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SEC. 6. CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES. Whenever a building, district, site, object, or landscape is under consideration for Article 10 Landmark designation, the Historic Preservation Commission is required to identify character-defining features. This is done to enable owners and the public to understand which elements are considered most important to preserve the historical and architectural character of the proposed landmark or landmark district. The character-defining interior features of buildings in the district are identified as: None. The character-defining exterior features of contributory buildings in the district are identified as: All exterior elevations, rooflines, historic doors and fenestration, historic materials and finishes, historic front setbacks, and historic architectural details, as described below. The following section describes in further detail the character-defining features of the district and of individual buildings.

A. Overall Form, Scale and Proportion Due to the brief period of construction – most buildings were constructed between 1890 and 1910 – buildings within the district exhibit characteristics of one of two basic residential property types: single-family early residential or multi-family reconstruction residential (as defined in the Mission Dolores Neighborhood Context Statement). District buildings are all residential, composed primarily of attached or semi-attached, single-family dwellings and residential flats or apartments. Buildings in the district range from 1 ½ story-over-basement to four stories in height, with 1-½ and three stories predominating. Roof forms are predominantly flat or front-facing gable behind a projecting parapet and/or cornice. An exception is 1919-1923 15th Street which has a hipped roof. The district’s smallest residences are on lots facing the neighborhood’s alleys and narrow mid-block streets. These buildings are typically 1 ½- to two-stories in height, have raised, recessed entrances accessed by wood staircases with turned balustrades (most stairs have dogleg configurations, replacing original straight run), often have deep front setbacks, and feature modest Italianate or Stick-Eastlake detailing on the primary, street-facing facades. Some of these smaller buildings have been converted from single- to two-units. Buildings fronting wider streets – 15th, 16th, or Dolores streets – have larger footprints, are taller, and consist of residential flats or apartments. These buildings are typically 2 ½- to four- stories in height, have recessed, raised entrances, straight run stairs, and feature Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Italianate, or Stick-Eastlake detailing on the primary, street-facing facades. Romeo Flats buildings along 15th Street are built to the front lot line while residential flats buildings at 16th Street are setback with shallow front yards behind low cast stone walls topped with metal railings. On Dolores Street, residential flats buildings are setback with raised front yards bounded by cast stone retaining walls. Although the roof forms – particularly at the non-visible rear facade – of a substantial number of buildings have been altered to incorporate skylights, small dormer windows, fire escapes, stair penthouses, or solar panels these alterations were constructed outside of the Period of Significance and have not gained significance. General characteristics of the district’s two primary residential building types (Single-Family Early Residential and Multi-Family Reconstruction Residential) and one sub-type (Romeo Flats) are: Single-Family Early Residential: Properties dating from the ¡§Early Neighborhood Development (1864-1906)¡¨ period are unified by their small-scale form, massing, and materiality representative of the early residential and agricultural development of the Mission Dolores neighborhood. Character-defining features of the properties within the district dating from this period include: • Small, one-story over- integrated garage or two-story massing • Horizontal painted wood siding • Flat front with front facing gable roof or Italianate style parapet roof form • Original wood double-hung windows with ogee lugs • Architectural ornament including brackets, applied columns, window and/or door hoods, and other façade ornamentation indicative of the Italianate style • Front setback or location on lot in reference to street • Central or offset primary entrance stair Multi-Family Reconstruction Residential: Properties dating from the “Earthquake and Reconstruction (1906-1915)” period are unified by their larger scale, form, and massing to meet housing needs of the growing population of the Mission Dolores neighborhood. Character-defining features of the residential flats or apartment buildings within the district dating from this period include: • Two or three-story over-integrated garage or three-story massing • Horizontal painted wood siding • Front-facing gable roof or projecting cornice • Wood double-hung windows with ogee lugs • Single or paired projecting bay(s) at front facade • Front setback/location on lot in reference to street • Offset entrance with original stair configuration Romeo Flats: The Romeo flat, a San Francisco-based, high-density form of rental housing with four to six units, generally for working-class tenants, was typically built after the 1906 earthquake and fires. Romeo flats are multi-unit, residential buildings with three bays lining the façade. An open or enclosed, central winding staircase located in the central bay divides the façade vertically. Balconies are located at each story of the central bay if it is open. When enclosed, windows are located at each landing. The district’s buildings along 16th Street include a row of Romeo Flats. B. Materials and Finishes Buildings in the district are of wood frame construction and were historically clad in horizontal wood siding. Exterior surface finishes are painted. Channel drop wood siding is typical at the secondary and rear facades, while a combination of flush lap, channel drop, clapboard, or shaped shingles are typically found at the primary facades. Most buildings retain their historic siding though a few were later clad in stucco, masonite, or composite shingle siding. These replacement siding materials have not gained significance. Historically, there were several types of stairs constructed in