1296-Shotwell-Senior-Housing / San Francisco, CA / 900000010028840

Environmental Assessment

Determinations and Compliance Findings

for HUD-assisted Projects

24 CFR Part 58

Project Information

ProjectName: / 1296-Shotwell-Senior-Housing
HEROSNumber: / 900000010028840
ResponsibleEntity(RE): / SAN FRANCISCO, 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl Ste 200 San Francisco CA, 94102
REPreparer: / Eugene Flannery
State/LocalIdentifier:
CertifyingOfficer: / Katha Hartley
GrantRecipient(ifdifferentthanResponsibleEntity):
PointofContact:
Consultant(ifapplicable): / ICF Jones and Stokes
PointofContact: / Lawrence Truong
ProjectLocation: / 1296 Shotwell St, San Francisco, CA 94110
AdditionalLocationInformation:
N/A
DirectCommentsto:
Description of the Proposed Project [24 CFR 50.12 & 58.32; 40 CFR 1508.25]:
The proposed action, located at 1296 Shotwell Street, involves the development of a nine-story building containing 94 dwelling units (93 affordable units plus one unit for the onsite property manager) for seniors age 62 and older. Development of the project includes demolition of the existing one-story industrial building on the project site. The ground-floor level would include a community room; two bicycle storage areas that would contain the Class I bicycle spaces; a meeting room; offices, the manager unit; two one-bedroom units; and an open space area. The second floor would contain a laundry room, eight one-bedroom units, and three studio units. Floors three through seven would each contain approximately nine one-bedroom units and three studio units. Floor eight would contain eight one-bedroom units and three studio units. Floor nine would contain six one-bedroom units, three studio units, and two roof gardens. The project site is approximately 11,700 square feet and is bound by Shotwell Street to the east and Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) uses to the north, west, and south in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood. The proposed building would have a height of 84 feet (96 feet to top of elevator penthouse). The project site is within a 65-X height and bulk district. The proposed project would require the Planning Commission's approval of 100 percent Affordable Housing Bonus Program Project under Section 328 of the Planning Code for up to an additional 30 feet above the height district limit to be consistent with the height limit.

Statement of Purpose and Need for the Proposal [40 CFR 1508.9(b)]:

The proposed project would provide affordable housing to formerly homeless seniors at or below the 30 percent Area Median Income (AMI) and seniors at or below the 50 percent AMI level. The 2015 Census counted 168,993 or 20.1 percent of San Francisco's population as 60 years or older. San Francisco's elderly population is expected to grow to 205,000 by 2020 and to 360,800 by 2040; this growth is consistent with national trends. The recent Census also estimated that 20 percent of all San Francisco households have one or more persons over 65 years old. About 44,867 elderly head of households, representing about 12 percent of all households in 2015, lived alone. Senior citizens have different housing needs especially as they develop health problems or experience decreased mobility. The 2015 Census estimated that 25 percent of persons 65 and over have mobility or self-care limitations. Older and disabled adults who require long-term care have a need for a broad range of on-site and off-site services including central dining, transportation services, limited or complete medical care, recreational and other services. For seniors living independently, there is a need for safe and easily maintained dwelling units. The City needs to address the housing needs of an aging and formerly homeless population. This includes the targeted provision of permanent supportive housing (PSH) - defined broadly as subsidized housing matched with ongoing supportive health and social services towards particularly high-need individuals who may be likely to stay in hospitals for extended periods or require expensive nursing home care in the absence of a PSH placement. In addition, twenty percent of the units would be set aside for formerly homeless individuals. The project site is currently occupied by a one-story industrial building constructed in 1948 that covers the entire parcel. The building houses an automotive repair shop and a storage facility. The project vicinity is characterized by a mix of residential, retail, office, and PDR uses. To the north of the project site (i.e., along 26th Street between South Van Ness Avenue and Shotwell Street) sits a commercial building, to the east and across Shotwell Street are residential complexes, to the west of the site is an auto parts shop and adjacent parking lot, accessed at Cesar Chavez Street. The currently vacant, adjacent property at 1515 South Van Ness Avenue is slated to open summer 2017 as a Navigation Center operated by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. The Navigation Center will help shelter San Francisco's long-term homeless residents who do not use traditional shelters and services and offers case managers that help connect these residents with income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and long-term housing

Existing Conditions and Trends [24 CFR 58.40(a)]:

