183

SEC. 183. NONCONFORMING USES: DISCONTINUANCE AND ABANDONMENT. (See Interpretations related to this Section.) (a) Discontinuance and Abandonment of a Nonconforming Use, Generally. Whenever a nonconforming use has been changed to a conforming use, or discontinued for a continuous period of three years, or whenever there is otherwise evident a clear intent on the part of the owner to abandon a nonconforming use, such use shall not after being so changed, discontinued, or abandoned be reestablished, and the use of the property thereafter shall be in conformity with the use limitations of this Code for the district in which the property is located. Where no enclosed building is involved, discontinuance of a nonconforming use for a period of six months shall constitute abandonment. (b) Discontinuance or Abandonment of a Nonconforming Formula Retail Use. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, when a nonconforming Formula Retail use has been changed to a conforming use or discontinued for a period of 18 months, or whenever there is otherwise evident a clear intent on the part of the owner to abandon a nonconforming Formula Retail use, such use shall not be reestablished after being so changed, discontinued or abandoned, and the use of the property thereafter shall be in conformity with the use limitations of this Code for the district in which the property is located. (c) Discontinuance or Abandonment of Self-Storage Use Due to City and County Occupancy. Adoption of the Western South of Market Area Plan resulted in certain land uses, including Self-Storage, that were previously permitted no longer being permitted. The purpose of this subsection 183(c) is to establish a process by which the owner of property with a Self- Storage use that was established and is operating without the benefit of a required change of use permit may seek and obtain the required permit, lease the property to the City and County of San Francisco for a public safety-related purpose, and re-establish a legal nonconforming Self-Storage use after the City vacates the property. (1) Legitimization of Existing Self-Storage Use; Notice and Discretionary Review of the Building Permit. In the case of a Self-Storage use that was established and has been operating without the benefit of a required change of use permit, the property owner may seek and be granted such permit notwithstanding the limitation of No. 846.48 in Table 846 of this Code, the permit application shall not be subject to the notification requirements of Section 312 or other notification requirements of this Code, and no requests for discretionary review of the building permit shall be accepted by the Planning Department or heard by the Planning Commission provided that: (A) the permit application is filed for a property located within (i) the Service/Arts/Light Industrial Zoning District and (ii) 1,000 feet of the South Of Market Special Hall Of Justice Legal Services District; and (B) the Zoning Administrator has determined that the existing Self-Storage use (i) has been regularly operating or functioning prior to the effective date of this subsection 183(c) and (ii) is not accessory to any other use; and (C) prior to issuance of the building permit to legitimize the existing Self-Storage use, the property owner pays the Transit Impact Development Fee required by Planning Code Section 411 et seq. in the amount that was in effect and would have been due at the time of the original establishment of the existing Self-Storage use; and (D) the building permit to legitimize the existing Self-Storage use is issued prior to the earlier of (i) commencement of occupancy by the City for a public-safety related purpose or (ii) issuance of a building permit to establish the public safety-related use. If the property owner has not applied for a building permit to legitimize an existing Self-Storage use and the permit is not issued as set forth in this subsection (c)(1), the Self-Storage use shall be deemed irrevocably abandoned and may not be re-established. (2) Change of Use from a Self-Storage Use to Public Use; Notice and Discretionary Review of the Building Permit. Any building permit that is required for the City’s occupancy of the property for a public-safety related purpose classified as a Public Use under Section 890.80 of this Code shall not be subject to the notification requirements of Section 312 or other notification requirements of this Code, and no requests for discretionary review of the building permit shall be accepted by the Planning Department or heard by the Planning Commission. (3) Re-establishment of Self-Storage Use; Notice and Discretionary Review of the Building Permit. An existing nonconforming Self-Storage use or a Self-Storage use that is legitimized pursuant to subsection (c)(1), that in either case is changed to a public safety-related use due solely to occupancy by the City and County of San Francisco acting through any of its departments, shall not be considered discontinued or abandoned for purposes of subsection (a) above or any other provision of this Code and the property owner may resume use of the premises as a Self-Storage use after the City vacates the property, provided that: (A) the City’s occupancy was for a public safety-related purpose classified as a Public Use under Section 890.80 of the Planning Code; (B) if the pre-existing Self-Storage use had been established and was operating without the required change of use permit, the property owner applied for and was granted a building permit to legitimize the pre-existing Self-Storage Use pursuant to subsection (c)(1); and (C) the property owner resumes the pre-existing Self-Storage use within two years from the later of (i) the date the City vacated the property or (ii) the date the City’s lease for the property was terminated. The property owner shall apply for and obtain any permits required to resume the pre-existing Self-Storage use within one year from the date the City vacates the property. If the application for a permit is limited to re-establishment of the pre-existing Self-Storage use, the application shall not be subject to the notification requirements of Section 312 or other notification requirements of this Code, and no requests for discretionary review of the building permit shall be accepted by the Planning Department or heard by the Planning Commission. (4) Extensions of Time.

