Planning Code - Conditional Use Appeals
Ord. No. 0191-22
in effectAMENDED IN COMMITTEE
FILE NO. 220130
7/25/2022
ORDINANCE NO. 191-22
[Planning Code - Conditional Use Appeals]
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to allow the signatures of Verified Tenants to
count towards the threshold needed to permit an appeal of a Conditional Use
authorization; clarifying timelines applicable to appeals of Conditional Use
authorizations; affirming the Planning Department's determination under the California
Environmental Quality Act; and making findings of public convenience, necessity, 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 strikethrough italics Times 1\Tew Roman frmt.
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 and Land Use 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
Supervisors in File No. 220130 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board affirms
this determination.
(b)
Pursuant to Planning Code Section 302, the Board of Supervisors find that this
ordinance will serve the public necessity, convenience, and welfare for the reasons set forth in
Planning Commission Resolution No. 21144, and incorporates such reasons by this reference
thereto. A copy of said resolution is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File
Supervisors Melgar; Peskin, Walton, Preston, Ronen, Chan, Mar
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No. 220130.
Section 2. The Planning Code is hereby amended by revising Section 308.1, to read
as follows:
SEC. 308.1. APPEALS: AMENDMENTS TO THE PLANNING CODE AND
CONDITIONAL USES.
(a) Right of Appeal. The action of the Planning Commission, in disapproving in
whole or in part an amendment to the Planning Code initiated by application as described in
Section 302 and Sections 306 through 306.5, or in approving or disapproving in whole or in
part an application for Conditional Use authorization as described in Sections 303 and 304
and Sections 306 through 306.5 ofthis Code, shall be transmitted to the Office o[the Clerk ofthe
Board in final and signed form within ~teR business days of Commission's action to approve or
disapprove in whole or part the application, and subject to appeal to the Board of Supervisors in
accordance with this Section 308.1._ An action of the Commission so appealed from shall not
become effective unless and until approved by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with
this Section 308.1.
(b) Notice of Appeal. Any appeal under this Section 308.1 shall be taken by filing
written notice of appeal with the Board of Supervisors no earlier than ten business days after the
date of action by the Planning Commission, and no later than 30 days after the date of action by
the Planning Commission. The appeal shall be filed with the Office of the Clerk ofthe Board in a
manner prescribed by the Clerk of the Board and in accordance with the Planning Fee Schedule. The
notice of appeal shall be subscribed by either (i) the owners or Verified Tenants of at least 20%
of the property affected by the proposed amendment or Conditional Use or (ii) five members
of the Board of Supervisors. _The signature on the appeal of members of the Board shall not
be deemed to be any indication of their position on the merits of the appeal but rather shall
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indicate only that they believe there is sufficient public interest and concern in the matter to
warrant a hearing by the Board of Supervisors. Upon receipt o(a notice o(appeal, the Office of
the Clerk o(the Board shall transmit the notice o(appeal and subscribed signatures to Public Works
within five business days for its determination o(the 20% threshold o(the property referenced above.
For the purposes of this Section 308.1, the property affected, and the determination ofthe 20%
threshold, shall be calculated by Public Works within five business days from when the Office o(the
Clerk ofthe Board requests a determination on the 20% threshold ofthe property referenced, as
follows:
(1) When a proposed amendment or Conditional Use has been disapproved by
the Planning Commission, the property affected shall be deemed to be all property within the
area that is the subject of the application for amendment or Conditional Use, and within 300
feet of all exterior boundaries of the property that is the subject of the application;
(2) When a proposed Conditional Use has been approved by the Planning
Commission, the property affected shall be deemed to be all property within 300 feet of all
exterior boundaries of the property for which the Conditional Use has been approved by the
Planning Commission, excluding the property for which the approval has been given;
(3) In either of the above cases, when any property is owned by the City and
County of San Francisco, the United States Government or the State of California, or any
department or agency thereof, or by any special district, and is located within 300 feet of the
area that is the subject of the application for amendment or Conditional Use, such property
shall be excluded in determining the property affected unless such owner shall itself be a
subscriber of the notice of appeal; and
(4) Wherever a property is held in joint ownership, the signatures of joint
owners shall be calculated as representing affected property in direct proportion to the amoun
of the total ownership of that property attributable to the joint owner or owners subscribing to
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the notice of appeal. _For the purposes of this calculation, the term "joint ownership" shall
include joint tenancies, interests in common, community property, partnerships, stock
cooperatives, condominiums, community apartments and planned unit developments._ Where
each owner has exclusive rights to a portion of the property, the proportion of the total
ownership attributable to that owner shall be calculated in terms of a ratio of the floor area and
land area in which that owner has exclusive, joint,_ and common rights to the total floor area
and land area of that property. Under these calculations, the land area of an affected property
in joint ownership shall be given the same weight as the land area of an affected property not
in joint ownership, in determining whether 20% of the property affected is represented by
signatures to the notice of appeal.