San Francisco is one of the highest cost housing markets in the nation and a large proportion of residents must pay over 30 percent of their income on rent. Of the 224,589 households in 2015, approximately 93,686 households (42 percent) paid 30 percent or more of their income on rent. Market rents in San Francisco can impose a particularly severe cost burden on renters, particularly seniors. Of the 34,611 renter-occupied households where the head of household was 65 years and over in 2015, 18,660 households (54 percent) paid 30 percent or more of their income on rent. The median income in 2015 was 81,294 dollars. Of the 72,509 households where the head of household was 65 years and over in 2015, more than 50,927 households (70 percent) earned less than the median income. According to a homeless count conducted in 2015, eight percent of respondents were 61 years or older at the time of the study, which is a five percent increase from 2013 (3 percent). Recent studies suggests that the single adult homeless population is aging even after accounting for the aging of the overall U.S. population. Overall, more than two-thirds of respondents (67 percent) reported one or more health conditions. These conditions included chronic physical illness, physical disabilities, chronic substance abuse and severe mental health conditions. The estimated number of homeless veterans in San Francisco decreased between 2013 (716) and 2015 (598). Amidst great concern about the impact of an aging populace on health care systems and social welfare program, evidence of a separate aging trend in the homeless population merits closer investigation. This is especially true in light of a wealth of evidence showing that poor health and homelessness are closely intertwined; that homeless persons, by virtue of their elevated use of health and behavioral health services, place increased demand on health care systems and providers. The proposed project is located in the Mission District of District 9, which is within the Mission Action Plan 2020 (MAP 2020). The Mission District is becoming a neighborhood with fewer low and moderate income households and more high-income residents. Between 2009 and 2014, the percentage of very-low, low-, and moderate-income residents in the Mission District dropped between one and two percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of higher income residents, whose income falls in the highest bracket ($186,782 or more or 200 percent over AMI) increased from 13 to 17 percent. Of the renters in the Mission District, 42 percent of households pay more than 30 percent and 18 percent pay more than 50 percent of household income towards rent. With approximately eight percent of renters living in overcrowded conditions, the Mission District ranks fourth in overcrowding after Chinatown, the Tenderloin, and SoMa. The housing cost burden has led to a significant increase of evictions in the Mission District. Between 2009 and 2014, Ellis Act evictions increased 1,450 percent (from 2 in 2009 to 31 in 2014), no fault evictions increased 288 percent (16 in 2009 to 62 in 2014), and just cause evictions increased 42 percent (from 104 in 2009 to 148 in 2014). The loss of rent-controlled units and shortage of new affordable housing is worsening pressures on the existing housing stock in the Mission. Between 2010 and 2014, the Mission District lost approximately 63 rent-controlled units per year to Ellis Act evictions or other means. During about the same time period between 2009 and 2014, only a total of 276 100 percent affordable and inclusionary units were constructed in the Mission District. The low rate of affordable housing production in the Mission District has augmented the impact of the displacement of many of the neighborhood's longest-tenured and most vulnerable residents. The proposed project would help provide an increase in affordable housing production.

Maps, photographs, and other documentation of project location and description:

1296+Shotwell+St,+San+Francis.pdf

Determination:

ü / Finding of No Significant Impact [24 CFR 58.40(g)(1); 40 CFR 1508.13] The project will not result in a significant impact on the quality of human environment
Finding of Significant Impact

ApprovalDocuments:

7015.15 certified by Certifying Officer on:
7015.16 certified by Authorizing Officer on:

Funding Information

Grant / Project Identification Number / HUD Program / Program Name
M17-MC060213 / Community Planning and Development (CPD) / HOME Program
Estimated Total HUD Funded, Assisted or Insured Amount: / $10,000,000.00
Estimated Total Project Cost [24 CFR 58.2 (a) (5)]: / $45,000,000.00

