Planning Code - Landmark Designation - Mother's Building in San Francisco Zoo

Ord. No. 0193-22

in effect

FILE NO. 220757 ORDINANCE NO. 193-22 [Planning Code - Landmark Designation - Mother's Building in San Francisco Zoo] Ordinance amending the Planning Code to designate Mother's Building, situated within San Francisco Zoological Gardens, 1 Zoo Road, southeast of Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard, in Assessor's Parcel Block No. 7281, Lot No. 006, as a Landmark consistent with the standards set forth in Article 10 of the Planning Code; affirming the Planning Department's determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; and making public necessity, convenience, and welfare findings under Planning Code, Section 302, and findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1. NOTE: Unchanged Code text and uncodified text are in plain Arial font. Additions to Codes are in single-underline italics Times New Roman font. Deletions to Codes are in strikethrough italics Times 11/ew Romenfont. Board amendment additions are in double-underlined Arial font. Board amendment deletions are in strikethrough Arial font. Asterisks (* * * *) indicate the omission of unchanged Code subsections or parts of tables. Be it ordained by the People of the City and County of San Francisco: Section 1. CEQA and Land Use Findings. (a) The Planning Department has determined that the actions contemplated in this ordinance comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq.). Said determination is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 220757 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board of Supervisors affirms this determination. (b) Pursuant to Planning Code Section 302, the Board of Supervisors finds that the proposed landmark designation of the Mother's Building, situated within Assessor's Parcel Block No. 7281, Lot No. 006, will serve the public necessity, convenience, and welfare for the Supervisors Melgar; Mar, Chan, Peskin BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 1 reasons set forth in Historic Preservation Commission Resolution No. 1248, recommending approval of the proposed designation, which is incorporated herein by reference. (c) On June 15, 2022, the Historic Preservation Commission, in Resolution No. 1248, adopted findings that the actions contemplated in this ordinance are consistent, on balance, with the City's General Plan and with the eight priority policies of Planning Code Section 101.1 . The Board adopts these findings as its own. Section 2. General Findings. (a) On April 12, 2022, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution No. 137-22, initiating landmark designation of the Mother's Building as a San Francisco Landmark pursuant to Section 1004.1 of the Planning Code. On April 22, 2022, the Mayor approved the resolution. Said resolution is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 220275. (b) Pursuant to Charter Section 4.135, the Historic Preservation Commission has authority "to recommend approval, disapproval, or modification of landmark designations and historic district designations under the Planning Code to the Board of Supervisors." (c) The Landmark Designation Fact Sheet was prepared by Planning Department Preservation staff. All preparers meet the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards for historic preservation program staff, as set forth in Code of Federal Regulations Title 36, Part 61, Appendix A. The report was reviewed for accuracy and conformance with the purposes and standards of Article 10 of the Planning Code. (d) The Historic Preservation Commission, at its regular meeting of June 15, 2022, reviewed Planning Department staff's analysis of the historical significance of the Mother's Building set forth in the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet dated June 8, 2022. Supervisors Melgar; Mar, Chan, Peskin BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page (e) On June 15, 2022, after holding a public hearing on the proposed designation and having considered the specialized analyses prepared by Planning Department staff and the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet, the Historic Preservation Commission recommended designation of the Mother's Building as a landmark under Article 10 of the Planning Code by Resolution No. 1248. Said resolution is on file with the Clerk of the Board in File No. 220757. (f) The Board of Supervisors hereby finds that the Mother's Building has a special character and special historical, architectural, and aesthetic interest and value, and that its designation as a Landmark will further the purposes of and conform to the standards set forth in Article 10 of the Planning Code. In doing so, the Board hereby incorporates by reference the findings of the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet. Section 3. Designation. Pursuant to Section 1004.3 of the Planning Code, the Mother's Building is hereby designated as a San Francisco Landmark under Article 10 of the Planning Code. Appendix A to Article 10 of the Planning Code is hereby amended to include this property. Section 4. Required Data. (a) The description, location, and boundary of the Landmark site consists of the historic building footprint of Mother's Building, located within the San Francisco Zoological Gardens ("SF Zoo"), southeast of Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard, in Assessor's Parcel Block No. 7281, Lot No. 006, in San Francisco's Lakeshore neighborhood. The Mother's Building is located at the northwest portion of the SF Zoo, between Elinor Friend Playground and Koret Animal Resource Center. The Landmark site includes the courtyard terrace/plaza extending from the east elevation edged with remnants of concrete balustrades, excluding all other aspects of the SF Zoo. Supervisors Melgar; Mar, Chan, Peskin BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page (b) The characteristics of the Landmark that justify its designation are described and shown in the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet and other supporting materials contained in Planning Department Record Docket No. 2022-004422DES. In brief, the Mother's Building is eligible for local designation as it is associated with events that have made a culturally, historically, and architecturally significant contribution to the broad patterns of San Francisco history and embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction. The Mother's Building, constructed in 1925 for Herbert and Mortimer Fleishhacker to honor their late mother, was donated to the City and dedicated to serve as a place of rest for mothers and young children, with tile mosaics completed in 1934, titled St. Francis and Children and Their Animal Friends, by Helen Bruton (assisted by her sisters, Margaret and Esther Bruton), and an egg tempera on plaster mural cycle painted between 1933 and 1938, titled Building the Ark, Loading of the Animals, Landing of the Ark, and The Ark's Passengers Disembark, by Helen K. Forbes and Dorothy Puccinelli, through