Planning Code - Landmark Designation - Mint Mall and Hall at 951-957 Mission Street

Ord. No. 0194-25

in effect

FILE NO. 250919 ORDINANCE NO. 194-25 [Planning Code - Landmark Designation - Mint Mall and Hall at 951-957 Mission Street] Ordinance amending the Planning Code to designate the Mint Mall and Hall at 951-957 Mission Street, in the south side Mission Street between 5th and 6th Streets, 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 NeH' RomaHjont. 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. Findings. (a) CEQA and Land Use Findings. (1) The Planning Department has determined that the Planning Code amendment proposed in this ordinance is subject to a Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq., hereinafter "CEQA") pursuant to Section 15308 of California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Sections 15000 et seq., the Guidelines for implementation of the statute, for actions by regulatory agencies for protection of the environment (in this case, landmark designation). Said determination is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 250919 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board of Supervisors affirms this determination. Supervisors Dorsey; Mandelman, Chan, Sauter, Sherrill, Chen, Melgar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 1 (2) Pursuant to Planning Code Section 302, the Board of Supervisors finds that the proposed landmark designation of Mint Mall and Hall (Mint Mall) will serve the public necessity, convenience, and welfare for the reasons set forth in Historic Preservation Commission Resolution No. 1477, recommending approval of the proposed designation, which is incorporated herein by reference. (3) The Board of Supervisors finds that the proposed landmark designation of Mint Mall is consistent with the General Plan and with Planning Code Section 101.1 (b) for the reasons set forth in Historic Preservation Commission Resolution No. 1477, which is incorporated herein by reference. (b) General Findings. (1) On July 29, 2024, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution No. 394-25, initiating landmark designation of Mint Mall as a San Francisco Landmark pursuant to Section 1004.1 of the Planning Code. On August 5, 2025, the Mayor approved the resolution. Said resolution is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 250783. (2) 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." (3) 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. (4) The Historic Preservation Commission, at its regular meeting of September 3, 2025, reviewed Planning Department staff's analysis of the historical significance of Mint Mall set forth in the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet dated August 27, 2025. Supervisors Dorsey; Mandelman, Chan, Sauter, Sherrill, Chen, Melgar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 2 (5) On September 3, 2025, 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 Mint Mall as a landmark consistent with the standards set forth in Section 1004 of the Planning Code, by Resolution No. 1477. Said resolution is on file with the Clerk of the Board in File No. 250919. (6) The Board of Supervisors hereby finds that Mint Mall has a special character and special historical, cultural, 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 2. Designation. Pursuant to Section 1004.3 of the Planning Code, the Mint Mall at 951-957 Mission Street is hereby designated as a San Francisco Landmark consistent with the standards set forth in Section 1004. Appendix A to Article 10 of the Planning Code is hereby amended to include this property. Section 3. Required Data. (a) The description, location, and boundary of the Landmark site consists of the historic structural footprint of the Mint Mall, being on Assessor's Parcel number 3725/088 on the south side of Mission Street between 5th and 6th Streets in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, inclusive of publicly-accessible interiors of the Mint Mall commercial areas. (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 Supervisors Dorsey; Mandelman, Chan, Sauter, Sherrill, Chen, Melgar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 3 Planning Department Record Docket No. 2024-002473DES. In brief, The Mint Mall building at 951-957 Mission Street is eligible for local designation as a cultural property with statewide recognition in the Filipino community (National Register of Historic Places Criterion A) as the Mint Mall is associated with a pattern of events that have made a significant contribution to Filipino culture and history in northern California. Mint Mall (commercial basement, street-level and mezzanine) has been a hub of business, cultural activities and social service organizations in support to the Filipino community in the Mint Mall, the neighborhood and region. The wide, street-like interior hallways of the Mint Mall also provides physical space for socialization for the residents above and the community in the area. The Mint Mall's upper