San Francisco

By CivicFMGovernment

San Francisco episodes

October 26Final OK for streamlined CEQA rules; immigrant legal aid and a street renaming
The Board of Supervisors gave final approval to changes in the city's local environmental review rules. Supervisor Jackie Fielder proposed funding for immigrant legal services and a new name for Cesar Chavez Street, and two renter protections passed a first vote.
Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, October 20
Streamlining the city's local CEQA procedures (00:12:18)
Roll call for introductions: new legislation, hearings and in memoriams (01:10:56)
A supervisor asked to adjourn in memory of a longtime Konko Church minister and Japantown community leader who died last month at 80 (01:11:10)
A supervisor introduced an ordinance changing formula retail rules to make it easier for grocery stores and pharmacies to open, convert or operate (01:14:20)
A supervisor said current rules can require a conditional use permit for grocers or pharmacies with more than 11 locations globally, adding six to nine months (01:15:25)
A supervisor said grocery stores could devote up to 49% of their space to accessory restaurants under a single conditional use authorization (01:16:29)
A supervisor named Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) and Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2) as early co-sponsors and said the proposal builds on earlier legislation by Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) (01:17:32)
A supervisor said Freedom West's 382 homes are collectively owned by residents as a limited equity cooperative (01:19:38)
A supervisor said Daniel Lurie (Mayor) was introducing a development agreement and special use district for Freedom West, which he is co-sponsoring (01:19:38)
A supervisor said the project includes nearly 2,400 homes, including replacement units for current shareholders, 133 more affordable homes, and a 115-unit affordable senior building already underway (01:20:39)
A supervisor said a general plan amendment for the project will come from the Planning Commission later this year (01:21:40)
The Board President asked to adjourn in memory of a retired SFPD deputy chief and her daughter, killed October 11, and asked that it come from the full Board (01:23:25)
The Board President noted the late deputy chief was the first woman on the SFPD SWAT team and later the first woman to command it (01:24:26)
The police chief thanked the Board on behalf of the Police Department and said the department is still in shock over the deaths (01:26:42)
The Board President asked to adjourn in memory of a television news producer and documentary filmmaker who died September 29 at 61 (01:28:01)
The Board President said he asked the Land Use and Transportation chair to schedule an update on traffic enforcement for the November 16 committee meeting (01:30:08)
The Board President said traffic citations fell to 4,006 in 2022 from 129,597 in 2014 and have since climbed, with 2026 citations up 41% over the same point last year (01:31:13)
The Board President said pedestrian deaths are up while speeding enforcement is essentially flat, at 1,160 citations in the first half of the year (01:31:13)
Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3) announced a drafting request to expand the commercial-to-residential adaptive reuse program created in 2023 (01:32:48)
Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3) said four projects using the program are creating nearly 500 homes in empty commercial space (01:32:48)
Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3) said the legislation would expand the program's eligibility zone into more downtown districts, including parts of SoMa and Van Ness Avenue, and add local incentives (01:33:53)
A supervisor asked to adjourn in memory of a Bayview pastor, coach and 26-year member of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 38 who died September 14 (01:35:47)
A supervisor wished the Golden State Valkyries well in game three of the WNBA playoffs (01:41:01)
A supervisor introduced a resolution of intention to rename Cesar Chavez Street to Las Campesinas, after a renaming working group process (01:42:33)
A supervisor read the working group's statement, which cited allegations of sexual abuse and assault against young women and girls as part of its reasoning (01:43:34)
A supervisor read the working group's explanation that the name means women farm workers and is meant to honor women who work the fields (01:43:34)
A supervisor introduced a $1,765,000 supplemental appropriation for immigrant legal services, including the Rapid Response Network and habeas petitions for people in ICE detention (01:45:41)
A supervisor cited at least two ICE sightings the day before, including a violent detention in SoMa (01:45:41)
A supervisor said every other supervisor co-sponsored the funding, and thanked Rafael Mandelman (Supervisor, District 8; President, Board of Supervisors) for agreeing to waive the 30-day waiting period (01:46:44)
Requiring landlords to disclose total monthly costs to tenants (00:22:42)
Limits on evictions for unpaid rent below a fair-market-rent threshold (00:23:51)
McLaren Park Day (02:14:37)
Centennial of the dahlia as the city's official flower (02:15:43)
A supervisor thanked the Dahlia Society for donating the chamber's flower arrangements, grown at the park nursery, and thanked Recreation and Park staff (02:16:01)
Commendations (00:28:29)
A supervisor recognized the Tsunami Swim Club, founded in 1986, for 40 years of bringing LGBTQI+ swimmers together (00:28:44)
A supervisor noted the club placed fourth overall at the 2026 Gay Games in Valencia, Spain (00:30:57)
A supervisor honored a lifelong South of Market resident who has mentored young people through United Playas for more than 14 years (00:35:28)
A supervisor honored the founder of Ace Wasabi, a Marina restaurant open for over 30 years and now a legacy business (00:42:24)
Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3) recognized one departing Port Commissioner who served from 2018 to 2026, including as vice president and president (00:50:51)
A guest presenter urged the Board to treat the waterfront as a public trust and adopt policies to keep the city affordable for working people (00:53:49)
A guest presenter recalled helping the Port's roughly 550 small business tenants who could not pay rent during the pandemic (00:57:42)
The Board President honored Castro Community on Patrol, a volunteer safety patrol founded in 2006 after violent robberies and sexual assaults targeting gay men (01:00:57)
The Board President said patrol volunteers have helped save three lives, called ambulances 126 times and law enforcement 92 times, and donated nearly 12,000 hours (01:03:13)
A guest presenter said the patrol encourages crime victims in the community to report and follow through on prosecution, and acts as a liaison with police and prosecutors (01:06:24)
Excusing two absent supervisors (00:08:52)
Mayor's monthly appearance (00:02:12)
The Mayor called federal immigration enforcement targeting San Franciscans upsetting and said he supports the funding Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9) proposed that day (00:02:38)
The Mayor said new police department measures will strengthen sexual assault investigations through trauma-informed training, case reviews and communication with survivors (00:03:40)
The Mayor said fatal overdoses are down almost 40 percent since 2023 and unsheltered homelessness is at a 15-year low (00:04:42)
The Mayor said the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center has made over 6,000 arrests and taken hundreds of pounds of drugs off the street (00:04:42)
The Mayor said more than 17,000 people are now in treatment, up 17 percent in a year, and over 200 treatment beds have opened since January 2025 (00:04:42)
The Mayor acknowledged that only 14 percent of patients starting medication treatment stay on it continuously for six months, and said the city is expanding long-acting buprenorphine and follow-up care (00:05:42)
The Mayor said city agencies have spent the last 120 days working together on street conditions in the Mission, especially at the 16th and 24th Street BART plazas (00:05:42)
The Mayor said this year's major events generated over $1 billion in economic impact and spending rose 14% during the World Cup (00:06:49)
General public comment (01:47:38)
Amended contracts with six city employee unions (00:25:13)
Gross receipts tax credit for small hardware stores (00:13:38)
Documents: Agenda
This episode was produced with AI from the public recording of the meeting. Links to the source are in the show notes.
