CPMC

CPMC’s PLANS FOR THE PACIFIC SITE -- Updated February 7, 2011

CPMC LONG RANGE PLANNING:

Summary:  CPMC plans to build a large new hospital at Geary and Post (the site of the Cathedral Hill Hotel) and replace the existing St. Luke’s Hospital with a smaller facility.  When this is done (Jan, 2015?), the in-patient (acute care) services at the Buchanan St. (Pacific site) and California St. hospitals will be moved to the Cathedral Hill hospital. 

Plans call for the Pacific site to be converted to outpatient services, and the California site to be gradually closed.

Because of the investment CPMC plans for St. Luke’s and the Cathedral Hill sites, very little demolition or construction activity is forecast for the Pacific and California sites until after those projects are completed (2014 or 2015?).  There will be some project work and refurbishment of neighboring buildings, but no major demolition or construction for the foreseeable future.

More details are in CPMC’s Institutional Master Plan (IMP).  CPMC’s plans call for significant changes, and continued neighborhood engagement is needed to make sure the plans do not adversely influence our neighborhood.

The plans are now in the middle of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process.

Environmental Impact Report Update:

The Draft EIR (DEIR) was released for public comment in the summer of 2010, and the opportunity to submit comments ended in October.  

Next steps:  The Planning Department is responding to all comments.  This has taken far more time than initially anticipated.  Our current best guess of timing for activities we will participate in:

May (?):  Planning will publish the Response to Comments document for public review.  We will need your help to review this massive document, and draft appropriate responses.

June or July (?): Planning Commission hearing on whether or not to certify the EIR.

This will be another chance to comment on the EIR and express concerns.  We will be asking for your support at this EIR certification hearing.

If there is significant disagreement with the Planning Commission’s certification of the EIR, the Certification may be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.  The appeal would be based on comments received during the Public Comment Period.  The BOS can overturn the Planning Commission’s ruling, which would require CPMC to revise the EIR to address the points raised in the appeal. 

What do we see in the EIR for CPMC’s Pacific site?

This EIR is a large document, covering many facilities.  It is a very important document, because it sets the boundaries for what might happen for all sites.

The 2 projects that CPMC needs to start immediately (the Cathedral Hill and St. Luke’s projects) are covered in very specific detail – they are treated at a project level. 

That is not the case for CPMC’s Pacific and California sites, which are in our neighborhood. The current DEIR only deals with maximum impacts (worst case) for these locations. There is much less detail, because CPMC does not have clear plans for these sites. And, without clear plans and specific project proposals, it is difficult to craft focused comments.   However, because the EIR will attempt to set the stage to let CPMC do what it wants at these sites, we have submitted comments addressing our concerns about how plans will affect these sites.

Furthermore, any significant demolition and construction at Pacific site will require its own project-level EIR.  We have expressly identified issues that must be dealt with in the project EIR for the Pacific site demolition and construction projects.   

Key issues include:

1. Maximum number of vehicle trips to the site – for employees, patients and deliveries.
2. Parking:  On-site, on-street, and off-site garages
3. Maximum Building Envelopes & related impacts:  Height, Bulk, shadow impacts, wind.
4. Construction Duration and mitigation of related impacts.

Neighbors Coalition is working with CPMC on Pacific Plans

CPMC is slowly developing more detailed plans for the Pacific site.  The process is slow, because the Cathedral Hill and St. Luke’s plans are demanding most of CPMC’s resources.  CPMC appears to be responding to various concerns we have raised in the past, as well as to comments made at a review of the initial concepts.  We are trying to arrange a community meeting with CPMC for March or April to review Pacific site plans.

We have identified the following issues as concerns that need to be addressed:

1. Height/bulk/architecture of new buildings, compatibility/transition to surrounding residential area.
2. Long duration of demolition/construction cycles – major impact on immediate neighbors.
   2a) Construction management has not been good in past projects – How will this be fixed?
3. Future outpatient services will lead to increased traffic and parking issues on surrounding residential streets. Both Buchanan and Webster are already problems.

Any questions, email Paul Wermer, PHRA Board Director, cpmcneighbors(at)pw-sc.com.

For More Information/Updates:

For more information on these issues or to receive updates on CPMC activities within PHRA’s boundaries, please send an e-mail to 
cpmcneighbors(at)pw-sc.com.

CURRENT CPMC OPERATIONS  -- Updated February 7th, 2011

Reporting problems at CPMC’s Pacific site:

Are loud, annoying noises coming from CPMC?  Traffic related issues? Are CPMC staff parking in your driveway?

Call 415 600 0837 if you have complaints about CPMC’s operations (traffic, noise, safety, etc.).  This is the best number to call for immediate action.  CPMC’s Security team is tracking all issues and contacting the responsible parties within CPMC.   When you call them, be sure to request that your call be logged in their Daily Activity Report to ensure a response and to help with monitoring incidents.  

Alternate Contact: Paula Lykins, Community Relations Manager, 415-600-7482.  This is the best number if you have a repeating problem.

If problems repeat, or you are not getting a timely response, please contact us at cpmcneighbors(at)pw-sc.com and we will help raise the level of attention at CPMC.

KNOWN ONGOING ISSUES:

PHRA and the CPMC Neighbors Coalition are working with CPMC to address on-going problems.  Presently the issues appear to be related to traffic, noise and deliveries.

Deliveries:

Deliveries to the Pacific site’s Clay Street loading dock are not accepted in the evening or early morning hours.   We are working with CPMC to address the problem of delivery vehicles that arrive early (before 6:45 am) and leave engines idling or obstruct traffic or driveways while waiting to enter.  It appears that this problem has decreased dramatically after recent actions by CPMC.  Please let us know if you are affected by any of these problems.

Double Parking:

Double parking continues to be a problem, especially on Buchanan.  This is an enforcement issue – and unfortunately neither CPMC nor SFMTA appear willing to take appropriate actions.

Clay/Buchanan Intersection:

There are continued problems with cars making unsafe u-turns, going the wrong way on Clay, etc.  As with the double parking, neither CPMC nor SFMTA appear willing to take appropriate actions.

Traffic & Parking:

We continue to have problems with:

• Patient and visitor traffic circling the neighborhood, looking for parking

• CPMC and Medical Office Building employees parking in the neighborhood

• “Waiting” vehicles obstructing driveways, crosswalks, etc.

• Parking in white (passenger drop-off) and yellow (commercial parking) zones

For More Information/Updates:

For more information on these issues or to receive updates on CPMC activities within PHRA’s boundaries, please send an e-mail to
cpmcneighbors(at)pw-sc.com.

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