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AMENDED IN COMMITTEE 7/21/2025 FILE NO. 250284 ORDINANCE NO. 146-25 [Planning, Building Codes - Noncomplying, Unpermitted, and Accessory Structures] Ordinance amending the Planning Code to provide conditions for repair and relocation of existing noncomplying structures within required yards, grant unpermitted residential structures within yards that were constructed before 2003 noncomplying status, and allow accessory structures up to 10 feet in height and 120 square feet within required yards; amending the Building Code to exempt accessory structures up to 120 square feet from building permits; affirming the Planning Department's determination under the California Environmental Quality Act, making findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1, and making findings of public necessity, convenience, and welfare under Planning Code, Section 302. NOTE: Unchanged Code text and uncodified text are in plain Arial font. Additions to Codes are in single-underline italics Times New Roman font. Deletions to Codes are in stril-wtlrf'Ottgh ifalics Times lVew Romanfcmt. Board amendment additions are in double-underlined Arial font. Board amendment deletions are in strikethrough Arial font. Asterisks (* * * *) indicate the omission of unchanged Code subsections or parts of tables. Be it ordained by the People of the City and County of San Francisco: Section 1. Environmental, Land Use, and General Findings. (a) The Planning Department has determined that the actions contemplated in this ordinance comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq.). Said determination is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisor Engardio Page 1 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Supervisors in File No. 250284 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board affirms this determination. (b) On June 26, 2025, the Planning Commission, in Resolution No. 21757, adopted findings that the actions contemplated in this ordinance are consistent, on balance, with the City's General Plan and eight priority policies of Planning Code Section 101.1. The Board adopts these findings as its own. A copy of said Resolution is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 250284, and is incorporated herein by reference. (c) Pursuant to Planning Code Section 302, this Board finds that these Planning Code amendments will serve the public necessity, convenience, and welfare for the reasons set forth in Planning Commission Resolution No. 21757 and the Board incorporates such reasons herein by reference. A copy of Planning Commission Resolution No. 21757 is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 250284. (d) On July 16, 2025, at a duly noticed public hearing, the Building Inspection Commission considered this ordinance in accordance with Charter Section 4.121 and Building Code Section 104A.2.11.1.1. A copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Building Inspection Commission regarding the Commission's recommendation is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 250284. (e) No local findings are required under California Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7 because the amendments to the Building Code contained in this ordinance do not regulate materials or manner of construction or repair, and instead relate in their entirety to administrative procedures for implementing the code, which are expressly excluded from the definition of a "building standard" by California Health and Safety Code Section 18909(c). Section 2. Articles 1.2 and 1.7 of the Planning Code are hereby amended by revising Sections 136 and 188, and adding Section 188.1, to read as follows: Supervisor Engardio BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 2 SEC.136. OBSTRUCTIONS OVER STREETS AND ALLEYS AND IN REQUIRED SETBACKS, YARDS, AND USABLE OPEN SPACE. Streets Set- Yards Usable and backs Open Alleys Space * * * * (c) The permitted obstructions shall be as follows: * * * * X (23) One or more detached 9-the-F structures, which may not include sleeping quarters or full kitchens, but may include bathrooms and wetbars but not full kitchens,_ commonly Hsed in gcirdening activities, sHch as greenhoHSCs and sheds for storage ofgcirde,~ tools, if no more than JOe-ight feet in height above grade, as measured to the to12. o[_the structure, and covering no more than a combined 120.J.(}f) square feet as measured at grade. An additional I -(j;Jot o[_roo[_eave may be 12.ermitted beyond the 120 sg_uare (§et maximumo-jland; * * * * SEC. 188. NONCOMPLYING STRUCTURES: ENLARGEMENTS, AL TERA TIONS, AND RECONSTRUCTION. Supervisor Engardio BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 3 (a) Within the limitations of this Article 1. 7, and especially Sections 172 and 180 hereof, and notwithstanding Sections 188(a)(l) and 188.1, a noncomplying structure as defined in Section 180 may be enlarged, altered, or relocated, or undergo a change or intensification of use in conformity with the use limitations of this Code, provided that with respect to such structure there is no increase in any discrepancy, or any new discrepancy, at any level of the structure, between existing conditions on the lot and the required standards for new construction set forth in this Code, and provided the remaining requirements of this Code are met. (]) Existing Yard Structures. A noncomplying structure that is located within a required yard may be enlarged, altered, or replaced provided that any above-grade enlargement of such structure is only to the degree necessary to conform to current Building Code requirements.,_ including, but not limited to, the addition or construction of fire-rated walls. A noncomplying structure