Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage v. City of San Francisco

Foundation for San Francisco’s Architectural Heritage, et al. (collectively Foundation) appeal from the denial of their petition for a writ of administrative mandamus to overturn the approval by the Board of Permit Appeals (Board) of the City and County of San Francisco (City) of permits for the demolition of the City of Paris building and the construction of a new building by the real party in interest, Neiman-Marcus, a division of Carter-Hawley-Hale Stores, Inc. The Foundation’s major contentions are that: 1) the environmental impact report (EIR) did not comply with the procedural requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); 2) the Board’s approval violated the substantive mandate of CEQA and the Board’s findings did not comply with Public Resources Code section 21081; and 3) the City’s master plan provided an independent basis for historic preservation. For the reasons set forth below, we have concluded that there is no merit to any of these contentions and that the judgment must be affirmed.

A detailed chronology of the pertinent facts, as revealed by the record, is as follows: As this litigation focuses on the demolition of the City of Paris…