9 min
October 25Shipley Street building approved; a step toward more Treasure Island homes
The Planning Commission turned down neighbors' request for discretionary review and approved a seven-story, thirteen-home building at 173 Shipley Street. It also started the process of changing Treasure Island's plans to make room for about 2,800 more homes.
Planning Commission, Thursday, October 15
173 Shipley Street: discretionary review of a seven-story, 13-unit building (00:39:41)
City staff described the project as a 75-foot, seven-story, 13-unit building on a vacant lot under the state density bonus program (00:40:29)
City staff reported 23 letters in opposition and two in support received since the packet was printed (00:43:34)
City staff said seven stories has precedent in the neighborhood, with nearby buildings up to nine stories (00:44:36)
City staff said structural, geotechnical and fire concerns are outside the planning department's purview and are reviewed at the building permit stage (00:45:36)
City staff recommended not taking discretionary review and approving, finding no exceptional or extraordinary circumstances (00:45:36)
A speaker asked, speaking for an absent requester, that waivers be limited to what is needed and that shadow and wind studies compare the project with a less massive alternative (00:46:25)
A resident cited the project's geotechnical report placing the site in a liquefaction zone over compressible bay mud, and asked for binding foundation and monitoring conditions (00:49:56)
A resident raised emergency access during construction, noting Shipley is only 35 feet wide and is the site's only frontage (00:52:03)
A resident noted that a 2020 three-alarm fire at the warehouse once on the lot required a large response (00:52:03)
A resident asked for light-colored, non-glare finishes on the Shipley side, and said she had withdrawn two of her conditions and the wind study request (00:54:08)
A speaker said as a requester that six windows in his home, including bedroom windows, sit on the property line the new building will be built against, and asked that the developer be made responsible for closing them safely (00:55:50)
A speaker said, as the project's architect, that excavation for the parking stackers had been removed from the project (00:57:34)
A speaker said, as the project's architect, that the team held a pre-application meeting with the fire department on emergency vehicle access (00:59:38)
A speaker said, as the sponsor's attorney, that the sponsor committed early to pay for infilling the neighbors' property-line windows, beyond its legal obligation (01:02:06)
A speaker argued, as the sponsor's attorney, that state housing laws bar the city from redesigning or conditioning the project in ways that reduce density without findings she said don't apply here (01:02:06)
A speaker argued in rebuttal for a requester that the building would sit against 12 openings in two occupied homes that would no longer meet fire code (01:05:19)
A speaker said in rebuttal that a concealed gap between the buildings has no fire-stopping detail, and asked for conditions before the permit issues (01:05:19)
A commissioner asked the architect whether the window glazing would cause glare (01:08:58)
A speaker answered, as the project's architect, that the building would use standard low-e glazing and that no glare study had been done (01:09:28)
A speaker said, as the project's architect, that he would be willing to look into products that reduce glare (01:11:50)
A commissioner asked the sponsor about fire code separation for the neighbors' property-line windows, which have existed since 2000 (01:12:11)
A speaker said, as the sponsor's attorney, that the building department's rules for approving lot-line windows require recorded restrictions acknowledging they may be closed (01:12:52)
A commissioner voiced concern that the neighbors bought and have lived in their homes for years and now face changes (01:13:36)
City staff said lot-line windows aren't protected under the Planning Code and owners who build them sign an affidavit acknowledging they could be infilled (01:15:45)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) argued the fire and safety concerns are building inspection issues outside the commission's purview (01:16:25)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) noted the project's affordable unit is set at 50% of area median income, roughly $65,000 for a two-person household, as the trade-off for the density bonus (01:18:28)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) recalled that in 2018 the commission tried to redesign a density bonus project and the state sent San Francisco a warning letter (01:18:28)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) cited the commission's July 24 hearing on an 85-foot project at 230 Anza Street as precedent (01:19:30)
A commissioner agreed, saying the project is code compliant and a lot of the concerns are about buildability, which is outside the commission's purview (01:20:57)
Treasure Island / Yerba Buena Island: initiating General Plan amendments (00:20:57)
City staff explained the commission was only initiating the amendments today, and adoption would come at a future hearing (00:22:08)
City staff said the 2011 approvals authorized 8,000 housing units (00:23:09)
City staff reported about a thousand units built so far, including 243 affordable units and 54 more inclusionary units, plus about a billion dollars in infrastructure (00:24:09)
City staff said adjusting certain development standards could make room for 2,800 more units within existing height limits (00:24:09)
City staff listed other proposed updates: Yerba Buena Island parking standards, bulk and massing controls, and setback and street wall rules (00:24:09)
City staff said the amendments would remove Maps 3 and 4 from the area plan and renumber the remaining maps (00:28:24)
City staff outlined next steps: an environmental impact report addendum, introducing the Special Use District ordinance at the Board of Supervisors, and taking the disposition and development agreement amendments to the Treasure Island Development Authority board (00:29:25)
A commissioner called the request straightforward and urged moving it forward since it will return for comment (00:30:54)
A commissioner supported initiating, calling the two maps redundant (00:31:22)
Commission comments: single-stair reform update request and hearing schedule (00:03:24)
A commissioner asked, with the director absent, for staff to give the commission an update at its next hearing on single-stair reform, noting press coverage and a code advisory committee meeting the day before (00:03:29)
A commissioner said an update would do for now, with a possible agendized hearing later (00:04:15)
The clerk said nothing was on the advance calendar for the next week and that the hearing would likely be canceled unless something urgent came up before the agenda was issued (00:04:31)
The clerk noted the October 29 hearing is a scheduled cancellation because it falls on a fifth Thursday, so a two-week break is likely (00:04:31)
449 Avenue H, Treasure Island: signage for Bay FC practice facility (00:06:33)
City staff explained the request concerned only the project's signage program (00:06:45)
City staff said the identifying sign would be 40 square feet, 20 square feet more than permitted (00:06:45)
City staff said the project proposes 13 fence signs and one freestanding sign, where the design rules permit zero freestanding signs (00:07:49)
City staff recommended approval, citing the facility's need for team and sponsor signage, and said the department had received no letters for or against (00:07:49)
A guest presenter said for the team that the facility is scheduled for completion in January (00:09:00)
A guest presenter said local residents account for 30% of project hours worked by the general contractor and subcontractors (00:10:05)
A speaker described the wall and identifying signs, for the project architect, as low-profile backlit metal signs as allowed under the design rules (00:11:36)
A commissioner supported the project, calling the signage tasteful and restrained (00:16:31)
City staff said the land across from the facility is proposed to be a public park (00:18:07)
A commissioner supported the project and suggested adding a public art element to the sculpture sign, preferably by local artists (00:18:15)
A commissioner said she was concerned about the fence signs because Treasure Island signage is not meant for major advertising, but found it appropriate for this facility (00:18:59)
A commissioner noted future housing nearby will look at the signs, and called the restrained approach in the rendering reasonable (00:18:59)
A commissioner called the changes major on paper but minor in practice, and necessary for the facility's success (00:20:23)
2213 25th Street: informational presentation on an SB 423 housing project (01:21:43)
A speaker described the plan for the sponsor: replace an existing single-family home with three units, with three bedrooms, three parking spaces and a bike rack (01:22:54)
A speaker said the homes would range from about 1,235 to 1,375 square feet, on three stories above a semi-subterranean garage, and that a formal application would follow (01:23:59)
A commissioner welcomed the project for replacing one small underused house with three homes (01:25:03)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) noted the commission has no authority over the project, which is presented only because state law requires it (01:25:39)
Continuances: 85 Liberty Street and 3837 18th Street (00:01:22)
Documents: Agenda
This episode was produced with AI from the public recording of the meeting. Links to the source are in the show notes.