(A) If a permit to resume the pre-existing Self-Storage use is issued but delayed due to an action before the Board of Appeals or other City agency, or a case in any court of competent jurisdiction, the time to resume such pre-existing use shall be extended by the amount of time final action on the permit was delayed. (B) The Zoning Administrator may grant one or more extensions of the time within which the pre-existing Self-Storage use must be resumed if the owner or owners of the property have made a good-faith effort to comply but are unable to do so for reasons that are not within their control. (5) Notice to Property Owner. The Planning Department shall provide written notice to the owner of record of any property that is within the scope of Section 183(c) of any proposed ordinance to substantively amend this Section 183(c) prior to a hearing thereon by the Planning Commission, provided that the property owner has sent a written request for said notice to the Zoning Administrator. (d) Discontinuance or Abandonment of a Public Parking Lot in the Mission Street NCT District. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, when less than 25% of the parking spaces within a legally established, nonconforming Public Parking Lot located in the Mission Street NCT Zoning District is converted to an Outdoor Activity Area for a separate use, such conversion does not constitute a discontinuance or abandonment of that portion of the Public Parking Lot use. However, if the remaining Public Parking Lot use is discontinued or abandoned, then the portion converted to Outdoor Activity Area shall also be deemed to be discontinued or abandoned. (Amended by Ord. 186-84, App. 5/4/84; Ord. 292-98, App. 10/2/98; Ord. 235-14 , File No. 140844, App. 11/26/2014, Eff. 12/26/2014; Ord. 22-15, File No. 141253, App. 2/20/2015, Eff. 3/22/2015; Ord. 122-18, App. 5/23/2018, Eff. 6/23/2018; 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. 108-23, File No. 230164, App. 6/23/2023, Eff. 7/24/2023) AMENDMENT HISTORY Former section amended and designated as division (a); new division (b) added; Ord. 235-14 , Eff. 12/26/2014. Division (a) amended; Ord. 22-15, Eff. 3/22/2015. Division (a) amended; divisions (c) – (c)(5) added; Ord. 122-18, Eff. 6/23/2018. Division (a) amended; Ord. 233-21, Eff. 1/22/2022. Division (a) amended; Ord. 37-22, Eff. 4/14/2022. Division (d) added; Ord. 108-23, Eff. 7/24/2023. SEC. 183.1. PERMITTED, NON-CONFORMING, AND CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED USES: TEMPORARY USES. Any permitted, non-conforming, or conditionally permitted use may be changed to a temporary use without abandoning its original status or authorization as a permitted, non-conforming or conditionally permitted use under Planning Code Article 1.7, provided that such temporary use is permitted and has been authorized as required by any applicable law. (Added by Proposition H, 11/3/2020, Eff. 12/18/2020) SEC. 184. SHORT-TERM CONTINUANCE OF CERTAIN NONCONFORMING USES. New Ordinance Notice Publisher's Note: This section has been AMENDED by new legislation (Ord. 40-25 , approved 4/3/2025, effective 5/4/2025). The text of the amendment will be incorporated under the new section number when the amending legislation is operative. Except as provided in subsections (c)-(d) below, the period of time during which the following nonconforming uses may continue or remain shall be limited to five years from the effective date of this Code (May 2, 1960), or of the amendment thereto which caused the use to be nonconforming. Every such nonconforming use shall be completely eliminated within 90 days after the expiration of such period. (a) A Parking Lot or any other nonconforming commercial or industrial use of land where no enclosed building is involved in such use, except for permanent off-street Parking Lots in the C-3-O, C-3-R, and C-3-G Districts existing on the effective date of Ordinance No. 414-85, provided that such lots are screened in the manner required by Section 156(e); such permanent uses shall be