APPENDIX I TO ARTICLE 11

KEARNY-BELDEN CONSERVATION DISTRICT

SEC. 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

It is hereby found that the area known and described in this Appendix as the Kearny-Belden Street area is a Subarea within the C-3 District that possesses concentrations of buildings that together create a Subarea of architectural quality and importance which contributes to the beauty and attractiveness of the City. It is further found that the area meets the standards for designation of a Conservation District as set forth in Section 1103 of Section 11 and that the designation of said area as a Conservation District will be in furtherance of and in conformance with the purposes of Article 11 of the City Planning Code.

This Designation is intended to promote the health, safety, prosperity and welfare of the people of the City through the effectuation of the purposes set forth in Section 1101 of Article 11. In addition, this designation is intended to preserve the scale and character of the Kearny-Belden area by:

(a) The protection and preservation of the basic characteristics and salient architectural details of structures insofar as these characteristics and details are compatible with the Conservation District;

(b) Providing scope for the continuing vitality of the District through private renewal and architectural creativity, within appropriate controls and standards;

(c) Encouragement of the continued intensive use of the District by financial district workers during the noon hours. (Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

Pursuant to Section 1103.1 of Article 11 of the City Planning Code (Part II, Chapter XI of the San Francisco Municipal Code), the Kearny-Belden area is hereby designated as a Conservation District. (Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

SEC. 3. LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES.

The location and boundaries of the Kearny-Belden Conservation District shall be as designated on the Kearny-Belden Conservation District Map, the original of which is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors under File No. 22384-4, which Map is hereby incorporated herein as though fully set forth, and a facsimile of which is reproduced herein below.

(Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

SEC. 4. RELATION TO CITY PLANNING CODE.

(a) Article 11 of the City Planning Code is the basic law governing preservation of buildings and districts of architectural importance in the C-3 District of the City and County of San Francisco. This Appendix is subject to and in addition to the provisions thereof.

(b) Except as may be specifically provided to the contrary in this Code, nothing in this Appendix shall supersede, impair or modify any City Planning provisions applicable to property in the Kearny-Belden Conservation District, including, but not limited to, regulations controlling uses, height, bulk, coverage, floor area ratio, required open space, offstreet parking, and signs.

(Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

SEC. 5. JUSTIFICATION.

The characteristics of the Conservation District justifying its designation are as follows:

(a) History of the District. In the nineteenth century, private alleys were cut to permit access to the interiors of blocks, allowing more intensive development than would otherwise have been possible. In this immediate area, the blocks were typically cut by one or more alleys. Some of these, like Belden Street and St. George Alley, still exist. Others, such as Lick Alley and Summer Alley, have been incorporated into new developments. Thus, the character of this District was established when Belden Street was cut through between Pine and Bush Streets. Belden Street is one of the best remaining examples of the development pattern of the pre-fire era.

Buildings along Kearny, Bush and Pine Streets were completed several years before the small structures on the interior portion of Belden Alley. Since the District was only a few blocks south of Portsmouth Square, Kearny Street had a large number of businesses serving both nearby residents as well as mercantile and port activities. As the City grew in the 1870's, Kearny Street became the most fashionable retail street in the City. Yet, by the turn of the century, the movement of retail stores to Market Street and the Union Square/Grant Avenue area eclipsed Kearny Street's prominence. After the fire of 1906, Kearny Street found itself located between the financial and retail districts. By 1931, Kearny Street was a low-rent area of small stores and hotels. Some support uses for nearby Montgomery Street found Kearny a convenient location and printers, sign painters and some offices located on the street. While Belden Street was originally a service alley, restaurants located on the small street during the 1920's and 1930's.

(b) Basic Nature of the District. The District consists of the east side of the 300 block of Kearny Street and the buildings which front on Belden Street, which runs parallel to Kearny. The depth of the lots is from 40 to 60 feet, which has served as an effective limit on the height and scale of the buildings. The District has become the location for a number of small, moderately priced restaurants and the Belden Street right-of-way is closed down during the lunch hours to create a pedestrian mall which is heavily used. During this time, restaurants move tables out into the street for open-air dining. In addition, street trees have been planted and benches installed.

(c) Architectural Character. The District has only a few individual buildings of outstanding quality. Its unique quality is based on its character, rather than its examples of outstanding architecture. The District is also important as an example of historic building and development patterns. The District is expressive of the different requirements of the street frontages. The character of the District is maintained by the small-scale, red brick structures on Belden Street, often utilitarian in character, with minimal ornament. The facades fronting on Kearny Street are more elaborate, with ornament derived from Renaissance sources.

xample of historic building and development patterns. The District is expressive of the different requirements of the street frontages. The character of the District is maintained by the small-scale, red brick structures on Belden Street, often utilitarian in character, with minimal ornament. The facades fronting on Kearny Street are more elaborate, with ornament derived from Renaissance sources.