9 min
October 20A pause on data centers, a shorter CEQA appeal window, self-checkout staff
San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed a 45-day citywide moratorium on data centers and voted ten to one to shorten the window for appealing environmental reviews. Board President Rafael Mandelman also introduced a bill requiring human attendants at self-checkout lanes in large stores.
Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, October 6
45-day citywide moratorium on data centers (00:17:43)
The clerk noted that state law requires a four-fifths vote, nine members, and that the urgency ordinance takes effect immediately if passed (00:17:43)
A speaker described the 45-day moratorium as an interim measure under state law to give the city time to study data centers' impacts (00:18:26)
A speaker listed energy, water, air quality, land use and community impacts as issues to study, along with a clearer definition of data centers (00:18:26)
A speaker said the ordinance pauses city approvals of data centers while the Board and Planning develop long-term rules (00:18:26)
A speaker explained that Planning must report to the Clerk within 25 days, with a hearing on the report within 35 days of the ordinance taking effect (00:19:29)
A speaker thanked co-sponsors Connie Chan (Supervisor, District 1), Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9) and Chyanne Chen (Supervisor, District 11) (00:19:29)
Streamlining the city's local CEQA procedures, including a shorter appeal window (00:12:15)
Introduced: human attendants required for self-checkout at large grocery stores and drugstores (00:21:01)
A supervisor introduced an ordinance requiring one human attendant for every three self-checkout stations at covered stores (00:21:01)
A supervisor said the goal is to protect union jobs and keep human interaction in neighborhood stores (00:21:01)
A supervisor cited a 2023 industry analysis putting losses at self-checkout far above those at staffed lanes (00:21:01)
A supervisor stressed the bill does not ban self-checkout and applies only to grocery stores over 10,000 square feet and to drugstores (00:22:07)
A supervisor named early co-sponsors Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2), Chyanne Chen (Supervisor, District 11), Shamann Walton (Supervisor, District 10) and Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9), and thanked the grocery workers' union UFCW Local 5 (00:22:07)
Introduced: resolution on 100 years of the dahlia as the official flower (02:21:11)
A speaker introduced a resolution marking 100 years of the dahlia as the official city flower (02:21:17)
A speaker said the city has a responsibility to help the Flower Mart thrive in its new Potrero Hill home (02:22:19)
Introduced: resolution on McLaren Park's 100th anniversary (02:23:49)
A speaker introduced a resolution commemorating the park's 100th anniversary (02:23:49)
A speaker named Shamann Walton (Supervisor, District 10) and Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9) as co-sponsors (02:24:49)
Special order: commendations for Latino Heritage Month and community service (00:31:27)
Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9) commended two Office of Economic and Workforce Development staff for their work in the Mission and other neighborhoods (00:31:40)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) praised the honorees' community action planning work in the Fillmore (00:36:32)
A speaker described leading a team that runs job training and small-business programs with community partners (00:41:14)
A speaker commended an SFMTA Safe Routes to School staffer and co-founder of the SF Latina Social Club (00:46:55)
A speaker urged the Board and the Mayor to go bold on climate (00:54:40)
A speaker recognized the San Francisco Lowrider Council on its 45th anniversary (00:56:47)
A speaker recounted that lowriders won the right to cruise Mission Street through a federal civil rights lawsuit after arrests and impounds (01:05:56)
A speaker asked the Board to hold AI accountable for its effects on residents (01:07:58)
A speaker commended an Excelsior community organizer for pandemic-era resource work and cultural events (01:09:36)
A supervisor commended two SFPD investigators for solving the 1978 murder of a 15-year-old girl using DNA evidence (01:16:58)
A supervisor reported that the person responsible was sentenced this year to seven years to life (01:18:42)
A speaker said the homicide unit reached a 125% clearance rate in 2025, counting cases from current and earlier years (01:21:33)
Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2) commended an ABC7 journalist for her Building a Better Bay Area reporting on quality-of-life issues (01:28:55)
A speaker honored the owner of a Sunset gift and flower shop open since 1992, for National Woman-Owned Business Month (01:37:08)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) recognized the Council on American-Islamic Relations SF Bay Area on its 32nd anniversary (01:43:46)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) noted that Florida's governor and cabinet had voted the week before to put the group on a watch list (01:45:50)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) answered that action with a profane remark about Florida's governor (01:45:50)
A guest presenter cited a new Pew report finding anti-Muslim sentiment worse now than right after the 9/11 attacks (01:49:49)
Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6) recognized the Central American Resource Center of Northern California and its executive director (01:53:31)
Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6) noted the organization's new home at 1117 Market Street (01:55:39)
A supervisor presented a special commendation to the Airport Commission's vice president, a former supervisor, treasurer and PUC general manager (02:06:25)
A supervisor noted she was the first Latina to serve on the Board (02:07:34)
Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9) thanked her for leading the Cesar Chavez Street renaming working group toward two candidate names (02:16:06)
Consent agenda: Treasure Island financing, airport health care rules, Potrero Power Station, Office of Food Security Coordination (00:03:08)
Retirement and health board election disclosure rules sent back to committee (00:04:13)
A supervisor thanked colleagues for a one-week continuance that allowed talks with the group Protect Our Benefits and with some members (00:04:47)
A supervisor said parts of the ordinance are worth doing but it is not ready to pass, and moved to send it back to committee (00:04:47)
Urging the Census Bureau to drop proposed 2030 Census changes (03:15:30)
The clerk read the resolution as opposing changes that would leave noncitizens out of the count and end race and ethnicity data collection (03:15:30)
A speaker proposed amendments removing a specific dollar amount and saying instead that the rule may cost cities like San Francisco federal funding through undercounting of immigrants (03:15:57)
A speaker proposed saying the rule contravenes the U.S. Constitution as a whole, not only the 14th Amendment (03:15:57)
Introduced: strengthening and renaming the building-violator watch list (00:23:01)
A speaker recounted that the Board created the program in 2021 after a building-permit scandal (00:23:01)
A speaker said seven people have been listed so far and that listing adds a layer of oversight (00:23:01)
A speaker cited a case in the supervisor's district where a four-unit building was illegally converted into a single-family home (00:23:01)
A speaker cited a new bakery location where work was wasted because a wall had been illegally removed years earlier to get past an inspection (00:24:11)
A speaker said the program would be renamed the Compliance Oversight Program (00:24:11)
A speaker said the Planning Department would get more discretion to count Planning Code violators (00:24:11)
A speaker said the window for violations considered for listing would grow from 18 months to 48 (00:25:23)
A speaker said the Building Inspection Commission would keep hearing cases and advising the DBI director, who makes the final call (00:25:23)
A speaker named Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) and Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2) as early co-sponsors (00:26:24)
Introduced: Sober Spaces Program and Fund (02:25:54)
Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6) said the bill would require Rec and Park and Police community rooms to be available every day of the year at no cost to recovery meetings (02:25:54)
Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6) said a new fund would expand meeting space for abstinence-based recovery groups citywide (02:26:57)
Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6) said grants from the annual budget, run by the Mayor's housing office, would support community sober nonprofits (02:27:58)
Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6) named co-sponsors Rafael Mandelman (Supervisor, District 8; President, Board of Supervisors), Alan Wong (Supervisor, District 4), Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5), Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9), Chyanne Chen (Supervisor, District 11), Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) and Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3) (02:29:11)
In memoriam: a Retirement Board leader (00:26:56)
Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2) honored a Retirement Board colleague and friend who died suddenly in late September (00:26:56)
Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2) noted her service on the SFMTA board, as a parking authority commissioner, and most recently as interim president of the retirement system's board (00:28:00)
A speaker added that she was a committed public servant and a mentor to many (00:30:45)
Documents: Agenda
Planning Commission, Thursday, October 8
Director's update on merging Planning and the Department of Building Inspection (00:04:10)
City staff announced that the Planning Department, the Planning Information Counter and the Permit Center would be closed Monday, October 12 for Indigenous Peoples' Day (00:04:18)
City staff said the Mayor announced in January his intention to bring the two departments together (00:06:44)
City staff said that for permits moved to digital-first service, almost 30 percent of applications now come in outside business hours (00:07:45)
City staff said the merger is not about cutting staff, since both agencies need all their personnel, but about working better together (00:10:24)
City staff described the first stage in March 2026, when the Permit Center moved from the City Administrator's office into the Planning Department and the two departments' technology teams combined (00:13:52)
City staff said administrative services such as finance and human resources combined this summer, while DBI still runs its core services as an independent agency: permit intake and issuance, plan review, code enforcement and inspections (00:14:54)
City staff said about 35 Permit Center staff and almost 40 technology staff joined in March (00:15:57)
City staff said almost another 60 employees joined in administration, finance, records management, and policy and public affairs (00:17:00)
City staff described the goal of fully merging into a new department by July 2027, which she said would need some legislation, including commission review (00:17:00)
City staff said an internal fee study aims to hold permit fees steady or lower them while still funding core services (00:19:16)
City staff responded to fears that each department would use the other's money, saying fees collected will go to permit and plan review (00:19:16)
City staff said a joint budget for the July 1 merger will probably be proposed this winter, going to this commission (usually in February) and to the Building Inspection Commission (00:20:18)
City staff said any cleanup legislation would likely be introduced next spring, with hearings at the Board of Supervisors (00:21:20)
Pier 92 sand facility: final environmental impact report certified (00:24:21)
City staff explained that certification means the EIR followed state and local environmental law, and is not an approval of the project (00:26:08)
City staff described the 4.4-acre site as zoned heavy industrial and used for offloading and processing marine sand since 1982 (00:26:52)
City staff said about 65 percent of the finished sand goes to two neighboring ready-mix concrete plants, with most of the rest used in the city (00:28:10)
City staff said the dust controls include covering conveyors and building a 63-foot warehouse over the finished stockpile and truck loading areas (00:28:10)
City staff said the sponsor has applied to the air district to process up to 80,800 tons of sand in any 12-month period, though operations would still follow market demand (00:29:10)
City staff said construction would last up to seven months in 2027, with sand operations continuing where possible (00:29:10)
City staff said all impacts were found less than significant or none, with archaeological impacts less than significant after a discovery mitigation measure, and air quality impacts less than significant (00:30:56)
City staff said the draft EIR drew 10 comments, five of them spoken at the June 25 hearing, and none required changes or identified new significant impacts (00:30:56)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) praised the analysis and noted that air quality would improve and the neighboring wetland and bird sanctuary would not be significantly affected (00:32:56)
Sean McGarry (Commissioner) called the upgrade long overdue, saying the site's infrastructure has been deteriorating since the 1980s and the concrete trucks that build the city come from there (00:33:47)
A commissioner said commissioners appeared to find the review adequate, accurate and complete, and invited a motion to certify (00:34:33)
701 Taraval Street: Alloy Personal Training formula retail gym approved (00:42:29)
City staff reported that within 300 feet, formula retail would rise from 4 to 8 percent of storefronts and from 27 to 34 percent of street frontage (00:43:10)
City staff said the gym would fill a vacant space, that about 8 percent of nearby commercial spaces are vacant, that no public comment was received, and that staff recommends approval with conditions (00:44:11)
The project sponsor described the owners as Sunnyside residents with three franchise licenses, all for San Francisco, running small-group strength training aimed at people over 40; this would be the first Alloy location in the city (00:46:30)
The project sponsor said sessions train six people at a time and the goal is to build community around health in later life (00:49:40)
Sean McGarry (Commissioner) thanked the owners for choosing San Francisco and filling a vacant storefront, and moved to approve (00:51:08)
The project sponsor said the owners had joined People of Parkside and plan to partner with local businesses, support local races and schools, and donate to nonprofits (00:53:40)
A commissioner pressed the sponsors for concrete community commitments already made, such as access for people who cannot afford membership, rather than future plans (00:54:30)
A commissioner asked that the illuminated sign be made non-illuminated as part of the motion (00:56:43)
City staff said the proposed sign meets the district's sign rules, and the added louvers still meet storefront transparency requirements (00:56:22)
The project sponsor said the building owner lives directly above the space and has approved the plans, including the lit sign (00:58:47)
A commissioner asked about community offerings such as neighborhood discounts and whether the gym is accessible for seniors (00:59:06)
The project sponsor said the gym is meant to be accessible to all ages, but the owners had no specific pricing or discount offer to share yet, though they control those decisions and could come back with one (01:00:03)
Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission) supported the project, saying it would build community and is not the kind of formula retail that outprices local businesses (01:03:41)
A commissioner said formula retail rules target large chains, that the commission looks at the use rather than the user, and that she would not make community involvement a condition of approval (01:05:12)
City staff confirmed that the required formula retail findings on concentration, frontage and vacancy apply to every formula retail conditional use (01:06:01)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) said this kind of gym meets a need for older adults, preferred a non-illuminated sign, and asked whether the storefront mural would remain (01:07:49)
The project sponsor said the part of the mural painted on the window plywood would be lost when the boards come down, and that no one raised concerns at the neighborhood meeting (01:08:36)
A commissioner established through staff that the sign is fully code-compliant, so a local business next door could have the same sign, and denying it would rest only on formula retail status (01:10:29)
A commissioner proposed amending the motion to require indirect illumination, a review process for the mural, and disclosure of a community-benefit program, citing seniors of limited means in the area (01:16:10)
Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission) said the business needs discretion over who joins, because members must pass a physical intake for safety and liability reasons (01:19:22)
Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission) said he was okay with the illuminated sign (01:20:55)
Sean McGarry (Commissioner) described the business as boutique wellness training rather than a typical gym, asked that the motion stand as made, and called the question (01:21:17)
395 3rd Street: 45-story SB 423 housing tower presentation (01:22:22)
A speaker said the developer acquired the site in 2021 and won unanimous approval for a high-rise in 2023, and now proposes 501 homes in 45 stories with 10 percent on-site affordable units and corner retail (01:24:29)
A speaker said the units the firm has built were built with union labor and this project will be too (01:25:30)
A speaker said cutting most underground work and lifting parking above the ground floor saves about $30 million in construction costs and about six months (01:25:30)
Sean McGarry (Commissioner) commended the developer for union labor and for putting the affordable units on site (01:31:17)
City staff said the local inclusionary rate was lowered to 5 percent, but SB 423 requires 10 percent, which this project combines with state density bonus affordability requirements (01:32:48)
A speaker said the developer expects to finish SB 423 entitlement in about six months and targets a 2028 construction start, with a schedule of about 24 months instead of 30 (01:35:04)
A commissioner praised the design, noted the affordable mix of 33 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units, and encouraged more larger units for families (01:35:54)
Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission) praised the developer as San Francisco-based and said it builds what the commission approves (01:37:03)
A commissioner said the abbreviated packet raised concerns, but the presentation showed attention to the ground floor and public realm; asked that the screen on the above-ground parking be designed well (01:38:52)
A speaker worked out that the savings come to about $60,000 per unit and suggested the city consider allowing above-ground parking more widely, including in its tall zones (01:40:36)
A speaker noted the item is informational and the department has 180 days to review the application (01:40:36)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) cautioned that a lot of above-ground parking can harm the pedestrian environment and said any policy change needs a nuanced discussion (01:42:04)
A commissioner noted broad support and that there is no vote because the item is informational (01:44:22)
Documents: Agenda
This episode was produced with AI from the public recording of the meeting. Links to the source are in the show notes.
11 min
October 02Oversight commissioner suspended; Flower Mart towers; a housing fee break
The Board of Supervisors suspends a Sheriff's Department Oversight Board commissioner and approves misconduct charges. The Planning Commission hears a plan for housing towers on the Flower Mart site and recommends dropping some impact fees on new housing.
Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, September 29
Suspension of a Sheriff's Department Oversight Board commissioner and misconduct charges (00:24:31)
The clerk read the motion as suspending the commissioner from the oversight board and approving charges of official misconduct under the charter. (00:24:31)
A speaker called the situation unusual and said the action was not taken lightly. (00:25:10)
A speaker said the inspector general's office provided clear evidence of multiple incidents of official misconduct. (00:25:10)
A speaker argued the board has a duty to suspend the commissioner while an ethics investigation proceeds, and urged colleagues to vote yes. (00:25:10)
The chair thanked Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2) and that office for leading on the matter before calling for the roll. (00:25:58)
October 2026 proclaimed as Walktober (02:35:00)
The chair explained that the resolution declares October 2026 the first annual Walktober, inviting people to explore the city on foot. (02:35:28)
The chair said the city has more than 900 public stairways and more than 150 miles of trails, built up through years of work by neighborhood groups, artists and city staff. (02:35:28)
The chair said the festival is led this year by the SF Crosstown Trail group with SF Stairway Month and Glen Park Beautiful, with more than 30 events through the month hosted with partner organizations. (02:37:42)
2:30 p.m. special order: commendations (00:31:40)
Shamann Walton (Supervisor, District 10) honored a retiring Adult Probation deputy director for 27 years of city service across the mayor's finance office, building inspection, the assessor-recorder, the children and families department and Adult Probation. (00:32:00)
Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) added praise for the retiree's mix of directness and accuracy with warmth and support. (00:36:14)
A speaker said, speaking as the head of Adult Probation, that the retiree was instrumental in transforming the department. (00:39:16)
A speaker honored a former teacher from a cross-cultural youth program she joined in 2001 as a young immigrant, crediting the honoree with shaping her path to the board. (00:41:22)
A speaker said the honoree mentored Latinx immigrant and working-class youth for more than two decades, became lead steward of Hummingbird Farm in the Excelsior, and now works at Willie Brown Middle School. (00:45:34)
A supervisor honored the Four Kings team, citing a San Francisco Chronicle ranking as the Bay Area's top restaurant for 2026 along with recognition from Esquire and Bon Appetit. (00:56:44)
A supervisor noted the restaurant opened in 2024 and described its menu as a modern take on Cantonese cooking with a 1990s Hong Kong theme. (00:57:45)
A speaker recounted how a couple were stuck in heavy traffic on Crossover Drive on September 19 as their baby arrived, with ambulances delayed by the same traffic, and how a passing doula, bystanders, AMR medics and firefighters delivered the baby at the roadside. (01:02:47)
City staff credited the outcome to preparation as much as performance and praised the Station 14 crew, the acting rescue captain, the AMR crew and the doula. (01:08:50)
A speaker said, speaking as the honored doula, that she later learned the traffic was caused by a six-car accident ahead, and credited the bystanders and first responders who ran to the scene on foot. (01:12:19)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) honored the Success Centers chief executive for more than 45 years of service, including 16 years at Juvenile Probation and co-authoring a federal grant that brought $28 million for youth employment. (01:16:04)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) said Success Centers grew under her leadership from a $450,000 operation to a $3.5 million organization that is doubling its staff. (01:18:11)
Shamann Walton (Supervisor, District 10) joined the commendation, crediting the honoree's mentorship in workforce development and juvenile justice and in his own career. (01:20:59)
An honoree thanked family, staff and colleagues, saying the work was never hers alone, and noted she came in from a sabbatical to accept. (01:22:23)
The chair presented a commendation for nearly two decades at the Department of Public Health to an executive who joined the city in 2000, became the department's chief financial officer in 2021 and stepped down in September to spend more time with family. (01:31:08)
The chair noted she became chief operating officer in 2024, overseeing finances and administration for what he called the city's largest department. (01:32:08)
City staff called the departing executive a consummate public servant who fixed problems behind the scenes and championed staff. (01:34:20)
Changes to airport workers' health care spending rules (00:15:27)
Settlement of airline trade group's lawsuit over Healthy Airport Ordinance (00:15:56)
The clerk read the settlement terms as a dismissal of the lawsuit that depends on enactment of specific amendments to the Healthy Airport Ordinance. (00:15:56)
Raising the settlement amounts delegated by the board (00:05:47)
The clerk read the ordinance as raising the delegated settlement authority from no more than $25,000 to no more than $100,000. (00:05:47)
Disclosure rules for retirement and health board elections — continued one week (00:18:29)