the district: longer flights of wood stairs that typically project out from Italianate or Stick-Eastlake style buildings and shorter flights typically found within the recessed entries of Progressive-era flats and apartment buildings. At the buildings along alleys and narrow streets, entry stairs were solid and uniform in appearance: featured closed risers, solid cheek walls beneath the stairs, turned wood balustrades, and capped newel posts, and had a painted finish. Some flights of stairs were later replaced with new wood stairs and balusters. Raised entrances to these smaller residential buildings lead to narrow openings highlighted with wood trim and bracketed hoods. Wood paneled and glazed doors with transom window sit within a shallow paneled recess. Progressive-era buildings – Queen Anne or Classical Revival style – within the district, particularly those on 15th, 16th, and Dolores streets, feature wood or terrazzo steps with solid cheek walls and landings. These stairs are typically located partially within the building envelope and provide access to recessed entrance doors. The recessed vestibules have wood paneled walls, coffered or stucco-clad ceilings, and floors clad in wood, terrazzo, or tile (usually hexagonal tiles with a polychromatic trim or mosaic tile). Entrances of Progressive-era flats are typically flanked by Classical columns or pilasters, and decorated with applied plaster ornament, such as garlands and floral friezes. While compatible, replacement stairs have not gained significance in their own right. Existing gable roofs are typically finished with asphalt or composite shingles. Though generally compatible, these roofing materials have not gained significance. C. Doors and Fenestration Many of the district’s buildings retain their original primary entrance doors. These paneled wood doors, often slightly wider than contemporary entrance doors, are commonly glazed at the upper portion and feature corniced and bracketed hoods and incised or applied ornament. Occasionally, a single fixed window is located adjacent to the entry door of Queen Anne buildings, and many entry doors are topped with transom windows. Fenestration is remarkably consistent throughout the district, consisting of vertically oriented double-hung single-light wood sash windows, with ogee lugs, set in wood surrounds. Windows are typically set in wide angled bays with smaller windows set flush with the facade, often adjacent to or above the primary entry. Window surrounds are typically topped with cornices, occasionally featuring pediments, with ornamented details. Smaller vertically oriented windows, set in a single or paired configuration, are typical on Italianate buildings. Several buildings, typically Progressive-era flats buildings, feature curved wood sash windows set in curved structural bays. Angled or curved bays typically contain three windows, though certain bays of corner buildings contain four or five windows. Most windows are rectangular although there are several buildings with arched windows. The building at 1949 15th Street is the only building that retains an original two-over-two light double-hung wood sash window on primary elevation. Large flats buildings, particularly Romeo flats, have continuous stacked angled bays flanking enclosed central stair with flush window at each landing. On visible side and rear elevations, windows are typically single or paired double-hung sash with simple wood surrounds. While many buildings within the district retain some or all historic double-hung wood sash windows with ogee lugs on primary, street-facing elevations, many others have replacement sash. Replacement windows made of aluminum or vinyl sash, casement or slider windows, or windows with divided lights that were added to buildings after the Period of Significance have not gained significance.

The addition of garages has altered the front facades and yards of many District properties. Many of the historic buildings within the district were not originally constructed with an integrated automobile garage. Portions of site walls were removed and front yards partially paved to accommodate driveways for garages inserted in the basement of many buildings. Several properties feature detached or semi-attached pop-out garages in the front yard. Garage structures, openings, and driveways have not gained significance. D. Architectural Details Common traits found throughout the district are bay windows, gable roofs, parapets, decorative cornices, ornamental shingles, and spindle work, as well as more classically influenced detailing such as dentils, pediments, columns, and applied plaster ornament. Late Victorian- and Progressive-era architectural styles predominate with Italianate, Stick-Eastlake, Queen Anne, and Classical Revival styles most widely represented. Architectural details commonly found on the district’s Italianate and Stick-Eastlake buildings – usually at the smaller dwellings on alleys and narrow streets – include cornice lintels, bracketed hoods, raised panel friezes and bracketed cornices, and false shaped parapets sometimes with pent roofs for Italianates (1959 15th Street includes chamfered bay window decorated with pipe colonnettes and arched window heads) and bracketed cornice caps, bracketed door hoods (flat or pedimented), false parapets with paneled friezes, brackets, and projecting cornices on Stick-Eastlakes. The district’s larger flats buildings, facing onto the wider, primary streets, are typically Classical Revival style, including all the district’s Romeo Flats buildings. Buildings in the district in this style feature wide angled or round bay windows, flat roofs, bulky projecting cornices with modillions or dentils, raised panel spandrels, scroll keystones, broken entablatures, and pedimented and columned porch or portico entries. Architectural details commonly found on Queen Anne buildings in the district include raked cornices, flared eaves, shingled tympanums, fish-scale shingling, projecting bracketed cornices, steeply pitched gable roofs, finials, geometric applied ornament at spandrel panels, dentils, friezes decorated with wood ornament, egg and dart molding, cut-out screens, sunbursts, intermediate cornices, window and door hoods, spindle screens, turned wood balustrades and newel posts, turned wood porch supports, a variety of wood cladding and patterned wood shingles, arched porticos, and Corinthian or Composite columns and pilasters. (Added