(d) Uniqueness and Location. The District is almost entirely intact, except for one unsympathetically remodeled building. Alterations to the lower stories have generally been compatible with the District, and in recent years commercial alterations have been effected more compatible with the character of the District. The area is located on the edges of the Financial and Retail Districts, and at the foot of Nob Hill eastern slope.

(e) Visual and Functional Unity. The character of the area is determined by the use of a consistent scale, fenestration, materials, colors, and style.

(f) Dynamic Continuity. The District supplies a variety of services to the working population of the downtown area. The shops and restaurants are active and thriving.

(g) Benefits to the City and Its Residents. The district provides a variety of retail and commercial uses, including moderately priced restaurants and an attractive setting in which to enjoy lunch. The restaurants generally locate in small, older structures. The area serves as a respite from the dense financial district to the east. (Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

SEC. 6. FEATURES.

The exterior architectural features of the Kearny-Belden District are as follows:

(a) Massing and Composition. The Kearny Street facades are elaborate designs, while the Belden Street facades are utilitarian in character. The treatment of the facades reflects the differing character of the streets. Kearny Street is a major pedestrian and vehicular corridor, and a prime shopping street. For the most part, the Kearny Street facades are two- or three-part vertical compositions consisting either of a base and a shaft, or a base, a shaft and a capital. Belden Street is a narrow alley, originally created to allow access to the interior of the block. The facades on Belden Street are largely unornamented, perhaps with a corbelled cornice or a decorative tile roof. The compositions are simple one-part structures from one to four stories high. There are a few small stucco buildings, probably built as warehouses. These designs are successful in maintaining the street enclosure, largely because the narrow widths of the streets do not demand a high building or one with multiple parts.

In addition, the Kearny Street facades are often divided into bays expressing the structure. This was accomplished through fenestration, structural articulation or other detailing which serves to break the facade into discrete segments.

Both the scale and height of the buildings in the District are extremely small, a result of the lot and street patterns. The lot depth is generally under 60 feet, and half the lots have frontages on Kearny and Belden Streets. As a consequence of the limited size of lots, most of the buildings are limited to four stories or less. A number of the buildings are only one story high.

Without exception, the buildings in the Kearny-Belden Conservation District are built to the front property line and occupy the entire site.

(b) Scale. The buildings are of small scale, created by the buildings' elaborate detailing and low height. A major influence on scale is the degree to which the total facade plane is broken into smaller parts which relate to human scale. Window and door openings are relatively small, creating large wall areas, which are frequently heavily ornamented. The bay width is generally from 15 feet to 20 feet. Heights generally range from one to four stories on lots 20 feet to 30 feet wide, although a few taller and wider buildings exist. As noted above, the wider frontages are often broken up by articulation of the facade, making the buildings appear narrower. On the Kearny Street facades, the base is generally delineated from the rest of the building, giving the district an intimate scale at the street.

(c) Materials and Colors. Buildings are either clad in masonry over a supporting structure, or are constructed of masonry with load-bearing walls. The cladding materials include brick, terra cotta, and stucco. Materials have rough surface treatments, especially those located on the alleys, reflecting the building's utilitarian nature. Wood, metal, and metal panels are not commonly used facade materials in the District, although painted wood and metal are sometimes used for window sash and ornament.

The materials are generally colored of light or medium earth tones, including cream, buff, yellow and red. Individual buildings generally use a few different tones of one color, highlighting the ornament. Dark or intense colors are not commonly used.

The Belden Street facades are simply treated wall surfaces, with little expression of weight or mass from wall articulation. The small unit of the brick creates a textured facade, and reduces the scale of the undifferentiated facades. (d) Detailing and Ornamentation. The Kearny Street frontages are not constructed in a single style, but with ornament drawn from a variety of historical, primarily Classical, sources. Popular details include arches, columns, pilasters, projecting bracketed cornices, multiple belt-courses, elaborate lintels, and pediments. Details were used to relate buildings to their neighbors by repeating and varying the ornament used in the surrounding structures.

The Belden Street frontages are unadorned, except for slight corbelled cornices at the upper levels or false tile roofs on the stucco buildings.

(Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

SEC. 7. STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR REVIEW OF NEW CONSTRUCTION AND CERTAIN ALTERATIONS.

