Zoning Page

San Francisco Amends Zoning to Reduce Commercial Requirements and Boost Residential Development in Central SoMa and Transit Center Districts

  • When: 2024/11/07
  • Address: Citywide, San Francisco, CA
  • City: San Francisco
  • State: CA
  • Category: Zoning Code Modification
  • Subcategory: Process updates
  • Asset Class: Multifamily
  • Property Type: Affordable Housing
  • Planning Department: True

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission approved an ordinance to amend the Planning Code and Zoning Map. This legislative action aims to reduce commercial development requirements in the Central SoMa Special Use District and entirely remove the Transit Center C-3-0(SD) Commercial Special Use District. The core intent is to facilitate and encourage more residential development, particularly housing, by removing previous commercial allocation mandates that made housing projects financially unfeasible. The Planning Commission recommended approval with modifications, including exempting projects 600 feet and under from mandatory office allocation and encouraging site-specific benefits that focus on complete streets and neighborhoods. This amendment is part of a broader city effort to address the high commercial office vacancy rates (currently 45.2% in SoMa) and severe housing shortage in San Francisco, aligning with the "Roadmap to San Francisco's Future" and the "30 x 30" action plan to add 30,000 new residents and students downtown by 2030. The change is also intended to allow projects to better utilize state density bonus programs.

Source

Applicant - Mayor Breed


City Representative - Audrey Merlone