608.13

SEC. 608.13. IN THE RINCON HILL DOWNTOWN RESIDENTIAL MIXED USE DISTRICT. Within the boundaries of the Rincon Hill Downtown Residential Mixed Use District set forth in Section 827 and generally bounded by Folsom Street, The Embarcadero, Bryant Street, and Essex Street, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, the existing Signs and/or Sign Towers may be changed, modified or replaced provided that all the following criteria are met:

(a) Such changed, modified or replacement sign is in the same general location as the existing signage; (b) The total area and height of the changed, modified or replacement sign is not increased from the total area and height of the existing sign or sign tower; (c) Such sign or sign tower may contain letters, numbers, a logo, service mark and/or trademark, and may be nonilluminated, or directly or indirectly illuminated; (d) Such sign or sign tower may only reflect the identity of the owner or a tenant of the building, including a parent corporation, subsidiary and/or affiliate of the owner or of the tenant. (Added by Ord. 389-95, App. 12/14/95; amended by Ord. 217-05, File No. 050865, App. 8/19/2005 ; Ord. 56-13 , File No. 130062, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013; Ord. 217-16, File No. 160424, App. 11/10/2016, Eff. 12/10/2016) AMENDMENT HISTORY Undesignated introductory material amended; Ord. 56-13 , Eff. 4/27/2013. Section header and introductory material amended; Ord. 217-16, Eff. 12/10/2016. SEC. 608.14. VINTAGE SIGNS. New Ordinance Notice Publisher's Note: This section has been AMENDED by new legislation (Ord. 124-25 , approved 8/1/2025, effective 9/1/2025). The text of the amendment will be incorporated under the new section number when the amending legislation is operative. (a) Restoration and Maintenance. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 604(e) of this Code, Signs which depict in text or graphic form a particular residential, business, cultural, economic, recreational, or other valued resource which is deemed by the Planning Commission to be a cultural artifact that contributes to the visual identity and historic character of a City neighborhood or the City as a whole shall be considered a Vintage Sign and allowed to be restored, reconstructed, maintained, and technologically improved on a property by Conditional Use authorization of the Planning Commission provided that: (1) the Vintage Sign to be restored, reconstructed, or technologically improved depicts a use, person, place, thing, cultural icon, or other valued character or characteristics of the City or a City neighborhood that, at the time of the Vintage Sign authorization, is at least 40 years old; (2) at least 50% of the Area of the Sign remains legible, (3) the Sign does not visually obstruct or significantly impair or detract from, by glare or any other means, a City landmark or public vista; (4) the Sign is not larger than the Sign that existed prior to the Vintage Sign authorization and does not appear to be more visually prominent than the Sign that existed prior to the Vintage Sign authorization; and (5) the Sign is maintained in good condition, repair, and working order. Designation as a Vintage Sign under this Section 608.14 does not by itself protect the Sign from being obscured or removed by future development projects. (b) Application for Vintage Sign Authorization. Prior to the scheduling of the Conditional Use hearing before the Planning Commission required by subsection (a), the applicant for a vintage sign authorization shall provide to the Department evidence in the form of photographs and/or documents demonstrating that: (1) the sign proposed for vintage sign authorization is at least 40 years old; and (2) the sign is a cultural artifact that depicts a particular residential, business, cultural, economic, recreational, or other valued resource of the past that contributes to the visual identity and character of a City neighborhood or the City as a whole. (c) Application of Other Article 6 Requirements. Once a sign is authorized as a vintage sign under this Section, it is subject only to the requirements of this Section 608.14 and is exempt from all other provision of Article 6. However, any change of copy from the vintage-copy authorized by the Planning Commission or any enlargement or alteration shall be considered an abandonment of the vintage sign authorization and the sign shall then be considered a new sign subject to all the provisions of this Article 6. The addition of a frame to a painted wall sign shall not be considered an enlargement or alteration under this section. (d) Removal of Vintage Sign. Once designated as a vintage sign under this Section, the sign may not be removed without Conditional Use authorization of the Planning Commission. (e) Relocation. A three-dimensional vintage sign may be relocated to a new location with Conditional Use authorization of the Planning Commission. Relocation of a general advertising sign is subject to the provisions of Section 2.21 of the San Francisco Administrative Code and may not be relocated under this Section 608.14. (f) Referral to Historic Preservation Commission. If the application for a vintage sign authorization under this Section 608.14 is not otherwise required to be referred to the Historic Preservation Commission under the San Francisco Charter or this Code, it is not required to be referred. (Added by Ord. 276-98, App. 8/28/98; amended by Ord. 160-11 , File No. 110277, App. 8/1/2011, Eff. 8/31/2011; Ord. 124-25, File No. 250542, App. 8/1/2025, Eff. 9/1/2025) AMENDMENT HISTORY Section header and section amended; Ord. 160-11 , Eff. 8/31/2011. Division (a) amended; Ord. 124-25, Eff. 9/1/2025. SEC. 608.15. NORTHEAST WATERFRONT SPECIAL SIGN DISTRICT. There shall be a special sign district known as the "Northeast Waterfront Special Sign District." The boundaries of this special sign district shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the Northeast Waterfront Historic District, as established pursuant to Article 10, Appendix D of this Code by Ordinance No. 171-83, and any amendments thereto. A copy of said Ordinance and materials related thereto are on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 031034. (a) Purposes and Findings. (1) In addition to furthering the purposes stated in Sections 101 and 601 of this Code, creation of the Northeast Waterfront Special Sign District is intended to further the purposes of the Northeast Waterfront Historic District created pursuant to Board of Supervisors Ordinance No. 171-83, and any amendments thereto, and to foster the preservation and enhancement of said Historic District. (2) The standards established by these regulations are deemed to be minimum requirements. (b) Regulations within the Special Sign District: (1) No Projection shall exceed a horizontal distance of six feet beyond any Street Property Line. This limitation shall apply to Signs and to all other features, including but not limited to, Marquees and Awnings, with the sole exception of flagpoles for flags. All Signs, Marquees, Awnings, and other features shall be supported entirely by a building. No Canopies shall be permitted. (2) All Signs shall be placed entirely below the level of the lowest cornice or strong horizontal element located above the ground story of the building, and in no event higher than three feet above the top of the ceiling level of the ground story. (3) No Directly Illuminated Sign, as defined in Section 602 of this Code, shall be permitted. (4) Principal Signs. Only one principal sign shall be permitted per establishment per street frontage. In addition, the following provisions shall apply to principal signs: (A) A projecting sign shall not exceed 10 square feet; (B) If a flush sign contains lettering, the lettering shall not exceed 18 inches in height; provided, however, that in no event shall lettering exceed a size that can be read from any farther than across the street;