eliminated no later than five years and 90 days from the effective date of an amendment to this Code that makes such permanent uses nonconforming. (b) Any use of a type first permitted as a Principal or Conditional Use in an NC, RC, C, or M District or in a Residential-Commercial Combined District, when occupying a building in an R District other than a Residential-Commercial Combined District that has an assessed valuation not in excess of $500 on the effective date of this Code or such later date as the use becomes nonconforming, with the following exceptions: (1) Any lawful use in this category in a building having an assessed valuation of $250 or more on the effective date of this Code, or such later date as the use becomes nonconforming, shall have a period of permitted continuance of 10 years from the date at which the property was placed in a residential zoning classification, if such a period of continuance produces an expiration date that is later than the expiration date stated above; or (2) Any lawful use in this category that is of a type first permitted in an NC-1 District; or of a type first permitted in any other district and supplying commodities at retail, or offering personal services, primarily to residents of the immediate vicinity; shall have a period of permitted continuance of 10 years from the effective date of this Code, or of the amendment thereto that caused the use to be nonconforming. After five years of such period have elapsed, any use as described in this Paragraph (b)(2) shall, upon application, be qualified for consideration by the Planning Commission as a conditional use as regulated in Section 303 of this Code. (c) In the Mission Street Neighborhood Commercial Transit District, a Parking Lot that is on the site of a designated landmark under Article 10 of this Code as of the effective date of this Ordinance No. 135-20 may continue its Use as a Parking Lot for five additional years from the original expiration date provided by this Section 184. (d) In the CMUO and MUR Districts, a Public Parking Lot that was legally established prior to December 31, 2023 may continue its Use as a Public Parking Lot through December 31, 2026 or the original expiration date provided by this Section 184, whichever is later. Any Public Parking Lot use that ceased operations after January 1, 2024 pending renewal of a commercial parking permit under Police Code Section 1215 shall not constitute abandonment or discontinuance of the use under Planning Code Section 183. (Amended by Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85; Ord. 69-87, App. 3/13/87 ; Ord. 232-14 , File No. 120881, App. 11/26/2014, Eff. 12/26/2014; Ord. 22-15, File No. 141253, App. 2/20/2015, Eff. 3/22/2015; Ord. 135-20, File No. 200421, App. 8/21/2020, Eff. 9/21/2020; Ord. 40-25, File No. 241173, App. 4/3/2025, Eff. 5/4/2025) AMENDMENT HISTORY Divisions (a) and (b) amended; Ord. 232-14 , Eff. 12/26/2014. Divisions (a) and (b) amended; Ord. 22-15, Eff. 3/22/2015. Undesignated introductory paragraph and divisions (a) and (b) amended; division (c) added; Ord. 135-20, Eff. 9/21/2020. Undesignated introductory paragraph amended; division (d) added; Ord. 40-25, Eff. 5/4/2025. SEC. 185. CONTINUANCE OF OTHER NONCONFORMING USES. (See Interpretations related to this Section.) The purpose of this Section is to provide for the gradual elimination or conversion, after a reasonable allowance of time for the amortization of investments therein, of certain classes of nonconforming uses in buildings, in order to encourage and promote the orderly and beneficial development of the land and buildings with conforming uses. The Section is intended to apply to obsolescent buildings whose use is widely at variance with the regulations of this Code, and is safeguarded against unnecessary hardship in application by provision for a minimum period of continuance of 20 years, by procedures for extension and exceptions, and by the requirement of repeated notice as the buildings approach an age indicative of obsolescence. It is