the federal Public Works of Art Project and the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Specifically, designation of the Mother's Building is proper as it is individually eligible for its association with women's history, as one of the only recreation sites of the period focused on the comfort of mothers and their young children, and as the only large-scale WPA- era art project solely featuring female artists; with the WPA's art programs and with the outstanding murals and tile mosaics created by these female artists; with early recreational facilities in San Francisco; and as an excellent example of Italian Renaissance Revival architecture and work of architect of merit George W. Kelham. (c) The particular features that should be preserved, or replaced in-kind as determined necessary, are those shown in photographs and/or described in the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet, which can be found in Planning Department Record Docket No. 2022- 004422DES, and which are incorporated in this designation by reference as though fully set Supervisors Melgar; Mar, Chan, Peskin BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page forth. Specifically, the following features are character-defining and shall be preserved or replaced in kind: (1) All those exterior elevations, form, massing, structure, rooflines, architectural ornament, and materials of the Mother's Building, identified as: (A) Siting of the building along the Pacific Coast and within the setting of the SF Zoo; (B) Relationship of the building with the terrace/plaza that extends along the east facade; (C) Three-bay composition in the Italian Renaissance style; (D) Mission-style red clay tile hipped roof; (E) Recessed loggia with vaulted ceiling and arches supported by Corinthian capitals and columns; (F) Stucco finish with wavy texture; (G) Tile mosaics on walls at north and south ends of recessed loggia by Helen Bruton (with assistance from her sisters Margaret and Esther Bruton); (H) Recessed apses with decorative, pre-cast concrete panels and urns at east elevation; (I) Frieze panels depicting cherubs and mythological figures at east and west elevations; (J) Wood windows, consisting of: (i) One 16-lite paired casement sash window at west elevation with a semi-circular pediment supported by Corinthian columns; (ii) Six 5-lite paired casement sash windows, four at the east loggi and two at south elevation; Supervisors Melgar; Mar, Chan, Peskin BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page (iii) Two double-hung 6-over-9 sash windows with precast concrete surrounds, and triangular pediments at east elevation; (iv) Eight double-hung 6-over-9 sash windows, two at north elevation and six at west elevation; (K) Wood doors, consisting of: (i) Panel main entrance doors with precast concrete semi-circular pediment with frieze depicting two female figures and a lintel listing dedication to Delia Fleishhacker in bronze letters; (ii) French doors with transom and semi-circular precast concrete pediment supported by Corinthian columns at north elevation; (L) Concrete balustrade delineating the east entrance terrace/plaza; and (M) Two-tiered, semicircular concrete and stucco planters at base of recessed apses on east elevation and at one window on west elevation. (2) The character-defining interior features of the Mother's Building are those depicted in photos and written description in the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet, all of which were historically accessible to the public, including: (A) Symmetrical arrangement of a large central room flanked by two smaller rooms; (B) Egg tempera on plaster murals by Helen K. Forbes and Dorothy Puccinelli with wood wainscoting below; (C) Decorative wood beam ceiling; (D) Hardwood flooring at main lounge; (E) Wood panel doors with painted surrounds at main lounge; and (F) Two walnut benches and octagonal tables. Supervisors Melgar; Mar, Chan, Peskin BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page Section 5. Standards of Review for Applications. The following scopes of work shall not require a Certificate of Appropriateness, or shall be subject to an Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness, as specified below: (a) No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for new plantings, pruning, changes to vegetation, changes to driveways, pathways, retaining walls, or other structures within the surroundings of the Mother's Building. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to regulate maintenance of or changes to vegetation, driveways, pathways, or other features aside from those specified herein, within the SF Zoo; and (b) An Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for work delegated by the Historic Preservation Commission to Planning Department Preservation staff pursuant to Planning Code Section 1006.2. Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective 30 days after enactment. Enactment occurs when the Mayor signs the ordinance, the Mayor returns the ordinance unsigned or does not sign the ordinance within ten days of receiving it, or the Board of Supervisors overrides the Mayor's veto of the ordinance. APPROVED AS TO FORM: DAVID CHIU, City Attorney By: /s/ Victoria Wong VICTORIA WONG Deputy City Attorney n :\legana\as2022\ 1800206\01606959.docx Supervisors Melgar; Mar, Chan, Peskin BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page File Number: 220757 City and County of San Francisco Tails Ordinance Date Passed: City Hall I Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, CA 94 102-4689 September 06, 2022 Ordinance amending the Planning Code to designate Mother's Building, situated within San Francisco Zoological Gardens, 1 Zoo Road, southeast of Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard, in Assessor's Parcel Block No. 7281, Lot No. 006, as a Landmark consistent with the standards set forth in Article 10 of the Planning Code; affirming the Planning Department's determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; and making public necessity, convenience, and welfare findings under Planning Code, Section 302, and findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1. July 25, 2022 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED AS COMMITTEE REPORT July 26, 2022 Board of Supervisors - PASSED ON FIRST READING Ayes: 11 - Chan, Dorsey, Mandelman, Mar, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai, Stefani and Walton September 06, 2022 Board of Supervisors - Fl NALLY PASSED Ayes: 11 - Chan, Dorsey, Mandelman, Mar, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai, Stefani and Walton File No. 220757 I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was Fl NALLY PASSED on 9/6/2022 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. City and Co1111ty of S1111 Francisco London N. Breed Mayor l'11ge I ' Angela Calvillo Clerk of the Board Date Approved Printed at 8:58 1w1 011 9/7/12

References

amendsSec. 1015

Source: sf_ordinance_pdfURL: https://sfbos.archive.sf.gov/sites/default/files/o0193-22.pdfFetched: 7/4/2026