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Calling it a "no-brainer," the San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Jewish Community Center of San Francisco last week.

"This is about community, this is about children, I strongly support it," said Commissioner Beverly J. Mills.

Anita Theoharis, president of the Planning Commission, wished JCC staff, supporters and architects "Good luck," after a Nov. 9 meeting at City Hall. At prior hearings, which were far longer, preservationists had pleaded their cases to save the current JCC by designating it a landmark.

Despite the quick decision though, a few foes of the new building appeared to submit alternative plans.

Cynthia Servetnick, an urban planner, recently submitted a new proposal that would leave the existing building in place for some of the JCC's programs, and would build a new center across the street, on land owned by University of California, San Francisco.

According to Nate Levine, executive director of the JCC, when the JCC was first considering what to do about its future, that option was discussed. But UCSF rejected it.

"We have no plans for further physical development at our Laurel Heights facility at this time," UCSF Vice Chancellor Bruce W. Spaulding wrote in response to Servetnick's proposal.

After the Planning Commission rejected landmark status for the building at 3200 California St., the Art Deco Society of California appealed the decision. That matter will be heard at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors on Monday.

Judging by the show of support from the majority of the Jewish community, Levine is not expecting that the decision will be overturned, yet he urged San Franciscans to let the Board of Supervisors know that they support the new building, by writing letters before Monday's meeting.

One more thorn in the side of the JCC had appeared in the form of a man named Sam Crocker. A tenant of 3266 California St., a building owned by the JCC, he will be displaced by the demolition.

By last week, the JCC had reached a settlement with five out of the six tenants of that building, offering them an average of about $40,000 each, for a total of approximately $260,000. In addition, the JCC is contributing $100,000 to the city's Fair Housing Fund to help develop low-income housing.

Joseph Breall of Breall & Breall, the lawyer who represented Crocker, pleaded his client's case at the hearing, asking whether it was right to demolish affordable housing to build a new gym.

But at a mediation meeting Tuesday, the JCC and Crocker came up with a settlement, the terms of which both parties declined to disclose.

"We've made an offer and came to a resolution with Mr. Crocker and we're looking forward to proceeding with our project," Levine said Wednesday.

Breall agreed. "We're very happy," he said. "We settled it amicably."

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