145.4

SEC. 145.4. REQUIRED GROUND FLOOR COMMERCIAL USES. (a) Purpose. To support active, pedestrian-oriented commercial uses on important commercial streets. (b) Applicability. The requirements of this Section 145.4 apply to the following street frontages. (1) Folsom Street for the entirety of the Rincon Hill DTR and Folsom and Main Residential/Commercial Special Use Districts, pursuant to Sections 827 and 249.1; (2) The entirety of the C-3-R District, along any block frontage that is entirely within such district or partly in such district and partly in the C-3-O District, where such block frontage faces a street 40 feet or more in width; (3) Van Ness Avenue, in the Van Ness & Market Residential Special Use District, from Fell Street to Market Street; (4) South Van Ness Avenue, for the entirety of the Van Ness & Market Residential Special Use District; (5) Market Street, for the entirety of the Upper Market NCT, NCT-3, and all C-3 Districts; (6) Third Street, in the UMU districts for parcel frontages wholly contained within 100 linear feet north or south of Mariposa Street or 100 linear feet north or south of 20th Street; (7) Fourth Street, between Folsom and Townsend Streets in the Central SoMa Special Use District; (8) Hayes Street, for the entirety of the Hayes-Gough NCT; (9) Octavia Boulevard, between Fell Street and Hayes Street, in the Hayes-Gough NCT; (10) On building frontages facing Destination Alleyways, as defined in the Downtown Streetscape Plan, in all C-3 Districts; (11) Church Street, for the entirety of the NCT-3 and Upper Market NCT Districts; (12) 22nd Street, between Third Street and Minnesota Streets within the NCT-2 District; (13) Valencia Street, between 15th and 23rd Streets in the Valencia Street NCT District; (14) Mission Street, for the entirety of the Mission Street NCT District and Van Ness & Market Residential Special Use District; (15) 24th Street, for the entirety of the 24th Street-Mission NCT; (16) 16th Street, between Guerrero and Capp Streets; (17) 22nd Street, between Valencia and Mission Streets; (18) 6th Street for its entirety within the C-3 and SoMa NCT Districts; (19) Ocean Avenue, for the entirety of the Ocean Avenue NCT District, except on the north side of Ocean Avenue between Plymouth and Brighton Avenues; (20) Geneva Avenue, between I-280 and Delano Avenue within the NCT-1 and NCT-2 Districts; (21) Fillmore Street, in the Fillmore Street NCD from Bush Street to McAllister Street; (22) Diamond Street, for the entirety of the Glen Park NCT District; (23) Chenery Street, for the entirety of the Glen Park NCT District; (24) Buchanan Street, between Post Street and Sutter Street; (25) Post Street, between Fillmore Street and Laguna Street on the south side and between Webster Street and Laguna Street on the north side; (26) Divisadero Street for the entirety of the Divisadero Street NCT District; (27) The entirety of the North Beach Neighborhood Commercial District; (28) Any street frontage that is in the Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District; (29) Pacific Avenue, between Van Ness Avenue and Jones Street, on lots where the last known ground floor use was a commercial or retail use; (30) Folsom Street, between 4th and 6th Streets in the Central SoMa Special Use District; (31) Second Street, on the west side, between Dow Place and Townsend Street in the Central SoMa Special Use District; (32) Third Street, between Folsom Street and Townsend Street in the Central SoMa Special Use District and C-3-O District; (33) Brannan Street, between Third Street and Fourth Street, in the Central SoMa Special Use District; (34) Townsend Street, on the north side, between Second Street and Fourth Street; and (35) Otis Street, for the entirety of the Van Ness and Market Residential Special Use District. (c) Definitions. “Active commercial uses” shall include the following uses: (1) Retail Sales and Services Uses, except Hotel or Motel; (2) Institutional Uses, except Residential Care Facility; (3) Arts Activities, General Entertainment, Movie Theater, Outdoor Entertainment, and Nighttime Entertainment uses; (4) Automobile Sale or Rental uses where curb-cuts, garage doors, or loading access are not utilized or proposed, and such sales or rental activity is entirely within an enclosed building and does not encroach on surrounding sidewalks or open spaces; (5) Designated Child Care Units as defined in Section 102, provided that each such unit meets all applicable criteria set forth in Section 414A.6 of this Code; (6) In the Ocean Avenue NCT, shall include Arts Activities, Nighttime Entertainment, and Institutional Community Uses, as those uses are defined in Section 102; and

