Ahhh….neighbors. You love ’em. You hate ’em. You can’t live in San Francisco without ’em, and you certainly can’t easily remodel a home to today’s standards without opposition from them. Check out what just hit our inbox:
If, for some reason, you can’t see the letter, which we uploaded as an image, we’ll go ahead and tell ya what it says:
Dear Mr. [deleted]:
We are neighbors on Telegraph Hill who will oppose any changes to the building envelope at [deleted] owned by [deleted] in this historic district of Telegraph Hill. While the Hill has suffered through renovations in the past, projects such as yours have occurred with extreme environmental changes. Water drainage issues on Telegraph Hill regarding a nearby project created unfavorable slope instability–buildings have been lost and a large boulder ended up on Sansome Street. Additionally, neighbors on [deleted] and surrounds are tired of construction noise and delays in completion caused by projects such as yours. A recent project took 10 years and is still incomplete.Telegraph Hill is a historic district whose character depends upon building ownership which understands the value of building enhancement not as building expansion, but building enhancement as careful care in keeping up properties in their historic dimension. We find your application to be sadly ignorant of the need to abide by the common elements vital to the neighborhood and its character.
Your proposal to enhance the property needs to be cognizant of the historic preservation without additional elevation or facade changes in all directions. Projects like yours have been attempted in the past and have turned out badly.
While we many of us may be away during your pre-application meeting time, please understand that our opposition is unconditional.
Sincerely,
Your neighbors and friends on Telegraph Hill
[Thirteen names deleted]
Just another bump in the road for a developer out there trying to bring a home that has sat vacant since WWII (yes, that long) into our housing stock…before it falls off the hill or gets consumed by the pests and rodents feasting on its rotting self. But Hey! It’s “historic”.
[Update: We’re told none of the authors of this letter took the time to actually visit the property at the open house outreach, and none have contacted the developer, or the architect (aside from this letter) to begin a dialogue of constructive or courteous negotiations.]
You gotta love San Francisco and all the righteousness it preserves…
–Telegraph Hill Landslide forces 120 from homes… [SFGate]
–San Francisco Neighborhoods prone to liquefaction…[theFrontSteps]