The clerk read the ordinance as eliminating disclosure and reporting requirements for candidates to the three boards and noted it came from committee without a recommendation. (00:18:29)
New Office of Food Security Coordination (00:19:51)
The clerk read the ordinance as creating the office inside the Human Services Agency to coordinate citywide work on food insecurity. (00:19:51)
Potrero Power Station: amended development agreement and taller height limits (00:22:00)
The clerk reported that items 40 through 42 were heard by the Land Use and Transportation Committee on Monday, September 28 and recommended as committee reports. (00:22:00)
The clerk read item 41 as amending the Planning Code and zoning map for the special use district to raise height limits, and said it was recommended as amended. (00:23:01)
Roll call for introductions: new legislation, hearing requests and memorials (00:26:53)
A speaker introduced the annual resolution celebrating the Filipino community each October, noting the tenth anniversary of the SoMa Pilipinas cultural heritage district, with Chyanne Chen (Supervisor, District 11), Rafael Mandelman (Supervisor, District 8; President, Board of Supervisors), Connie Chan (Supervisor, District 1), Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7), Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9), Alan Wong (Supervisor, District 4), Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3) and Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) as cosponsors. (00:26:59)
A speaker introduced legislation, with the Port, to exempt publicly funded resilience projects in the Port's jurisdiction from the Administrative Code Chapter 29 fiscal feasibility analysis required before environmental review. (00:29:04)
A speaker said the Port's experience is that the fiscal feasibility process can add roughly six to nine months to a single project. (00:30:06)
A speaker cited a preliminary Port estimate that each year of delay could add between $31 million and $110 million in present-value costs. (00:30:06)
A supervisor requested a hearing on street conditions and city services around public school sites, naming Marshall, Bryant and Flynn elementary schools in District 9 and asking departments and the school district to report on conditions and plans. (01:41:49)
A supervisor described recent incidents at Marshall Elementary, including a first grader picking up a used syringe through the fence and a beer bottle shattering on the playground, and said no children were hurt. (01:41:49)
A supervisor introduced an ordinance on the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force that would remove the sixty-day limit on holdover service, lengthen terms from two years to four, and allow the board to remove members only for official misconduct, with Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) and Shamann Walton (Supervisor, District 10) as early cosponsors. (01:43:55)
A supervisor said the changes would give the board time to consider appointments without the task force going dark, as she said it did this year, and would not prevent new appointments. (01:43:55)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) asked to honor a Haight Street gallery founder, known as Magic Mike, who came to San Francisco from Miami in 1988 and whose death was reported September 12; the transcript renders his surname two ways. (01:45:18)
Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) recounted that the man being remembered founded Visionary Art Exchange in 2017 and opened Psychedelic SF on Haight Street in 2022. (01:46:18)
The chair introduced an ordinance amending the Fire Code to ban the sale of locking butane lighters with plastic components, with Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6), Alan Wong (Supervisor, District 4), Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3) and Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2) as early cosponsors. (01:47:57)
The chair cited Fire Department figures of 31 butane-related fires from 2020 to 2025 with about $3.2 million in losses, rising from three incidents in 2020 to 21 in 2025, and linked the lighters to street drug use. (01:47:57)
The chair described the ordinance as narrow, leaving unlocked butane lighters and the locking types most used in commercial kitchens legal to sell, and said the restaurant association was consulted. (01:47:57)
The chair introduced a resolution recognizing October 10, 2026 as National PrEP Day in San Francisco. (01:49:03)
The chair said the city reported a record low of 136 new HIV infections in 2025, twelve fewer than the year before, and credited much of the decline to PrEP. (01:50:05)
The chair asked that the meeting adjourn in memory of Lucius Charles Conrad, an Air Force veteran, retired oil company executive and longtime supporter of LGBTQ and AIDS organizations, who died September 6, 2026. (01:52:16)
Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) introduced a resolution designating a biodiversity region covering Twin Peaks, Mount Sutro, Mount Davidson, Glen Canyon, Sutro Forest and Laguna Honda, much of it public land held by several city departments, the school district and UCSF. (01:54:09)
Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) said Daniel Lurie (Mayor) had announced plans for a Twin Peaks Bioregional Park and that the resolution would bring stakeholders together on a strategy for stewardship, access and resilience to flood, heat and fire risk. (01:56:17)
A speaker submitted a letter of inquiry asking the Planning Department to analyze potential shadow impacts of new development on public spaces, recreation centers, schools and parks not protected by Proposition K, and to offer mitigations, following a Land Use Committee hearing the day before on limiting environmental review and appeals of shading impacts. (01:57:48)
A speaker introduced a resolution urging the Census Bureau to reconsider proposed 2030 census changes that she said would exclude noncitizens and drop race, ethnicity and sexual orientation data, with Shamann Walton (Supervisor, District 10), Matt Dorsey (Supervisor, District 6), Rafael Mandelman (Supervisor, District 8; President, Board of Supervisors), Stephen Sherrill (Supervisor, District 2), Danny Sauter (Supervisor, District 3), Jackie Fielder (Supervisor, District 9), Myrna Melgar (Supervisor, District 7) and Bilal Mahmood (Supervisor, District 5) as cosponsors. (01:58:48)
Documents: Agenda
Planning Commission, Thursday, October 1
Flower Mart development agreement amendment (informational) (00:09:43)
A commissioner announced she was recusing herself from the item because she is an employee of Gensler, which is working on the project, and handed the chair to the vice president. (00:10:32)
City staff said the hearing was informational, with no commission action requested, and was meant to introduce the amendment and gather questions and feedback. (00:10:56)
City staff described the site as about 6.5 acres between 5th and 6th streets along Brannan, within the Central SoMa plan area and one of the plan's key sites. (00:11:58)
City staff said the 2019 approval was primarily commercial, with office and ground-floor retail and a maximum building height of 270, and included relocating and preserving the wholesale flower market as a public benefit. (00:11:58)
City staff said the flower market's relocation has happened, with the new market open since January 2025 and vendors operating there. (00:13:02)
City staff said the amended framework could allow up to 3,532 residential units if the site were entirely residential, or about 2.6 million square feet of commercial development, with institutional uses also possible. (00:13:02)
City staff said maximum heights could rise to 600 feet for residential projects only, or 300 feet for commercial development. (00:14:04)
City staff said the proposal would allow above-grade parking, but only with facade screening requirements. (00:14:04)
City staff said this was the first informational hearing on the amendment and that the project would return to the commission for approvals after environmental review is completed. (00:15:08)
A speaker speaking for the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said the original 2019 agreement had a ten-year term with one five-year extension and the amendment would give the developer a new 15-year term with one possible five-year extension. (00:17:49)
A speaker said the community benefits still include an affordable housing land dedication, now with inclusionary units added if housing is built, and that public art, community space, parks, clean-streets and workforce commitments remain. (00:18:50)