(7) On Mission and Otis Streets within the Van Ness & Market Residential Special Use District, shall include Light Manufacturing, as that use is defined in Section 102. (d) Controls. (1) Active commercial uses which are permitted by the specific district in which they are located are required on the ground floor of all street frontages listed in subsection (b) above. (2) Active commercial uses shall comply with the standards applicable to active uses as set forth in Section 145.1(c)(3) and shall further be consistent with any applicable design guidelines. (3) On those street frontages listed in subsection (b), an individual ground floor nonresidential use may not occupy more than 75 contiguous linear feet for the first 25 feet of depth along a street-facing facade. Separate individual storefronts shall wrap large ground floor uses for the first 25 feet of depth, as illustrated in Figure 145.4. This requirement shall not apply to such street frontages within the C districts. (4) In the Central SoMa SUD, a project whose street frontage is subject to this Section 145.4 may locate a Privately-Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS) along such street frontage, provided that the ground floor portion of the building facing the POPOS is lined with active commercial uses. Figure 145.4

(e) Modifications. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (f), modifications to the requirements of this Section 145.4 are not permitted in DTR Districts. In Neighborhood Commercial and Commercial Districts, modifications to the requirements of this Section may be granted through the Conditional Use process, as set forth in Section 303. In the Eastern Neighborhoods Mixed Use Districts, modifications to the requirements of this Section may be granted through the procedures of Section 329 for projects subject to that Section or through an Administrative Modification from the Zoning Administrator for other projects, as set forth in Section 307(h)(1)(A). (f) This Section 145.4 shall not apply to the following: (1) Buildings in the RH-DTR District that are (i) designated landmark buildings or contributory buildings within a designated historic district pursuant to Article 10 of the Planning Code, or (ii) listed on or determined eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources by the State Office of Historic Preservation; and (2) C-3 Districts through December 31, 2030. (Added by Ord. 217-05, File No. 050865, App. 8/19/2005; amended by Ord. 72-08, File No. 071157, App. 4/3/2008; Ord. 298-08, File No. 081153, App. 12/19/2008; Ord. 61-09, File No. 090181, App. 4/17/2009; Ord. 25-11, File No. 101464, App. 2/24/2011; Ord. 62-11, File No. 110010, App. 4/7/2011, Eff. 5/7/2011; Ord. 35-12 , File No. 111305, App. 2/21/2012, Eff. 3/22/2012; Ord. 75-12 , File No. 120084, App. 4/23/2012, Eff. 5/23/2012; Ord. 56-13 , File No. 130062, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013; Ord. 22-15, File No. 141253, App. 2/20/2015, Eff. 3/22/2015; Ord. 188-15 , File No. 150871, App. 11/4/2015, Eff. 12/4/2015; Ord. 229-15 , File No. 151126, App. 12/22/2015, Eff. 1/21/2016; Ord. 129-17, File No. 170203, App. 6/30/2017, Eff. 7/30/2017; Ord. 205-17, File No. 170418, App. 11/3/2017, Eff. 12/3/2017; Ord. 229-17, File No. 171041, App. 12/6/2017, Eff. 1/5/2018; Ord. 202-18, File No. 180557, App. 8/10/2018, Eff. 9/10/2018; Ord. 296-18, File No. 180184, App. 12/12/2018, Eff. 1/12/2019; Ord. 7-19, File No. 180917, App. 1/25/2019, Eff. 2/25/2019; Ord. 205-19, File No. 181211, App. 9/11/2019, Eff. 10/12/2019; Ord. 71-20, File No. 191285, App. 5/1/2020, Eff. 6/1/2020; Ord. 126-20, File No. 200559, App. 7/31/2020, Eff. 8/31/2020; Proposition H, 11/3/2020, Eff. 12/18/2020; Ord. 111-21, File No. 210285, App. 8/4/2021, Eff. 9/4/2021; Ord. 233-21, File No. 210381, App. 12/22/2021, Eff. 1/22/2022; Ord. 37-22, File No. 211263, App. 3/14/2022, Eff. 4/14/2022; Ord. 70-23, File No. 220340, App. 5/3/2023, Eff. 6/3/2023; Ord. 122-23, File No. 230371, App. 7/5/2023, Eff. 8/5/2023; Ord. 159-23, File No. 230732, App. 7/28/2023, Eff. 8/28/2023; Ord. 33-24, File No. 231144, App. 2/21/2024, Eff. 3/23/2024; Ord. 124-25, File No. 250542, App. 8/1/2025, Eff. 9/1/2025; Ord. 217-25, File No. 250682, App. 11/14/2025, Eff. 12/15/2025) AMENDMENT HISTORY Division (b)(21) added; Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 62-11, Eff. 5/7/2011. Divisions (b)(22) and (23) added; Ord. 35-12 , Eff. 3/22/2012. Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 75-12 , Eff. 5/23/2012. [Former] division (b)(24) added; Ord. 56-13 , Eff. 4/27/2013. Divisions (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(5), (b)(10), (b)(18), (b)(20), and (b)(21) amended; former division (b)(24) deleted; division (c)(3) and Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 22-15, Eff. 3/22/2015. Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 188-15 , Eff. 12/4/2015. Divisions (b)(24) and (25) added; Ord. 229-15 , Eff. 1/21/2016. Divisions (b)(24) and (b)(25) amended; divisions (b)(26) and (b)(27) added; divisions (c)-(c)(3) and Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 129-17, Eff. 7/30/2017. Divisions (b), (b)(25)–(27), and (c)(2) amended; divisions (b)(28) and (b)(29) added; Ord. 205-17, Eff. 12/3/2017. Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 229-17, Eff. 1/5/2018. Table 145.4 and division (e) amended; Ord. 202-18, Eff. 9/10/2018. Division (b)(7) amended; divisions (b) (30)-(34) and (d)(4) added; Ord. 296-18, Eff. 1/12/2019. Division (c)(4) added; Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 7-19, Eff. 2/25/2019. Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 205-19, Eff. 10/12/2019. Division (c)(5) added; Ord. 71-20, Eff. 6/1/2020. Divisions (b) (3), (4), (14), (33), and (34) amended; division (b)(35) added; divisions (c)(3)-(5) amended; division (c)(6) added; Ord. 126-20, Eff. 8/31/2020. Table 145.4 amended; Proposition H, 11/3/2020, Eff. 12/18/2020. Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 111-21, Eff. 9/4/2021. Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 233-21, Eff. 1/22/2022. Table 145.4 amended; Ord. 37-22, Eff. 4/14/2022. Division (c) amended; divisions (c)(2)-(3) deleted; divisions (c)(1) and (c)(4)-(6) amended as (c)(4)-(7); new divisions (c)(1)-(3) added; Table 145.4 deleted; Ord. 70-23, Eff. 6/3/2023. Divisions (d)(1) and (3) amended; Ord. 122-23, Eff. 8/5/2023, and Ord. 159-23, Eff. 8/28/2023. Division (e) amended; Ord. 33-24, Eff. 3/23/2024. Division (e) amended; divisions (f)-(f)(2) added; Ord. 124-25, Eff. 9/1/2025. Division (b)(27) amended; Ord. 217-25, Eff. 12/15/2025. SEC. 145.5. GROUND FLOOR STANDARDS IN INDUSTRIAL AND PDR DISTRICTS. All new buildings constructed in Industrial Districts and PDR Districts, as defined in Section 201, shall provide ground floor spaces with a minimum floor-to-floor height of 17 feet, as measured from grade. In existing buildings, a minimum clear ceiling height of 15 feet shall be retained where currently existing. Any building permit which seeks to reduce the floor-to- floor height to less than 17 feet shall require a variance as set forth in Section 305 of this Code. (Added by Ord. 298-08, File No. 081153, App. 12/19/2008; amended by Ord. 63-11, File No. 101053, App. 4/7/2011, Eff. 5/7/2011; Ord. 196-11, File No. 110786, App. 10/4/2011, Eff. 11/3/2011; Ord. 33-24, File No. 231144, App. 2/21/2024, Eff. 3/23/2024) AMENDMENT HISTORY Section header and section amended; Ord. 63-11, Eff. 5/7/2011. Section amended; Ord. 196-11, Eff. 11/3/2011. Section header and section amended; Ord. 33-24, Eff. 3/23/2024. SEC. 146. SUNLIGHT ACCESS TO PUBLIC SIDEWALKS IN C-3 DISTRICTS. (a) Requirement of Sunlight Access on Certain Streets. In C-3 Districts, in order to maintain direct sunlight on public sidewalks in certain downtown areas during critical periods of use, new structures and additions to existing structures on parcels which abut on the side of a street identified below shall be required to avoid penetration of a sun access plane defined by an angle sloping away from the street above a stipulated height at the property line abutting the street, as follows:

Table 146 Street From To Side of Street On Which Lots Abut Maximum Street Wall Height Sun Access Angle