(5)
For purposes o{this Section 308.1, a "Verified Tenant" is a residential or
commercial tenant of a property who declares, under penalty ofperiury oft he laws of the State of
California, that the tenant occupies the entire properly or at least one separate unit on the property
pursuant to a lease with a term exceeding 32 days. Each Verified Tenant who signs an appeal pursuant
to this Section 308.1 must maintain proof of tenancy including either an executed lease reflecting a
term o(more than 32 days, or at least one o{the following forms of'records reflecting that the tenant
has occupied the property for more than 32 consecutive days as of the date of signature: (a) state or
federal income tax records, (b) department of'motor vehicle records including license, registration or
California identification, or (c) utility bills. A Verified Tenant who signs an appeal pursuant to this
Section may be required by Public Works to provide suchproofoftenancy. A "Verified Tenant" shall
not include occupants ofproperty who rent the property for less than 32 consecutive days, or for
Tourist or Transient Use, or as a Short-Term Residential Rental, as those terms are defined in Section
41A.4 o[the Administrative Code, but shall include tenants of all Unauthorized Units in the
property.
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(6)
Where a property contains more than one rental unit, the signatures of Verified
Tenants shall be calculated as representing the percentage of affected property in the same proportion
ofthe number o{rental units on the property represented by the Verified Tenants subscribing to the
appeal to the total number of rental units in that property. Only one Verified Tenant for each
residential Residential Unit or commercial rental unit shall be counted for each such unit,· if more
than one Verified Tenant occupying a single rental unit subscribes to the appeal, that unit will only be
given the weight of a single unit in the property. Under these calculations, an affected property rented
by multiple Verified Tenants shall be given the same weight as an affected property owned by a single
owner or occupied by a single tenant, in determining whether 20% of'the property affected is
represented by signatures to the notice of appeal.
(7)
!fan owner of I 00% ofa tenant-occupied property and one or more Verified
Tenants of the same property subscribe to the appeal, the land area o{the affected property shall be
given the same weight as the land area of an affected property owned by a single owner in determining
whether 20% ofthe property affected is represented by signatures to the appeal. If a ioint owner of
land held in ioint ownership property and one or more Verified Tenants of the same property subscribe
to the appeal, the total land area ofthe affected property shall be calculated by adding the land areas
calculated pursuant to subsections (3) through (6), above, and may total, but not exceed I 00% of the
land area of'the property in determining whether 20% of the property affected is represented by
signatures to the appeal.
(c) Hearing. Upon the filing of such written notice of appeal so subscribed, the
Board of Supervisors or the Clerk thereof shall set a time and place for hearing such appeal,
which l-may be not less than .J-()21 nor more than ~45 days after such filing . !{there is not a
Board meeting scheduled during that time, the Clerk may schedule the hearing at the next regularly
scheduled Board meeting more than 50 days after the filing. Thechearing may be held no more than 60
days from the date o(filing, unless the parties consent to a later date as provided in subsection CO
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below. Provided, that if the Board a/Supervisor~ does not conthwt at least three regular Board
meetings during the 30 dtt.yperiod referred t-o in the previous sentence, the Board a/Supervisors or the
Clerk shall schedule the t1JJJ3eal not more than 40 dtt.ys (rather than 30 de,ys) t1fter the filing ofsiteh
·written notice of t1ppeal.
(d)
Decision. The Board of Supervisors mus-t-shall hear and decide the appeal within 90
days of the filing of'the written notice of appeal. unless the parties consent to a later date as provided in
subsection (f) below. The Board's decision on the appeal is final upon adiournment ofthe meeting at
which the hearing was held and=at which the Board votes to approve or deny such appeal. such appeal
withi,1 30 dt1ys of#w time set.for the hearing thereon, provided that; if the full membership of the Board
is not present on the last day on which said t1JJJ3eal is set or continued for hearing within said period,
the Board n1t1ypostpone said hearing and decision thereon until, but not lat-er than, thefitll
membership &j the Board is present; providedfitrther, that the latest date to which said hearing and
decisi011 mt1y be so postponed shall be not more tha,1 90 days from the date Qf filing of the t1JJJ3eal.
