Across the city, Academy of Art's fiery red logo seems to multiply overnight, emblazoning itself on converted buildings in SOMA, the Tenderloin, Bayview, North Beach, and other neighborhoods. For many years, San Francisco's Planning Department ignored the for-profit university’s rapid-fire acquisition of building after building. In fact, city officials praised the university's monopolization of prime real estate. At a May 2012 luncheon hosted at AAU’s Cannery building, Mayor Lee said the university had “done so much to fill so many vacancies in our city.”
The problem is that AAU filled those vacant buildings without abiding by city land-use laws and without an institutional master plan on file. According to Scott Sanchez, zoning administrator for the Planning Department, “Many buildings have been purchased and converted without going through the proper permitting process." He noted that the department's enforcement efforts date back to 2006.
Take, for example, 2295 Taylor Street. Sanchez says this 5,000-square-foot space was once a Gap and public parking garage that was later converted into 20,000-square-feet of classrooms and student housing. The issue is that the building “was not something that could have been legalized with zoning,” as Sanchez explains. “They exceeded use size limits in North Beach in what would be allowed in current zoning.” After the Planning Department cited the building, AAU appealed violations but eventually withdrew. The former garage is not currently used as an institutional space.
AAU operates 51 buildings in San Francisco and controls about 2 million-square-feet of real estate — a sprawl that reflects enrollment numbers that have nearly tripled over the last seven years. Tim Colen, executive director of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition (a strong proponent of student housing), thinks the university has "become unpopular because they’re perceived as taking advantage of our planning code rules to aggressively expand their student housing stock.”
In January 2013, the Planning Department issued notices of violations and penalties against 22 university buildings. The crackdown was long overdue. The general public — as well as a number of city officials — was outraged by years of political inaction, especially since AAU had essentially shrugged off the Planning Department's notices for years.
Among the 22 buildings cited, the laundry list of violations included signage and awnings without permits, unauthorized use of warehouses as private auto storage, conversion of tourist hotels to group housing without conditional use authorization, lack of an institutional master plan, and conversion of dwelling units to group housing without permits. (Review property complaints here to read every gritty detail).
The university was expected to draft an environmental impact report by November 2013 but missed the deadline. That should have mandated a $5,000 per day fine, but Planning Department director John Rahaim said he’s eager to simply make the university compliant, even if that means going easy on deadlines.
Opponents of such leniency are vocal and include city attorney Dennis Herrera. In a letter to Rahaim, Herrera wrote: “The [Planning] Department has given the AAU unprecedented extensions and accommodations, despite the AAU’s long-outstanding violations of law. The Department has taken no serious action to hold the AAU accountable and failed to dedicate sufficient resources to complete the draft EIR in a timely manner.”
Since 2009, when the Planning Department first acknowledged the university’s dismissal of real estate codes, AAU has acquired a dozen more buildings, converting everything from the former California State Automobile Association’s campus to the Cannery building in Fisherman’s Wharf into student housing or classrooms. Code violations for 460 Townsend St., one of the first buildings cited by Rahaim in 2008, have exceeded $300,000, according to Sanchez. And that’s just the beginning.
Buildings on Brannan, Bush, Federal, Howard, Lombard, Leavenworth, Pine, Octavia, and Stockton all violate the law, Herera wrote in his letter. AAU still operates as normal in these locations, although many buildings aren’t legally zoned to house or teach students. In one particularly egregious violation, a building on Jerrold Avenue was converted to accommodate a full-size basketball court that, even with proper permits, wouldn’t have complied with the city’s land-use laws.
In a May 2014 letter addressed to Dr. Elisa Stephens, president of the AAU, Rahaim wrote: “The EIR process has been ongoing since 2008 and has continued beyond a reasonable period. A purpose…is to enable the Department to conclude this EIR process at an accelerated pace to allow AAU to come into full compliance with all applicable Planning Code provisions. The EIR process must be completed before the city can consider approving required permits and applicable conditional use authorizations to correct outstanding violations.”
On February 25, AAU is expected to finally present a draft EIR. The report will include an analysis of expansion, plans for legalizing university-owned properties converted without proper zonal codes, and details of shuttle expansion. “It is quite complicated and complex given its nature, but it sounds like they’re getting things to the publishers today and I have every bit of confidence they’ll get it in next week,” Sanchez told me. A public hearing will follow on April 16, with public comments remaining in consideration until April 27.
I reached out to AAU for comment but they declined discuss the draft EIR prior to its release.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk/Flickr
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