residential floors have offered affordable housing for a community of residents who have been able to leverage their time at the Hall to both become established in homes of their own, sponsor extended family and send remittances back to the Philippines. The Mint Mall has long been a cultural landmark. When around 2000 the intrusion of dot.com office spaces into the Mall threatened the viability of the Mint Mall, the community organizing efforts to retain the Filipino presence in of the building led to the formation of SOM CAN and eventually the SOMA Pilipinas - Filipino Cultural Heritage District. (c) The particular features that should be preserved, or replaced in-kind as determined necessary, are those generally shown in photographs and described in the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet, which can be found in Planning Department Record Docket No. 2024-002473DES, and which are incorporated in this designation by reference as though fully set forth herein. Specifically, the following features are character-defining and shall be preserved or replaced in kind: All those elements of Mint Mall identified as: 1. Exterior A. Five-story with Mezzanine massing with formal frontage on Mission Street; Supervisors Dorsey; Mandelman, Chan, Sauter, Sherrill, Chen, Melgar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page4 B. Informal fac;ade on Minna Street; C. Brick and reinforced concrete construction; D. On Mission Street, the postmodern storefront featuring metal storefront and transom; E. Canted terrazzo base; F. Central plinth block; 2. Interior A. Broad, street-like interior corridors on three levels; B. Round neon sign reading "Mint Mall" on interior side of central plinth; C. Checkered tiled floor; D. Open stair; E. At basement level interior, wood "bay window" storefront windows into the common hallway and F. Built-in planters; G. At street-level, wooden cutouts at individual storefronts. Section 4. 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 work consisting of "ordinary maintenance and repairs," pursuant to Planning Code Section 1005(e)(3). For purposes of this ordinance, "ordinary maintenance and repairs" for interior features listed in Section 3 (c) shall include painting previously painted surfaces, replacement glazing, replacement of doors to individual storefronts within existing openings, in-kind replacement of damaged flooring not exceeding 100 square feet, and plumbing electrical (including replacement of or additional Supervisors Dorsey; Mandelman, Chan, Sauter, Sherrill, Chen, Melgar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 5 lighting fixtures or fire safety equipment), in-kind maintenance of the neon sign, or mechanical work for the maintenance of the building; (b) No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for non-structural interior alterations and maintenance within non-character-defining internal storefronts including the redistribution of area between individual suites of the Mint Mall portion of the building; (c) No Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for any interior work to the Mint Hall portion of the building and (d) 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, and to alter any interior features listed in Section 3 (c) which are not otherwise exempted in (a), (b), or (c) in this section. Section 5. 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. Supervisors Dorsey; Mandelman, Chan, Sauter, Sherrill, Chen, Melgar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 6 APPROVED AS TO FORM: DAVID CHIU, City Attorney By: /s/ Andrea Ruiz-Esquide ANDREA RUIZ-ESQUIDE Deputy City Attorney n:lleganalas202511800206101865934.docx Supervisors Dorsey; Mandelman, Chan, Sauter, Sherrill, Chen, Melgar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 7 City and County of San Francisco Tails Ordinance City Hall I Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, CA 94 I 02-4689 File Number: 250919 Date Passed: October 07, 2025 Ordinance amending the Planning Code to designate the Mint Mall and Hall at 951-957 Mission Street, in the south side Mission Street between 5th and 6th Streets, 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. September 29, 2025 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED AS COMMITTEE REPORT September 30, 2025 Board of Supervisors - PASSED, ON FIRST READING Ayes: 11 - Chan, Chen, Dorsey, Engardio, Fielder, Mahmood, Mandelman, Melgar, Sauter, Sherrill and Walton October 07, 2025 Board of Supervisors - FINALLY PASSED Ayes: 11 - Chan, Chen, Dorsey, Engardio, Fielder, Mahmood, Mandelman, Melgar, Sauter, Sherrill and Walton File No. 2509 I 9 I hereby certify that the foregoing City and County of San Francisco Daniel Lurie Mayor Page I Ordinance was FINALLY PASSED on 10/7/2025 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. Date Approved Printed at 8:31 am 011 /0/8/25

References

amendsSec. 1

amendsSec. 1015

Source: sf_ordinance_pdfURL: https://sfbos.archive.sf.gov/sites/default/files/o0194-25.pdfFetched: 7/4/2026