Provided, that if the Board ofSupenisors does not conduct at least three regular Board ,'1wetli1gs
during the 30 day period referred to in the previous sentence, the Board of Supervisors 40 days (rather
than 30 day'5) Qfthe time set.for the hearing thereon Failure of the Board of Supervisors to act
within such time limit shall be deemed to constitute approval by the Board of the action of the
Planning Commission.
(e)
Findings. The Board of Supervisors shall adoptjindings supporting its decision to
uphold or deny an appeal under this Section 308.1 within 60 days afier making its decision on the
appeal. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, failure ofthe Board to approve findings within the
time specified will not affect the finality of'the Board's decision on the appeal.
(f)
Continuances. Any continuance of'the time periods specified in this section 308.1 shall
require a written request from the party or parties seeking continuance in such form as may be
provided by the Clerk of the Board for the Board of Supervisors ' consideration.
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(tig) DecisienVotes Required._ In acting upon an appeal of a Planning Commission
determination on a request for reclassification by an interested party, the Board of Supervisors
may disapprove the action of the Planning Commission only by a vote of not less than 2/3 of
all members of the Board._ In acting upon any other appeal of a Planning Commission
determination on a Planning Code amendment, the Board of Supervisors may disapprove the
action of the Planning Commission by a majority vote of the Board._ In both cases, in the
event that one or more of the full membership of the Board is disqualified or excused from
voting because of an interest prohibited by general law or the San Francisco Charter, any
such disapproval shall be by a vote of all members of the Board that are not disqualified or
excused; provided, however, that in the event that a quorum of all members of the Board is
disqualified or excused from voting because of an interest prohibited by general law or the
Charter, the action of the Planning Commission shall be deemed approved._ In the event the
Board disapproves the action of the Commission when the Commission has disapproved in
whole or in part a proposed amendment, the Board shall, not later than its next regularly
scheduled meeting, adopt the proposed ordinance._ In the event the Board disapproves the
action of the Commission when the Commission has disapproved in whole or in part a
proposed conditional use, the Board shall prescribe in its resolutionmotion such conditions as
are in its opinion necessary to secure the objectives of this Code, in accordance with Section
303(d).
Section 3. 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 ten days of receiving it, or the Board
of Supervisors overrides the Mayor's veto of the ordinance.
Supervisors Melgar; Peskin, Walton, Preston, Ronen, Chan, Mar
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Section 4. 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:
/s/ KRISTEN A. JENSEN
KRISTEN A. JENSEN
Deputy City Attorney
n:\legana\as202212200143\01617106.docx
Supervisors Melgar; Peskin, Walton, Preston, Ronen, Chan, Mar
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File Number:
220130
City and County of San Francisco
Tails
Ordinance
Date Passed:
City Hall
I Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 941 02-4689
September 06, 2022
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to allow the signatures of Verified Tenants to count towards
the threshold needed to permit an appeal of a Conditional Use authorization; clarifying timelines
applicable to appeals of Conditional Use authorizations; affirming the Planning Department's
determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; and making findings of public
convenience, necessity, and welfare under Planning Code, Section 302.
July 25, 2022 Land Use and Transportation Committee - AMENDED, AN AMENDMENT OF
THE WHOLE BEARING SAME TITLE
July 25, 2022 Land Use and Transportation Committee - NOT RECOMMENDED AS
AMENDED AS A COMMITIEE REPORT
July 26, 2022 Board of Supervisors - PASSED ON FIRST READING
Ayes: 11 - Chan, Dorsey, Mandelman, Mar, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai,
Stefani and Walton
September 06, 2022 Board of Supervisors - Fl NALLY PASSED
Ayes: 11 - Chan, Dorsey, Mandelman, Mar, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai,
Stefani and Walton
File No. 220130
I hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance was FINALLY PASSED on
9/6/2022 by the Board of Supervisors of the
City and County of San Francisco.
City and County of San Francisco
London N. Breed
Mayor
!'age I
Angela Calvillo
Clerk of the Board
Date Approved
Prillled at 8:58 am 011 9/7/22
References
amendsSec. 307
amendsSec. 308
amendsSec. 308.1
amendsSec. 308.2
amendsSec. 309
Source: sf_ordinance_pdfURL: https://sfbos.archive.sf.gov/sites/default/files/o0191-22.pdfFetched: 7/4/2026