Petition addressed to:
PG&E, SF Planning Department
The project on 3637-3657 Sacramento Street was approved by the San Francisco Planning and the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection based on the understanding that a subsurface transformer would be installed. This condition was fundamental to the approved design, which was also supported through the public review process and endorsed by both the City and the surrounding neighborhood at the time of approval.
Since then, PG&E has denied the project sponsor's subsurface transformer request. The only alternative is to place the transformer at street level as part of the building, with a requirement for direct exterior access. This would result in approximately 14’ of continuous street frontage being dedicated to utility infrastructure.
This requirement has a significant and detrimental impact on the project and the surrounding neighborhood. The total street frontage is 110’, of which approximately 60% is already allocated to active retail uses. Introducing a street-level transformer would consume an additional ~20% of the frontage, replacing active, engaging uses with a blank, inactive façade.
We ask for your support in signing this petition to urge PG&E to reconsider and approve the subsurface transformer.
Reason
Such a condition would undermine the pedestrian experience, diminish the vitality of the retail corridor, and conflict with the City’s urban design goals for active ground-floor frontages. Beyond aesthetics, it effectively removes usable space that would otherwise contribute to the neighborhood’s economic and social activity. Additionally, accommodating this change would require a substantial redesign of the building envelope, and would be in direct conflict of what was previously approved by Planning.
Construction is well underway, with work now reaching the third floor of the structure. Revising the ground floor to accommodate a transformer room would not only have a huge cost impact but also trigger a cascade of structural redesigns and changes, unraveling progress that has already been carefully put in place, which will also delay the project completion by months.
Allowing above-grade utility infrastructure in a highly regarded neighborhood such as Sacramento Street would be inconsistent with its long-standing character and design standards, and could set an undesirable precedent for other similarly sensitive streetscapes across the City.