(a) Standards. All construction of new buildings and all major alterations, which are subject to the provisions of Sections 1110, 1111 through 1111.6 and 1113, shall be compatible with the District in general with respect to the building's composition and massing, scale, materials and colors, and detailing and ornamentation, including those features described in Section 6 of this Appendix. Emphasis shall be placed on compatibility with those buildings in the area in which the new or altered building is located. In the case of major alterations, only those building characteristics that are affected by the proposed alteration shall be considered in assessing compatibility. Signs on buildings in Conservation Districts are subject to the provisions of Section 1111.7.

The foregoing standards do not require, or even encourage, new buildings to imitate the styles of the past. Rather, they require the new to be compatible with the old. The determination of compatibility shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Section 309.

(b) Guidelines. The guidelines in this subsection are to be used in assessing compatibility.

(1) Composition and Massing. New construction should maintain the character of the District by relating to the prevailing height, mass, proportions, rhythm and composition of existing historic buildings.

The height and massing of new buildings should not alter the traditional scale of existing buildings, streets and open spaces. On the Kearny Street, the existing streetwall height should be maintained. An appropriate streetwall height is established by reference to the prevailing height of the buildings on the block and especially that of adjacent buildings. If the adjacent buildings are of a significantly different height than the rest of the buildings on the block, then the prevailing height of buildings on the block should be used as a guide. A setback at the streetwall height can permit additional height above the setback without breaking the continuity of the street wall. On Belden Street, where the street wall is less well defined, greater latitude in height may be allowed. The height limit of 50 feet should be used as a guide to the appropriate height.

Existing buildings are built to the property or street line. This pattern should not be broken since it could damage the continuity of building rhythms and the definition of streets.

The standard proportions for new buildings should be established by the prevailing streetwall height and width of lots. Maintenance of the existing lot pattern and building proportions should be encouraged. In cases where lot assembly does occur, the facades of new buildings should be broken into discrete elements that relate to prevailing building

proportions. The use of smaller bays can be used to relate the proportions of a new building with those of historic buildings.

The design of the new structure should reflect the characteristics of the blockfront. Kearny Street facades should repeat the prevailing pattern of two- and three-part vertical compositions, although low buildings could use a one-part vertical division. A base element is necessary to define the pedestrian environment. Belden Street facades should be simply treated, with a cornice or other definition at the roof level.

(2) Scale. The existing scale of the immediate area and the Conservation District should be maintained. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including a consistent use of size and complexity of detailing with regard to surrounding buildings, continuance of existing bay widths, maintenance of an existing streetwall height, and incorporation of a base element (of similar height) to maintain the pedestrian environment. Large wall surfaces, which increase a building's scale, should be broken up through the use of detailing and textural variation to reduce the scale.

Existing fenestration (windows, entrances) rhythms and proportions which have been established by lot width or bay width should be repeated in new structures. The spacing and size of window openings should follow the sequence set by historic structures. Large glass areas should be broken up by mullions so that the scale of glazed areas is compatible with that of neighboring buildings. Casement and double-hung windows should be used where possible.

(3) Materials and Colors. The use of like materials can relate two buildings of obviously different eras and styles. Similarly, the use of materials that appear similar (such as substituting concrete for terra cotta) can link two disparate structures, or harmonize the appearance of a new structure with the architectural character of a Conservation District. The preferred surface materials for this District are brick, or concrete (simulated to look like terra cotta or stucco). The texture of surfaces can be treated in a manner so as to emphasize the bearing function of the material, as is done in rustication on historic buildings. In addition, in some cases it may be appropriate to leave the surface roughly dressed, emphasizing the utilitarian character of the interior frontages.

Traditional light colors should be used in order to blend in with the character of the Kearny Street facades. Dissimilar buildings may be made more compatible by using similar or harmonious colors, and to a lesser extent, by using similar textures. Belden Street facades should use red brick and stucco-like materials.

(4) Detailing and Ornamentation. A new building should relate to the surrounding area by picking up elements from surrounding buildings and repeating them or developing them for new purposes. An ornamental detail can be taken from an adjacent building and used in a new building to relate the latter to the surrounding area. Alternately, similarly shaped forms can be used without directly copying historical ornament. The new structure should incorporate prevailing cornice lines or belt courses and may use a modern vernacular instead of that of the original model. (Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

tal detail can be taken from an adjacent building and used in a new building to relate the latter to the surrounding area. Alternately, similarly shaped forms can be used without directly copying historical ornament. The new structure should incorporate prevailing cornice lines or belt courses and may use a modern vernacular instead of that of the original model. (Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)

SEC. 8. TDR; ELIGIBILITY OF CATEGORY V BUILDINGS.

Category V Buildings in the Kearny-Belden District are eligible for the transfer of TDR as provided in Section 1109(c). (Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)