Under Article 10 Section 1004 of the Planning Code the Board of Supervisors may by ordinance designate an individual structure that has special character or special historical, architectural, or aesthetic interest or value as a City landmark. Once a structure has been named a landmark, any construction, alteration, removal, or demolition for which a City permit is required necessitates a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission. There are currently more than 300 individual landmarks in the City under Article 10 in addition to structures and districts in the downtown area that are protected under Article 11.

The ordinance amends the Planning Code to add the Carnaval Mural located at 1311-1315 South Van Ness Avenue as a new historic landmark to the list of individual landmarks under Article 10. The particular features of the mural that shall be preserved or replaced in-kind are determined as necessary.

The Carnaval Mural has high artistic value and is significant as it is representative of the Community Art Movement or Mission Muralismo, a distinctive mode of expression within the Mission District, which is internationally known for its rich collection of murals.

The Carnaval Mural is eligible for local designation because it is a cultural asset with significant and longstanding association with the Mission District’s Pan-Latino community, celebrating Latin music and culture in the Mission District, which plays a significant and vibrant part in San Francisco’s cultural heritage.

The ordinance will become effective 30 days after enactment, which occurs when the Mayor signs the ordinance, the Mayor returns the ordinance unsigned, does not sign the ordinance within ten days of receiving it, or the Board of Supervisors overrides the Mayor’s veto of the ordinance.

Once a structure has been named a landmark, any construction, alteration, removal, or demolition for which a City permit is required necessitates a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission, thus generally affording a high degree of protection to historic and architectural structures of merit in the City.