Vaillancourt Fountain “is a historic resource” per San Francisco Planning Department
In a much anticipated decision, the San Francisco Planning Department reviewed the independently produced Historic Resource Review (HRR) of the Vaillancourt Fountain and concurred that the Fountain is a historic resource.
Planning staff concurs that the Vaillancourt [Fountain] retains integrity and is a historic resource individually eligible for the National Register and CRHR [California Register] under Criterion 1 [Events] and 3 [Architecture], and as a contributing landscape feature of the Better Market Street Cultural District.
- 2025-006780HRR_Vaillancourt Fountain 10-29-2025.pdf (112 MiB)
What does this mean for the Vaillancourt Fountain and the public-private Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park Renovation Project?
The fountain’s eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) triggers a mandatory review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a state law designed to protect historic and environmental treasures from destruction without public input and consideration of alternatives.
Before any commitments can be made—including designs, permits, contracts, and timelines— the project team must complete an environmental review process. This process is designed to be transparent and to involve the public.
It’s important to understand what “environment” means here. Usually, we think of the environment as nature: trees, rivers, clean air, and animals. However, under this California law, it also includes important things that people have built. Californians believe that losing something that makes our state special and historic is a type of damage to our environment, just like polluting a river would be.
So, in this case, the “environment” is not just the trees or air in the park, but also the Fountain itself, because it’s an important piece of our history and culture.
Not everyone is familiar with CEQA, so let’s discuss what this means in everyday terms.
The Vaillancourt Fountain and CEQA for Beginners
The San Francisco Planning Department just metaphorically put a big, official sign on the Vaillancourt Fountain that says: “This is historically important art. Be extra careful with it!”
This sign doesn't mean you can never, ever touch the fountain. But it does mean you can't just show up with a bulldozer one morning.
If developers want to remove the historically important art (the fountain) to build a new park, they have to follow a strict set of rules.
There are three main steps they MUST take before making any commitments or putting any funding towards a project that involves fountain demolition.
1. Do their homework (and show their work!)
In CEQA terms, this means doing an Initial Study and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Crucially, the EIR must analyze alternatives to demolition. These could include:
Rehabilitating the Fountain.
Incorporating the Fountain into a new design for the plaza.
Modifying the Fountain in a more limited way.
Relocating the Fountain.
A “no project” alternative, meaning leaving the Fountain as it is.
For non-CEQA experts, what does this mean?
The developers have to write a very detailed report. Think of it as a big school project where they get graded by the public and the city. This report must answer three big questions:
What will you break? They must admit, in writing, that removing the fountain will destroy a historic resource. They can't pretend it's not a big deal.
Is there ANY other way? This is the most important part. They have to seriously study all other options. Could they build the new plaza around the fountain? Could they change their design to include it? Could they move it somewhere else? They must prove they have thought hard about every possible alternative to tearing it down.
If you MUST break it, how will you make it up to us? If they conclude there is absolutely no other way, they have to propose ways to make the loss less painful. For example, they might have to create a museum exhibit about the fountain, reuse as much of the fountain as possible, or create a high-quality 3D digital model for people to see in a dedicated, on-site exhibit.
2. Hold a public “Show and Tell”
In CEQA terms, the draft EIR must be circulated for public review and comment. Public hearings are held where residents, community groups, and preservation advocates can express their views. The project team and the city must respond to all substantive comments.
For non-CEQA experts, what does this mean?
This isn't a secret report. Once the draft is ready, they have to share it with everyone.
You, your neighbors, and any interested person can read it. Then, you get to tell the city what you think. You can write letters or show up to public meetings and say, “Hey, your report is wrong! You didn't consider this other great idea!” or “This fountain is important to our city's history, and you shouldn't destroy it!”
The report isn’t “Final” until it has addressed all public comments and answered all questions from you, your neighbors, and any interested person. It is only at that point that a decision can be made.
3. Get permission from the leaders (City agencies and legislature)
At this point, the only way to proceed with demolition is for city agencies and leaders to adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations. This is a written explanation, required under CEQA that justifies approving a project with significant, unavoidable environmental impacts. It must detail the specific economic, social, legal, or other benefits that outweigh the environmental damage, explaining why those benefits are more important and why the unavoidable impacts must be accepted. This statement is the final step after an agency has made findings that either the project has been altered to mitigate impacts or that mitigation is infeasible.
For non-CEQA experts, what does this mean?
After all the homework and the public “show and tell,” the city leaders, like the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), Planning Commission, and Board of Supervisors, have the final say.
This is the important part: The law does NOT automatically save the fountain.
The law’s main job is to act like a giant speed bump to carefully consider the irreversible loss of parts of our world. It forces the developers and the city to slow down, look at the damage they would cause, and consider every possible alternative before making a final decision.
The city officials could still decide to let the fountain be demolished. But to do so, they have to publicly declare something like this:
“We understand that destroying this historic fountain is a bad thing. However, we believe that the benefits of the new park—like better tourism, more public space, and economic growth—are so incredibly important and so likely to occur that they outweigh the loss of the fountain. There is nothing we could invest in instead to achieve the same outcome without destroying this historic resource.”
All people with sufficient interest in the fountain may also participate in an agreement to put in place some of the mitigations, such as a museum exhibit about the fountain, reuse as much of the fountain as possible, or create a high-quality 3D digital model for people to see in a dedicated, on-site exhibit.
They have to put that reasoning in writing and take a public vote. It makes it a much harder and more politically risky decision to approve the demolition.
In short: Because the fountain is officially “historic,” developers can't just demolish it. They have to prove there's no other choice, listen to the public, and get city leaders to agree—out in the open—that the benefits of destroying it are worth the cost.
Official resources for CEQA
To learn more about California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), visit these official resources:
Historic photo of the Vaillancourt Fountain and Embarcadero Plaza