Tag: historical district

Posted on

Home News Political Notebook: Among D8 supe candidates, Nguyen lone backer of Castro historic district

by Matthew S. Bajko : ebar – excerpt

Now that Manny’s out, the field is narrowing.

Gary McCoy, left, and Michael Trung Nguyen are the Bay Area Reporter’s first and second choices, respectively, in the race for District 8 supervisor. 

Establishing a historic district in the heart of San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood may not have as enthusiastic a supporter of it once gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman leaves office in January. Of the four candidates seeking to succeed him at City Hall, just one has come out in full support of the creation of the historic district.

Gay Twin Peaks resident Michael Trung Nguyen, a patent attorney also known as drag queen Juicy Liu, told the Bay Area Reporter “absolutely, absolutely” when asked if he would support the designation for the Castro. As the B.A.R. was first to report last week, Mandelman introduced a resolution September 22 to initiate the process to incorporate the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street and several blocks on adjoining streets into a Eureka Valley Commercial & Castro Village LGBTQ+ Historic District.

It must first move out of the supervisors’ land use committee then be brought up for a full vote at the board before taken up by the city’s historic preservation and planning commissions. Once those oversight bodies weigh in, then an ordinance to officially establish the historic district will need to be introduced at the board and be approved by the supervisors.

With just three months left to get anything adopted by the board this year, it is likely it will fall to Mandelman’s successor to designate the 93 parcels identified by planning officials as part of the city’s 15th historic district. It would be the first centered around an underserved community… (more)

RELATED:

Editorial: The B.A.R. makes its SF supervisor choices

Posted on

Dozens of Mission homes could gain historic preservation protections

By Keith Menconi : sfexaminer – excerpt

Two miniature neighborhoods in the Mission district could soon gain historical-preservation protections.

A committee of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors advanced a pair of resolutions Monday marking the first step in a legal process that could eventually result in the residential areas — which together comprise 53 properties — receiving official historical-landmark designations.

Monday’s resolution, sponsored by Board President Rafael Mandelman, is part of a decades-long campaign to preserve buildings within the Mission Dolores neighborhood, the historical core of the broader Mission district with roots tracing all the way back to the 18th-century Spanish settlement that sprung up around the still-standing Mission Dolores adobe chapel that now gives the neighborhood its name.

Two miniature neighborhoods in the Mission district could soon gain historical-preservation protections.

A committee of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors advanced a pair of resolutions Monday marking the first step in a legal process that could eventually result in the residential areas — which together comprise 53 properties — receiving official historical-landmark designations.

Monday’s resolution, sponsored by Board President Rafael Mandelman, is part of a decades-long campaign to preserve buildings within the Mission Dolores neighborhood, the historical core of the broader Mission district with roots tracing all the way back to the 18th-century Spanish settlement that sprung up around the still-standing Mission Dolores adobe chapel that now gives the neighborhood its name…

If the full board approves Mandelman’s resolution, it will trigger further rounds of public review by San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission. Final approval of the designations will still require another sign off from the Board of Supervisors as well as the mayor.

The two districts would join a roster of other highly recognizable historic districts in San Francisco, including Alamo Square, Civic Center and Dogpatch.

In recent years, local preservationists have redoubled their efforts to add historical protections to San Francisco buildings in response to a raft of housing legislation aimed at spurring widespread development in the coming years.

During his remarks Monday, Mandelman echoed their fear that unchecked construction could lead to demolitions that would erase San Francisco’s history from the cityscape.

“The reality is that healthy cities do change and grow,” Mandelman said, “but as we prepare for that growth and that change, I think it is especially important that we take steps to preserve our architectural heritage.”… (more)