A speaker said the notable change in the benefits is the obligation to retain and rebuild the flower market, since the sponsor has already built the new market. (00:18:50)
A guest presenter speaking for Kilroy Realty, argued that development is not feasible in Central SoMa today given construction costs, city requirements and the real estate market, and that the amendment is meant to create conditions for the project to be built. (00:20:02)
A guest presenter speaking for Gensler, described the design as a flexible framework: towers that can be built as the market allows, above a fixed public realm at ground level. (00:25:19)
A speaker speaking as Gensler's urban designer, said the plan adds new internal streets with a jog designed to reduce cut-through traffic, two connected open spaces and a set of alleys. (00:26:12)
A speaker said each parcel is designed to hold its own parking, placed above the active ground-floor uses. (00:30:39)
A commissioner recalled the Central SoMa plan's adoption and credited David Chiu (City Attorney) with helping form the housing sustainability district in the neighborhood. (00:37:33)
A commissioner voiced support for the revised project, including its mid-block alleys, screened above-ground parking and added housing. (00:38:35)
A speaker gave the project full support, saying too many approved projects in the area have sat idle and this one could get the neighborhood moving. (00:38:53)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) raised a concern that the draft design guidelines allow fences around the privately owned public open spaces without a limit on how long they could be up. (00:43:06)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) voiced concern about the above-grade parking, calling it a major change, and asked about the lower tier of screening along Brannan Street. (00:45:16)
A guest presenter answered that fencing of the open spaces is not required but is wanted as an option for closing them at night for safety, with the spaces open during the day. (00:46:58)
A speaker added that the conditions for operating any fences will be set out in the development agreement. (00:48:11)
A guest presenter explained the parking screening tiers: in the first the building's architecture continues down over the parking, while the second allows a different treatment for cost reasons but still screens the parking. (00:50:29)
A guest presenter said ground-floor residential is allowed by the design standards and that ground-floor townhomes could work on the site as they have in the Transbay and Rincon Hill area. (00:52:43)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) asked what is driving the 600-foot residential height limit and what inclusionary housing the agreement would require if housing is built. (00:54:03)
A guest presenter said the 600-foot limit matches what the project could have reached using the state density bonus program, which the sponsor agreed to waive in exchange for the city changing the height limit. (00:54:53)
A guest presenter said the sponsor agrees to meet citywide inclusionary housing requirements and to do so on-site for the 600-foot projects, giving up the off-site option for those. (00:55:55)
A speaker said an affordable housing parcel will be dedicated to the city whether or not housing is built on the site, and that the final benefits package is still being worked out. (00:56:16)
Lydia So (Commissioner) said the proposed heights are consistent with the city's future vision for that part of South of Market. (00:58:31)
Lydia So (Commissioner) asked that the towers vary in height rather than all match, as one diagram in the packet showed. (00:59:33)
Lydia So (Commissioner) said she preferred the first two parking screening options for the design standards and disliked the third. (01:00:34)
A guest presenter replied that the equal-height drawing is only a diagram and not prescriptive, and that the goal is varied heights. (01:03:02)
A guest presenter said the third screening type would be used only where parking faces loading areas and back alleys with little public view. (01:03:02)
Malea Chavez (Commissioner) asked what engagement with the cultural district community is continuing and what the commitment to it now looks like. (01:05:02)
A speaker said the city is still working with the cultural district and that the earlier, specific public art commitment is being reworked into a more flexible one. (01:06:03)
A speaker said the developer leads community engagement, with the city guiding which stakeholders are reached. (01:06:47)
A guest presenter said the cultural district art commitment from the original agreement carries over into the amendment, with details still being worked out. (01:07:08)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) asked about a provision in the design standards allowing gates and fences at access points to the site's private streets. (01:07:40)
City staff said gates on the streets would not be automatic: they would need the planning director's approval and the sponsor would have to show a safety concern, with the process spelled out in the agreement. (01:08:23)
A guest presenter said the sponsor has bought the land for the affordable housing dedication but has not yet transferred it to the city. (01:09:49)
A speaker clarified that the timing of the land transfer would be at the choice of the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development rather than tied to the first construction document. (01:10:32)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) raised concern that one stretch of a new street near 6th Street would have a sidewalk on only one side, and asked for sidewalks on both. (01:11:15)
City staff said the right of way there is too narrow for two sidewalks and that staff vetted the one-sidewalk design with a Public Works accessibility coordinator. (01:11:44)
City staff listed what will come back to the commission: a Planning Code amendment, a map amendment for height, the development agreement and the design standards. (01:13:08)
City staff said there will also be a joint hearing of the Planning and Recreation and Park commissions because the project casts a shadow. (01:13:20)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) said that if developers are given a choice between office and housing, policymakers should consider how to make housing as competitive to build as office. (01:13:38)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) suggested that above-grade parking with screening and design standards could be considered for other projects as a way to cut building costs. (01:15:46)
Impact fee exemption for corner-lot housing projects (01:16:59)
A supervisor said he introduced the legislation to eliminate non-inclusionary impact fees on corner lots under the Family Zoning Plan in order to cut construction costs. (01:20:21)
A supervisor said the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment now exceeds $4,200. (01:19:20)
A supervisor argued impact fees bring the city little money but can cost developers an extra $27,000 per unit in some cases. (01:20:21)
A supervisor said corner lots account for more than half of the new-unit capacity under the Family Zoning Plan. (01:20:21)
A supervisor said he is also interested in using the legislation to consider a modest increase in the allowable average floor plate size on corner lots. (01:21:31)
A supervisor said he wants to explore similar fee reductions for housing created by adaptive reuse of historic buildings, probably in separate legislation. (01:21:31)
A speaker presenting for planning staff, said the ordinance would waive childcare, transit sustainability and applicable area plan fees in the Family Zoning Plan area while keeping inclusionary requirements. (01:23:26)
A speaker gave a figure for impact fees generated by HCSF-eligible parcels since September 2023, nearly all from childcare and transit fees and roughly $15,000 from area plan fees; the total is garbled in the recording. (01:23:26)
A speaker said studies from the 2025 rezoning found feasibility gaps of $80,000 to more than $400,000 per unit, against total development costs of about $1 million per unit. (01:24:30)
A speaker estimated the fee savings at $6,000 to $7,000 per unit for larger projects and about $530 for smaller ones, calling the relief modest but meaningful for projects on the edge of feasibility. (01:24:30)
A speaker said corner lots are about 10 percent of parcels but hold nearly half the rezoning capacity, and that so far seven HCSF applications have been mid-block and four on corner lots. (01:25:31)
A speaker acknowledged the exemptions reduce revenue for infrastructure, transit and childcare but said collections from these parcels have been low. (01:26:32)
