SF supervisors clear path to remove Vaillancourt Fountain (10-1)

San Francisco
Board of Supervisors Meeting
January 13, 2026

TL;DR

• Supervisors denied a CEQA appeal 10-1, clearing the way for the 1971 Vaillancourt Fountain to be disassembled and moved to storage.
• The board redefined "family" as "household" in the Planning Code, removing limits on unrelated people living together and classifying small residential care facilities as residential uses.
• The 967 Mission Street project, with 95 units of 100% affordable senior housing, received its full financing package approval.
• Carmen Chu was reappointed City Administrator for a 5-year term.
• The board rezoned 1236 Carroll Avenue and vacated nearby streets to make way for a new SF Fire Department training facility.

What happened

1. Supervisors clear the way to remove the Vaillancourt Fountain at Embarcadero Plaza
   1. The board denied an appeal 10-1 from preservation group Docomomo NoCa, upholding the Planning Department's finding that removing the 1971 fountain qualifies for an emergency exemption from environmental review. Supervisor Fielder was the lone no vote. Disassembly and storage will cost approximately $4.4 million; restoration would cost approximately $29 million.
   2. What this means for you: The fountain, designed by Armand Vaillancourt as the centerpiece of Embarcadero Plaza, will be disassembled starting in mid-February and stored off-site for up to three years while the city decides whether to repair, relocate, or repurpose it.
2. "Family" gets redefined in the Planning Code
   1. The board passed an ordinance treating a "family" as a "household," removing numeric caps on unrelated people living together and removing rules requiring shared meals. Residential care facilities serving six or fewer people are now classified as residential uses.
   2. What this means for you: Group living arrangements that were technically restricted under the old definition (roommates, co-living, small care homes) are now treated like any other household.
3. 967 Mission Street affordable senior housing fully financed
   1. Three resolutions together approved $41.7 million in housing revenue notes, a 75-year ground lease at $15,000 annual base rent, a $44.3 million loan, and a $10.5 million operating subsidy. The 95-unit project will serve seniors, including 40 senior subsidy units, 24 units reserved for homeless seniors and seniors at risk of homelessness, and 5 units for the city's Plus Housing list.
   2. What this means for you: 95 new units of 100% affordable senior housing are now financed and headed toward construction.
4. Carmen Chu reappointed City Administrator for 5 years
   1. The board confirmed Mayor Lurie's reappointment of Chu, who has held the role since 2021.
   2. What this means for you: The City Administrator oversees roughly two dozen departments and citywide functions like elections, real estate, and fleet management. Chu stays in that job through 2031.
5. 1236 Carroll Avenue rezoned for Fire Department training facility
   1. Two ordinances rezoned the Bayview parcels from Production, Distribution and Repair (PDR-2) to Public, raised the height limit from 40 to 90 feet, and vacated portions of Hawes Street, Griffith Street, and Bancroft Avenue.
   2. What this means for you: The site is being prepared for a new SF Fire Department training facility. Several blocks of street will be transferred from Public Works to the Fire Department.

What residents brought up

• Vaillancourt Fountain
  • A San Francisco Heritage representative argued that Rec & Park "aggressively pushed for removal a year ahead of any condition assessments, inspection or public process," and that the consultants' assessment did not find an immediate or sudden danger. An attorney representing Docomomo NoCa said the fountain's deteriorating condition is the result of long-term deferred maintenance by the city, not a sudden emergency, and that funding the removal out of the broader Embarcadero Plaza renovation budget shows it's not a separate project under CEQA.
  • A retired architect who attended the fountain's 1972 dedication said budgets can be made to work when there is the will to preserve a structure. A San Francisco artist and former SF Art Institute professor said the city has neglected the fountain for decades and is now using that neglect to justify skipping the public process. Several speakers asked the board to slow down and let the public weigh in on the fountain's future before removal.
  • A Gateway apartments resident and Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association board member said the fountain needs to be removed to open up the area for redevelopment of Sue Bierman Park. A retired SFPD officer who served as Director of Safety and Security at Embarcadero Center said his team has generated nearly 500 incident reports related to the fountain over the past 15 years, including medical calls, assaults, vandalism, and slips and falls.

Also happened

• Approved a rent reduction program at SFO covering 18 of 69 food and beverage leases and lowering the percentage rent for seven pre-security leases.
• Accepted two $400,000 grants from the U.S. Department of Energy for heat pump water heater pilot programs (200 homes, then 20 homes).
• Accepted a $6.76 million grant from the SF General Hospital Foundation for a quality-improvement program at Zuckerberg SF General.
• Authorized DPH grant agreements with the California Department of Health Care Services for $21.3 million (887 Potrero Avenue) and $6.3 million (333 7th Street).
• Approved a $15.4 million, 20-year operating subsidy for affordable housing at 78 Haight Street and 120 Octavia Street.
• Extended A&A Health Services' rehabilitative board and care contract by three years and increased it by $22.7 million, bringing the total to $32.65 million.
• Appointed Saki Baily (residency requirement waived) and Tiffany Bohee to the Inclusionary Housing Technical Advisory Committee.

For any updates or corrections, please email steven@polisdesk.com