would fix it up and make it look nice, like it used too.”
Now that the public outreach process is complete, the Planning Department will present recommendations at a public hearing on Oct. 6 for adoption of individual historic properties and historic districts as described in the survey.