SF Planning and CEQA

View information from the SF Planning Department about the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

Project Application to SF Planning Department and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Process

November 2019: After nearly two years of community outreach and with guidance provided by the Potrero Yard Neighborhood Working Group (consisting of 13 community members and two Muni operators), the SFMTA submitted a project application to the SF Planning Department in November 2019 for the Potrero Yard Modernization Project. The project application established a set of parameters (e.g.. building mass, height, and number of residential units) that were the basis for evaluating the project’s potential environmental impacts through CEQA.

The CEQA process requires an environmental review of the project. This review is assembled into a document, known as an Environmental Impact Report or EIR. The EIR includes information about the project, alternatives to the project, the project’s potential environmental impacts, and how any impacts may be avoided or mitigated.

To stay updated about the project application visit SF Planning Record Status 2019-021884ENV.

Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for CEQA

June 30, 2021: The Planning Department released the Draft Environmental Impact Report on June 30, 2021. Signs posted around the Potrero Yard site advertised that the San Francisco Planning Department issued the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for this project and that it was available for public review and comment. The EIR provided decision-makers and the public with an objective analysis of the potential immediate and long-range environmental effects of the Project. Comments made in response to the Draft EIR were addressed in a subsequent Response to Comments, published on December 13, 2023 (see below).

The Potrero Yard Modernization Project's two-month public comment period offered community members time to review and comment on the findings of the Draft EIR. The public comment period began July 1 and ended August 31, 2021. To view the Draft EIR and provide comment, visit the Planning Department Environmental Review Documents webpage.

The Draft EIR was also presented at public hearings.

• August 4, 2021: The Historic Preservation Commission met to consider this project.
• August 26, 2021: The Planning Commission heard public comments on the Draft EIR on at its regular meeting.

For more information on the environmental review process for this project, please contact Jennifer McKellar at 628.652.7563 or email CPC.PotreroYardEIR@sfgov.org.

Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for CEQA

December 13, 2023: On Wednesday, December 13, 2023 the San Francisco Planning Department published supplemental environmental analyses on the Refined Project and the Paratransit Variant and a Response to Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The Draft EIR was previously published in summer 2021 and received public comment at that time. Since then, the SFMTA and the PNC developer team refined the project design based on community and stakeholder input and submitted the Refined Project to SF Planning in June 2023. These refinements have undergone additional environmental review and have been considered by the SF Planning Department and summarized in their conclusion:

Conclusion/Summary of Impacts of the Refined Project Compared to the Draft EIR Project
For these reasons, the proposed refinements to the Draft EIR Project described and analyzed in the draft EIR for CEQA compliance do not present significant new information as defined by CEQA Guidelines section 15088.5. ...
— Responses To Comments On The Draft Environmental Impact Report, Volume 3, page 8.155. (PDF 42MB)

The Draft EIR together with the Responses To Comments document constitute the final EIR for the Refined Project. You can find these documents on the SF Planning website bit.ly/SFPlanning_PotreroYard as "Responses to Comments (RTC)" and the various "RTC Attachment" links. (The Draft EIR [DEIR] and Appendices from 2021 are also located in that document repository.)

Public Hearings for Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for CEQA

• December 21, 2023: The SF Recreation and Parks Commission recommended that shadow from the Project will not have adverse impact on Franklin Square.
• January 11, 2024: The SF Planning Commission voted to certify the Final EIR. 

Final EIR Certification

The appeal period following the January 11, 2024 Planning Commission certification of the Final EIR ended on February 12, 2024. The Project did not receive a Conditional Use or CEQA appeal.