Planning Commission to Determine Fate of EIR for Davies Hospital Additon

By Andy Sywak

After being postponed, a hearing will be held at the SF Planning Commission on June 7 to decide whether or not to uphold a SF Planning Department decision that a new hospital addition does not need an environmental impact report (EIR).

Situated on Castro Street between 14th Street and Duboce Avenue, the California Pacific Medical Center’s (CPMC) Davies campus is planning to build a four-story, 46,000 square-foot medical building that will house a new Neuroscience Institute. Plans for the building have been in the works for more than five years.

“We hope this hearing will allow decision makers to weigh in on our plans for the Neuroscience Institute,” said Chris Willrich, vice president for strategic planning at CPMC. “This new Neuroscience Institute would create a state-of-the-art treatment center where we can offer a wide range of services, all under one roof, to make it as easy as possible to give our patients the best care possible.”

The local Service Employees International Union and United Healthcare Workers (SEIU-UHW), and a group of neighbors residing near the proposed addition, have filed an appeal against the decision, saying an EIR is needed.

Calls to the SEIU-UHW and an attorney involved in the filing of the appeal were not returned.

According to SF City Planner Tina Tam, the Planning Department has given a “negative declaration” for an EIR, meaning that a report is not needed to obtain a conditional use authorization. A conditional use authorization is needed for construction to begin.

“If the Planning Commission upholds the determination by the Planning Department that the project can have a negative determination, than the Planning Commission can immediately hear the conditional use permit request,” Tam said.

However, if the appeal is deemed valid, the hearing on the conditional use authorization would be postponed so that more research into the environmental impact of the addition could be conducted.

“We’re comfortable with the planning commission staff’s recommendation that an EIR is not required,” said Richard Magary, president of the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association. Along with the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, Magary has been working with the CPMC for five years on the project to provide input on the project’s impact on the surrounding community.

According to Magary, there have been “tens, if not hundreds, of hours of meetings with CPMC and landscapers, architects, historic landmark people and consultants” about the project. The CPMC, he said, adopted their input into its plans.

Magary said hundreds of surveys were passed out to neighborhood residents that showed “overwhelming support” for the hospital addition. He said that the appeal for an EIR was submitted “relatively late in the process.”

The CPMC says the new Neuroscience Institute will house facilities for patients with neurological disorders such as strokes, headaches and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

“The new institute will help ensure Davies’ long-term vitality by bringing new physicians and patients to the campus,” said Gustavo Hernandez an associate at the Marchese Company, a public affairs firm that assists CPMC with community outreach for the project.

According to Hernandez, the project is estimated to cost $20 million with construction to last 18 to 24 months. As the project has not yet secured building permits, there is no estimated date for ground to be broke.

Construction is also slated to bring new landscaping to the west side of Noe Street that will include a Muni pavilion and a small public plaza.

The hearing was originally scheduled for April 12 but was postponed for the Planning Department to have more time to review the appeal.

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