by Ord. 15-26, File No. 251101, App. 2/13/2026, Eff. 3/16/2026) SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. For the purpose of this Appendix Q, the following terms shall have the following meanings: Visibility: Visible from within a 150-foot radius of the parcel boundaries. Visibility from a public right-of-way can be determined by drawing circles with a radius of 150 feet at each corner of a lot that fronts on a public right-of-way and then determining which portions of a property are visible when standing in the public right-of-way. Public Right-of-Way: A public right-of-way is a street or sidewalk. Primary Façade or Elevation: A primary façade is a building’s main street-facing façade. Corner buildings have two primary façades. Rear Façade or Elevation: The rear façade is located at the rear of the building and faces the backyard. (Added by Ord. 15-26, File No. 251101, App. 2/13/2026, Eff. 3/16/2026) SEC. 8. STANDARDS OF REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS. The standards for review of all applications for Certificates of Appropriateness are as set forth in Section 1006.6 of Article 10. For the purposes of review under those standards, the “character of the Historic District” shall mean the exterior architectural features of the Alert Alley Early Residential District referred to and described in Section 6 of this Appendix. The three levels of review are: “No Certificate of Appropriateness” is required; an “Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness” is required, which is approved administratively by Planning Department Preservation staff as delegated pursuant to Section 1006.2(b) of the Planning Code; and “Certificate of Appropriateness” is required pursuant to Section 1006 of the Planning Code at a regularly scheduled Historic Preservation Commission hearing. The procedures, requirements, controls and standards of Article 10 of the Planning Code shall apply to all applications for Certificates of Appropriateness and/or Administrative Certificates of Appropriateness in the Alert Alley Early Residential Historic District. Any exterior change within the Alert Alley Early Residential Historic District shall require a Certificate of Appropriateness, pursuant to the provisions of Article 10, when such work requires a City permit, with the exception of: scopes of work outlined in Section 1005(e)(1-10) of Article 10; projects subject to the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) that comply with the Preservation Design Standards; and, the specific scopes of work as outlined below. Ancillary Structures within the Rear Yard – Construction or Removal No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for the construction of any structure within the rear yard that is no more than ten feet in height above grade and covers no more than 120 square feet of land regardless of visibility from public rights-of-way. A Certificate of Appropriateness shall not be required for the removal of any non-historic ancillary structure within the rear yard. Cladding No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for replacement of cladding on rear facades not visible from the public right-of-way. Vinyl siding will not be permitted on any elevation regardless of visibility. Decks, Stairs & Railings Front Stairways and Railings: No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for the replacement of stairways and/or railings with compatible stairways and/or railings provided that the proposal is based on physical or documented evidence and is found to be compatible in terms of location, configuration, materials, and details with the character-defining features of the building and/or district. This does not apply to the replacement of porticos, porches, or other architectural components of the entry. Rear Yard Decks, Stairs, and Railings: No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for repair, replacement, or installation of decks, stairways and associated structural elements (such as firewalls) or elevator shafts located at rear of subject property regardless of visibility from public rights-of-way. Doors, Windows, and Other Openings Doors, Windows, and Other Openings – non-visible elevations: No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for replacement of doors, including garage doors, and windows in existing openings at elevations not visible from the public right of way. No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for adding, expanding or removing openings at elevations not visible from the public right of way. Garage Doors: A Certificate of Appropriateness shall not be required for the replacement of an existing garage door and/or trim provided that the new features are compatible in terms of material, pattern, finish, and fenestration. Replacement garage doors must have a solid, painted finish and may feature no more than 25 percent glazing. Tradesman Doors: No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for replacement of tradesman doors provided the new tradesman door is compatible with the building and District to minimize visual impacts on the character-defining features of the building and District. Exploratory and Investigative Work No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for the removal of non-historic material to conduct investigation about the historic structure and to determine the existence of underlying historic materials, ghosting, and scarring. This scope of work shall be limited, at the Department’s discretion, to no more than 15% of the total surface area of the façade. This work area must be stabilized and protected after the investigation is complete. Fences A Certificate of Appropriateness shall not be required for the construction or replacement of rear or side yard fences. Ground Disturbance Most properties within the Alert Alley Early Residential District are also located within the Planning Department’s Archaeological Sensitivity Zone 1 (areas that have high sensitivity for archaeological resources that are at or just beneath the current ground surface). No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for any project where ground disturbance is not: 2 feet or deeper (depth below existing street elevation), and more than 25 cubic yards. Where a project exceeds the ground disturbance criteria of Zone 1, no Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required where Planning Department cultural resources staff, after initial