Compliance with 24 CFR §50.4, §58.5 and §58.6 Laws and Authorities

Compliance Factors:
Statutes, Executive Orders, and Regulations listed at 24 CFR §50.4, §58.5, and §58.6 / Are formal compliance steps or mitigation required? / Compliance determination
(See Appendix A for source determinations)
STATUTES, EXECUTIVE ORDERS, AND REGULATIONS LISTED AT 24 CFR §50.4 & § 58.6
Airport Hazards
Clear Zones and Accident Potential Zones; 24 CFR Part 51 Subpart D / ¨ Yes þ No / The project site is not within 15,000 feet of a military airport or 2,500 feet of a civilian airport. The project is in compliance with Airport Hazards requirements.
Coastal Barrier Resources Act
Coastal Barrier Resources Act, as amended by the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 [16 USC 3501] / ¨ Yes þ No / This project is located in a state that does not contain CBRS units. Therefore, this project is in compliance with the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.
Flood Insurance
Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 [42 USC 4001-4128 and 42 USC 5154a] / ¨ Yes þ No / The structure or insurable property is not located in a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area. FEMA has not completed a study to determine flood hazard for the project site; therefore, a flood map has not been published at this time. The project is neither within a known FEMA floodplain nor within the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map prepared for the City and County of San Francisco on November 12, 2015. The project would not involve either direct or indirect support of development in a floodplain. The project is in compliance with flood insurance requirements.
STATUTES, EXECUTIVE ORDERS, AND REGULATIONS LISTED AT 24 CFR §50.4 & § 58.5
Air Quality
Clean Air Act, as amended, particularly section 176(c) & (d); 40 CFR Parts 6, 51, 93 / ¨ Yes þ No / The project's air quality management district is in nonattainment status for Ozone and Particulate Matters 2.5 and 10 microns. Criteria Pollutants: CalEEMod (version 2016.3.1) was used to estimate construction-related and operational emissions resulting from the project to determine if it would exceed federal de minimis or local Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) construction and operational thresholds. Model results indicate that maximum annual emissions from construction would be 0.50 and 1.72 tons per year of ozone precursors [reactive organic gases (ROG) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), respectively], 1.35 tons per year of carbon monoxide (CO), and 0.19 tons per year of particulate matter of 10 microns or less (PM10) and 0.11 tons per year of fine particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5). Based on the San Francisco Bay Area Air Basin's marginal nonattainment status for ozone precursors, moderate nonattainment status for PM2.5, and maintenance status for CO, these emissions would be below the federal de minimis thresholds of 100 tons per year for ROG/VOC, NOx, CO, and PM2.5 pursuant to the 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act. Average daily construction-related emissions would be 17.20 pounds per day of ROG, 31.66 pounds per day of NOx, and 1.68 pounds per day of exhaust PM10 and 1.59 pounds per day of exhaust PM2.5. =The BAAQMD only considers exhaust PM in its thresholds of significance and emphasizes implementation of its basic and enhanced construction mitigation control measures to ensure that fugitive dust impacts are reduced to a less than significant level. These average daily construction-related emissions would be below the respective BAAQMD significance thresholds of 54 pounds per day for ROG, NOx and PM2.5, and 82 pounds per day for PM10. Operational emissions would result primarily from vehicle trips related to senior residents at the new residential building. Results from CalEEMod indicate that maximum annual emissions from operation would be 0.41 tons per year of ROG, 0.35 tons per year of NOx, 1.53 tons per year of CO, 0.21 tons per year of PM10, and 0.07 tons per year of PM25. These emissions would be below the federal de minimis thresholds of 100 tons per year for ROG/VOC, NOx, and CO as well as below BAAQMD's maximum annual operational emission thresholds of 10 tons per year of ROG, NOx, and PM2.5, and 15 tons per year of PM10. Average daily operational emissions would be 2.43 pounds per day of ROG, 2.32 pounds per day of NOx, and 0.11 pounds per day of exhaust PM10 and 0.11 pounds per day of exhaust PM2.5. These average daily operational-related emissions would be below the respective BAAQMD significance thresholds of 54 pounds per day for ROG, NOx, and PM2.5, and 82 pounds per day for PM10. Consequently, criteria pollutant emissions from construction and operation of the project would not be significant with respect to both federal and local air quality standards. Fugitive Dust: The City's Construction Dust Control Ordinance (Ordinance 176-08, effective July 30, 2008) requires a number of measures to control fugitive dust to ensure that construction projects do not result in visible dust. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) employed in compliance with the City's Construction Dust Control Ordinance would be effective in controlling construction related fugitive dust. There is currently a one-story industrial building on the project site, therefore, project activities could potentially result in a release of asbestos containing materials or lead based paint. However, the project would be required to comply with BAAQMD Regulation 11, Rule 2 (Asbestos Demolition, Renovation and Manufacturing), which controls emissions of asbestos to the atmosphere during demolition activities in accordance with the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) asbestos National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and establishes appropriate waste disposal procedures.