that is located within a required yard may be relocated within the yard efWf Ji.the structure's new location is equally or further set back from the nearest property lines than the original location. Interior alterations, including the structure's use for different purposes, shall not constitute an intensification for the purposes of this subsection (a)(]). Additionally, for any partially noncomplying structure that is located within a required yard, the rules set forth in this subsection (a)(]) shall apply only to the portions of the structure that are noncomplying; portions of the structure within the buildable area shall be sub;ect to rules elsewhere in this Code governing building within the buildable area o[the lot. (2) Nothing in this Section 188 shall exempt noncomplying structures from the Planning Code controls other than those for required yards. * * * * Supervisor Engardio BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 4 SEC. 188.1. NONCOMPLYING STRUCTURE STATUS FOR CERTAIN PRE-EXISTING RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES IN RH, RM, AND RTO DISTRICTS. (a) Within a required yard, residential structures that were constructed without the benefit ofa permit prior to January 1, 2003, shall be considered Noncomplying Structures and may be altered, relocated, or replaced in-kind with the same dimensions as they existed prior to 2003. Alterations, relocations, and in-kind or smaller replacements may deviate from the original structure 's dimensions only in keeping with the requirements of Section 188(a) o(this Code. (b) Nothing in this Section 188.1 shall exempt structures from the Planning Code controls other than those for required yards. (c) The City shall refund any permit fees incurred by applicants who sought a Variance determination from Sections 133 or 134 to repair or replace structures that exceeded 100 square feet and/or 8 feet in height, after January 1, 2021, only if: the structures subject to the Variance are no more than 10 feet in height and no more than 120 square feet total; and were originally constructed and completed prior to 2003. Section 3. Chapter 1A of the Building Code is hereby amended by revising Section 106A.2, to read as follows: 106A.2 Work exempt from permit. [Section 105.2 of the California Building Code.] Exemptions from the permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other laws or ordinances of this jurisdiction. A building permit shall not be required for the following: 1. One-story detached accessory buildings or structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses,_ and similar uses, provided the~area does not exceed Supervisor Engardio BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 5 120./-00 square feet (I 1.15.i)d.9. m2). It is permissible that these structures still be regulated by Section 71 OA, despite exemption from perm it. * * * * Section 4. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective 30 days after enactment. Enactment occurs when the Mayor signs the ordinance, the Mayor returns the ordinance unsigned or does not sign the ordinance within 10 days of receiving it, or the Board of Supervisors overrides the Mayor's veto of the ordinance. Section 5. Scope of Ordinance. In enacting this ordinance, the Board of Supervisors intends to amend only those words, phrases, paragraphs, subsections, sections, articles, numbers, punctuation marks, charts, diagrams, or any other constituent parts of the Municipal Code that are explicitly shown in this ordinance as additions, deletions, Board amendment additions, and Board amendment deletions in accordance with the "Note" that appears under the official title of the ordinance. APPROVED AS TO FORM: DAVID CHIU, City Attorney By: Isl Robb Kapla ROBB KAPLA Deputy City Attorney n:\leganalas202512500219101851660 .docx Supervisor Engardio BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 6 City and County of San Francisco Tails Ordinance City Hall I Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, CA 94102-4689 File Number: 250284 Date Passed: July 29, 2025 Ordinance amending the Planning Code to provide conditions for repair and relocation of existing noncomplying structures within required yards, grant unpermitted residential structures within yards that were constructed before 2003 noncomplying status, and allow accessory structures up to 10 feet in height and 120 square feet within required yards; amending the Building Code to exempt accessory structures up to 120 square feet from building permits; affirming the Planning Department's determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; making findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1; and making findings of public necessity, convenience, and welfare under Planning Code, Section 302. June 30, 2025 Land Use and Transportation Committee - CONTINUED TO CALL OF THE CHAIR July 21, 2025 Land Use and Transportation Committee -AMENDED, AN AMENDMENT OF THE WHOLE BEARING SAME TITLE July 21, 2025 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED AS AMENDED AS A COMMITTEE REPORT July 22, 2025 Board of Supervisors - PASSED, ON FIRST READING Ayes: 11 - Chan, Chen, Dorsey, Engardio, Fielder, Mahmood, Mandelman, Melgar, Sauter, Sherrill and Walton July 29, 2025 Board of Supervisors - Fl NALLY PASSED City and County of San Francisco Ayes: 11 - Chan, Chen, Dorsey, Engardio, Fielder, Mahmood, Mandelman, Melgar, Sauter, Sherrill and Walton Page I Printed at 9:38 am 011 7/30/25 File No. 250284 City and County of San Francisco Daniel Lurie Mayor Page2 I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was Fl NALLY PASSED on 7/29/2025 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. re, I s / 2,02s Date Approved Printed at 9:38 am 011 7130/25