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Planning Code Amendments to Streamline Commercial Uses, Fenestration, Transparency, and Sign Requirements in San Francisco

  • When: 2025/06/26
  • Address: Citywide, San Francisco, California
  • City: San Francisco
  • State: CA
  • Category: Zoning Code Modification
  • Asset Class: Commercial

This ordinance amends various sections of the San Francisco Planning Code to streamline permitting processes and support economic recovery. Key changes include: 1) Principally permitting certain non-retail sales and service uses (e.g., general office, business services, trade offices) on the ground floor in C-3 (Downtown Commercial) Districts until December 31, 2030, after which they become conditionally permitted, with accompanying revisions to ground floor uses and Floor Area Ratio exemptions. 2) Principally permitting retail sales and service uses on the second floor and above in RC (Residential-Commercial) Districts, and non-retail sales and service uses on the second floor and above, while conditionally permitting catering and laboratory uses on the ground floor in RC Districts. 3) Updating transparency and fenestration requirements for ground floor active uses and exempting child care facilities, homeless shelters, mortuaries, religious institutions, reproductive health clinics, and school uses. 4) Modifying the definition of a Window Sign and revising Planning review and approval processes for changes in signs. 5) Modifying the definition of a Non-Residential Use for development impact fee waivers. 6) Adjusting permitted and required ground floor uses in the RH-DTR (Rincon Hill Downtown Residential) District, including for historic buildings. The goal is to reduce administrative burdens, improve predictability, and encourage activation of commercial spaces, particularly for small and immigrant-owned businesses.

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