A speaker noted that projects using the state density bonus or other ministerial pathways would still pay the fees in full. (01:26:32)
A speaker gave staff's first recommended change: extend the exemption to all HCSF parcels, since constraints are similar on corner and interior sites. (01:27:37)
A speaker gave staff's second recommended change: a 2032 sunset date so the exemption can be reassessed. (01:27:37)
A speaker backed the proposal as a five-year program that can be reassessed, and moved to approve. (01:30:35)
A commissioner argued against a sunset date, citing interest rates, labor and material costs, and made a second motion to approve with only staff's first recommended change. (01:34:54)
A commissioner withdrew her second of the first motion and seconded the motion without the sunset. (01:35:33)
A speaker answering for planning staff, said the fee rules are complex enough that staff sometimes have to double-check and have had to revise calculations. (01:36:31)
City staff said parcel-by-parcel differences in overlapping rules add complexity and time to reviews the department is trying to speed up. (01:38:06)
A speaker said planning staff will begin including analysis of administrative complexity in staff reports on legislation. (01:38:42)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) supported extending the exemption to all Family Zoning Plan sites, partly to ease the administrative burden. (01:40:32)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) argued the default should be that the fees stay off unless the city acts to restore them, and backed the motion without a sunset. (01:41:35)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) described the question as a balance between funding transit, childcare and neighborhood needs and encouraging housing, and said the balance tips toward housing. (01:43:56)
City staff explained that staff proposed the sunset as a regular check-in, as with the inclusionary reductions' three-year review, and that it would not necessarily mean reverting to today's fees. (01:46:13)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) seconded the motion to approve with both staff changes, including the sunset. (01:47:08)
Malea Chavez (Commissioner) voiced concern about transportation funding and favored the sunset as a chance to check on the impact and any unintended consequences. (01:49:00)
A commissioner said, speaking as chair, that 2032 is too close given how long development takes, and asked for a broader conversation about impact fees. (01:51:14)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) floated a longer sunset, such as ten years, as a possible compromise. (01:52:06)
City staff said the commission can expect a broad discussion of impact fees and other housing cost constraints in early 2027. (01:53:00)
City staff said the housing element has a circuit-breaker trigger in January 2027, when the city looks at whether more strategies or rezoning are needed to meet its housing goals. (01:53:00)
Lydia So (Commissioner) argued a sunset date would undermine the confidence of people deciding whether to invest in building housing in the city. (01:57:33)
Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission) noted the ordinance has a second supervisor as co-author and asked the sponsor for his view on the two staff changes. (02:00:57)
A supervisor endorsed staff's first change, extending the exemption to all eligible parcels. (02:01:27)
A supervisor said that on the sunset he leaned toward the reasoning of the commissioners who opposed it, and that housing should not be pitted against transit and childcare for money. (02:01:27)
A speaker said he was conflicted: dropping the fees with no end date removes the option to reassess, and the money for transit and childcare would have to come from somewhere. (02:03:51)
Malea Chavez (Commissioner) maintained that a sunset carries little risk and would let the city learn whether removing the fees increases applications. (02:06:30)
Mike Chen (Commissioner) summed up three reasons against a sunset: the city can still act later either way, a sunset adds administrative burden, and dropping it signals the city is open to housing. (02:09:16)
A commissioner said she did not want to return to burdening housing projects with these fees in the near future and that there will be other chances to revisit how transit and childcare are funded. (02:09:53)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) came around to supporting approval without a sunset as a gesture of support for the Family Zoning Plan, while saying she still slightly preferred the other approach. (02:24:00)
A speaker withdrew his motion after the commissioner who had seconded it shifted her position. (02:25:27)
Election of officers: vice president (00:01:34)
The commission secretary told commissioners there was a vacancy among the commission's officers and that they should take nominations and vote. (00:01:34)
A commissioner explained that the bylaws split the two officer posts between a mayoral appointee and a Board president appointee, and that as a mayoral appointee herself the nominations should go to Board president appointees. (00:02:46)
A commissioner nominated Joel Koppel (Commissioner; Vice President, Planning Commission) for vice president, citing his knowledge and history with the commission, and welcomed a fully seated commission and his return to it. (00:03:16)
A commissioner accepted the nomination and said he would assist the president with the week-to-week process. (00:04:19)
A commissioner said he would keep his current seat rather than move to the seat traditionally taken by the vice president beside the president, and would move over when needed. (00:05:09)
Height limit exemption for required rooftop restrooms (02:25:39)
City staff introduced the item for planning staff, giving its Board file number and its sponsoring supervisor, and handed off to the sponsor's aide. (02:26:48)
A speaker speaking as the sponsoring supervisor's aide, said DBI stepped up enforcement earlier this year of a plumbing code rule requiring a restroom on or one floor below a common rooftop space. (02:27:00)
A speaker said projects such as the Freedom West co-op's senior housing and 3333 California face a choice of reworking the top floor, adding a rooftop restroom that would break the height limit or development agreement, or building shorter. (02:28:02)
A speaker said the legislation adds restrooms serving rooftop common areas to the list of features exempt from height limits. (02:28:02)
City staff flagged an error in the draft resolution: the ordinance is not a project under CEQA rather than categorically exempt, which staff will correct in the final resolution. (02:29:13)
City staff explained that putting the required restroom one story below the roof avoids the height issue but can cost interior space, possibly a dwelling unit. (02:29:13)
City staff said staff found no implementation concerns and recommended approval without modifications. (02:30:18)
A commissioner gave the amendment full support, calling it straightforward and modest and likely to open up opportunities for projects. (02:31:03)
City staff clarified that a private roof deck serving a single unit would not need a restroom; the requirement applies to common-use spaces above occupancy thresholds. (02:31:54)
A commissioner urged a proactive review of conflicts between the planning and building codes rather than fixing them one at a time as projects run into them, and offered to support more staff for it in the next budget cycle. (02:33:03)
City staff said limited staffing and the city's budget crunch have kept the department from doing a comprehensive review of code inconsistencies, which it still intends to do. (02:33:30)
City staff said staff already have lists of local building code amendments they want to change, though not yet covering the electrical, mechanical and other codes as fully. (02:35:40)
Malea Chavez (Commissioner) supported the item and said she hoped it would encourage more accessible common space on rooftops. (02:36:36)
Elizabeth Macdonald (Commissioner) gave the amendment full support, calling it an easy decision. (02:37:13)
Documents: Agenda
This episode was produced with AI from the public recording of the meeting. Links to the source are in the show notes.
10 min

About San Francisco

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What San Francisco's Board of Supervisors and its Planning Commission decided, who said what, and how they voted, on the Friday after they meet. Produced with AI from the public recordings of the…

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