175

SEC. 175. APPROVAL OF PERMITS OR DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS. (a) No application for a building permit, Development Application, or other permit or license, or for a permit of Occupancy, shall be approved by the Planning Department, and no permit or license shall be issued by any City department, which would authorize a new use, a change of use or maintenance of an existing use of any land or structure contrary to the provisions of this Code. (b) No such application, permit or license shall be approved or issued by any City department for the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, alteration, relocation or occupancy of any structure if the construction or other activities that would be authorized by the requested permit or license would not conform in all respects to this Code, or if the structure or any feature thereof is designed, constructed, arranged, maintained or intended to be used for a purpose or in a manner contrary to the provisions of this Code. (c) No such application, permit or license shall be approved or issued by any city department for the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, alteration, relocation or occupancy of any land or structure if the lot on which the use or structure is or will be situated has been created, reduced or maintained contrary to the provisions in this Code. This prohibition shall apply to all lots involved in any change of lot lines that caused any of said lots to be created or reduced in dimension or area, or in relation to any structure thereon, contrary to the provisions of this Code, regardless of whether one or more of the lots involved remained in compliance with such provisions.

(d) Notwithstanding the limitations of Subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this Section, minor alterations, maintenance and repairs shall be permitted for any such structure where ordered by an appropriate public official to correct immediate hazards to health or safety, and only for that purpose. (e) Permits for signs shall be further regulated by the provisions of Section 604 of this Code. (f) Whenever this Code requires a property owner to enter into a regulatory agreement with the City subjecting any dwelling units to the San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance (Chapter 37 of the Administrative Code), the Planning Department shall note the existence of the recorded regulatory agreement on a publicly-accessible website. (Added by Ord. 443-78, App. 10/6/78; amended by Ord. 188-15 , File No. 150871, App. 11/4/2015, Eff. 12/4/2015; Ord. 170-25, File No. 240803, App. 9/5/2025, Eff. 10/6/2025) AMENDMENT HISTORY Nonsubstantive changes; Ord. 188-15 , Eff. 12/4/2015. Section heading and division (a) amended; division (f) added; Ord. 170-25, Eff. 10/6/2025. SEC. 175.1. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CENTRAL SOMA ZONING CONTROLS. (a) Intent. It is the intent of this Section 175.1 to provide for an orderly transition from prior zoning and planning requirements to the requirements under the Central SoMa Controls, without impairing the validity of prior actions by the City or frustrating completion of actions authorized prior to the effective date of those Controls. (b) Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to this Section 175.1: (1) “Central SoMa Controls” shall mean all Ordinances adopted in furtherance of the Central SoMa Area Flan, including but not limited to Ordinance Nos. 282-18 & 283-18, and associated amendments to the Planning Code, Zoning Map, and Administrative Code. (2) “Development Application” is defined in Planning Code Section 401. (3) “Project Approval” shall mean any required approval or determination on a Development Application that the Planning Commission, Planning Department, or Zoning Administrator issues. (4) “Code Conforming Project” shall mean a development project for which all required Development Applications could have received Project Approval under the Planning Code immediately prior to the effective date of the Central SoMa Controls. (c) Applicability. A Code Conforming Project within the Central SoMa Special Use District may elect to be exempt from the Central SoMa Controls and instead be subject to those controls in place immediately prior to the effective date of the Central SoMa Controls, if at least one Development Application for such project was filed before February 15, 2018 and the project receives its first Project Approval by December 31, 2019. (Added by Ord. 296-18, File No. 180184, App. 12/12/2018, Eff. 1/12/2019) (Former Sec. 175.1 amended by Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85; repealed by Ord. 63-11, File No. 101053, App. 4/7/2011, Eff. 5/7/2011) SEC. 175.2. [REPEALED.] (Added by Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85; repealed by Ord. 63-11, File No. 101053, App. 4/7/2011, Eff. 5/7/2011) CODIFICATION NOTE Section 15 of the repealing ordinance cited above states: "The San Francisco Planning Code is hereby amended by repealing Section 172.2, as follows: SEC. 175.2. . . ." The remainder of former Section 175.2 is then set out and struck through. The initial reference to Section 172.2 therefore appears to have been a scrivener's error. Accordingly, the codifier has given effect to Section 15 of the repealing ordinance by deleting this Section 175.2 from the Code and designating it as repealed. SEC. 175.3. [REPEALED.] (Added by Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85; repealed by Ord. 63-11, File No. 101053, App. 4/7/2011, Eff. 5/7/2011) SEC. 175.4. [REPEALED.] (Added by Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85; repealed by Ord. 63-11, File No. 101053, App. 4/7/2011, Eff. 5/7/2011) SEC. 175.5. APPLICABILITY OF WESTERN SOMA CONTROLS TO PENDING PROJECTS IN THE SALI DISTRICT. (a) Intent. It is the intent of this Section to provide for an orderly transition from prior zoning and planning requirements to the requirements imposed in implementing the Western SoMa Controls, without impairing the validity of prior actions by the City, or frustrating completion of actions authorized prior to the effective date of those Controls. (b) Applicability. This Section applies only to projects located in a SALI District within the boundaries of the Eastern Neighborhoods Program Area as defined in Section 401 that have a Development Application pending as of June 20, 2012. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this Section, if a project does not receive its first building or site permit within 36 months after the effective date of the Western SoMa Controls, then it shall be subject to all applicable Planning Code and Zoning Maps controls in effect at the date its first building or site permit is issued. The 36-month time period is extended until the expiration of any appeal period, or if an appeal or litigation challenging the project authorization is filed, until final resolution of the appeal or litigation. (c) Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to this Section: (1) "Code Conforming Project" shall mean a project which complies with the Planning Code prior to the effective date of the Western SoMa controls. (2) "Development Application" shall mean any application for a building permit, site permit, environmental review, Conditional Use or Variance. (3) "Pending," with respect to a Development Application, shall mean first filed with the Planning Department on the date specified in Section (b) above for a project that has not obtained a Project Approval prior to the effective date of the Western SoMa Controls. (4) "Project Approval" shall mean any required approval or determination on a Development Application by the Planning Commission, Planning Department, or Zoning Administrator. (5) "Residential Project" shall mean any project which includes at least one dwelling unit, group housing bedroom, or other residential use or uses. (6) "Western SoMa Controls" shall mean all Ordinances adopted in furtherance of the Western SoMa Area Plan Process and associated amendments to the Planning Code, Zoning Map, and Administrative Code. (d) Effect of Western SoMa Controls on pending Residential Code Conforming Projects. (1) Articles 1, 1.2, 1.5, and 2.5 of the Planning Code as amended by the Western SoMa Controls shall apply; and