LOWER HAIGHT STREET ALCOHOL RESTRICTED USE DISTRICT

SF Planning Code § 784

in effect

SEC. 784. LOWER HAIGHT STREET ALCOHOL RESTRICTED USE DISTRICT.

(a) Findings. There are an unusually large number of establishments dispensing alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, for off-site consumption in the Neighborhood Commercial Cluster Districts located generally along Haight Street at Scott Street and generally along Haight Street at Pierce Street and in the Lower Haight Street Neighborhood Commercial District located generally along Haight Street at and between Steiner and Webster Streets. The existence of this many Liquor Stores appears to contribute directly to numerous peace, health, safety, and general welfare problems in the area, including loitering, littering, public drunkenness, defacement and damaging of structures, pedestrian obstructions, as well as traffic circulation, parking, and noise problems on public streets and neighborhood lots. The existence of such problems creates serious impacts on the health, safety, and welfare of residents of nearby single- and multiple-family areas, including fear for the safety of children, elderly residents, and visitors to the area. The problems also contribute to the deterioration of the neighborhood and concomitant devaluation of property and destruction of community values and quality of life. The number of Liquor Stores and the associated problems discourage more desirable and needed commercial uses in the area. (b) Boundaries. In order to preserve the residential character and the neighborhood-serving commercial uses of the area, the Lower Haight Street Alcohol Restricted Use District (Lower Haight Street Alcohol RUD) is hereby established for the following: (1) Properties in the Neighborhood Commercial Cluster District located generally along Haight Street at Scott Street; (2) Properties in the Neighborhood Commercial Cluster District located generally along Haight Street at Pierce Street; (3) Properties in the Lower Haight Street Neighborhood Commercial District located generally along Haight Street at and between Steiner and Webster Streets. The above Neighborhood Commercial Cluster Districts and Lower Haight Street Neighborhood Commercial District are designated on Sectional Map ZN07 of the Zoning Map of the City and County of San Francisco. Block and lot numbers for the properties included in these districts are on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 060537 and are incorporated herein by reference. The Lower Haight Street Alcohol RUD is designated on Sectional Map Number SU07 of the Zoning Map of the City and County of San Francisco. (c) Controls. (1) Prohibition on New Liquor Stores. No new Liquor Stores shall be permitted in the Lower Haight Street Alcohol RUD. (2) Exceptions from the Prohibition. The prohibition on Liquor Stores shall not be interpreted to prohibit the following: (A) Temporary uses, as described in Planning Code Section 205.1 or 205.3; or (B) Establishment of a Liquor Store if an application for such Liquor Store is on file with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control prior to March 25, 2007. (3) Continuation of Existing Liquor Stores. In the Lower Haight Street Alcohol RUD, any lawfully existing Liquor Store that lawfully existed prior to March 25, 2007 may continue in accordance with Planning Code section 180 through 186.2, subject to the following provisions: (A) The Liquor Store may continue to operate only under the following conditions, as provided by California Business and Professions Code Section 23790: (i) Except as provided in subsection (B) below, the premises shall retain the same type of retail liquor license within a license classification; and (ii) Except as provided in subsection (B) below, the Liquor Store shall be operated continuously, without substantial changes in mode or character of operation. (B) A break in continuous operation shall not be interpreted to include the following, provided that, except as indicated below, the location of the establishment does not change, the square footage used for the sale of alcoholic beverages does not increase, and the type of California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Liquor License (“ABC License”) does not change: (i) A change in ownership of the Liquor Store or an owner-to-owner transfer of an ABC License; (ii) Temporary closure for restoration or repair of the Liquor Store on the same lot after total or partial destruction or damage due to fire, riot, insurrection, toxic accident, or act of God; (iii) Temporary closure of the Liquor Store for reasons other than total or partial destruction or damage due to fire, riot, insurrection, toxic accident, or act of God for not more than thirty (30) days for repair, renovation, or remodeling; or (iv) Relocation of the Liquor Store in the Lower Haight Street Alcohol RUD to another location within the same Lower Haight Street Alcohol RUD with Conditional Use authorization from the Planning Commission, provided that the original premises shall not be occupied by a lawfully pre-existing Liquor Store described in this subsection (3), unless by another lawfully pre-existing Liquor Store that is also relocating from within the Lower Haight Street Alcohol RUD. (Added by Ord. 32-07, File No. 060537, App. 2/22/2007; amended by Ord. 260-07, File No. 070617, App. 11/14/2007; Ord. 140-11, File No. 110482, App. 7/5/2011, Eff. 8/4/2011; Ord. 129-17, File No. 170203, App. 6/30/2017, Eff. 7/30/2017; Ord. 13-26, File No. 251099, App. 2/13/2026, Eff. 3/16/2026) AMENDMENT HISTORY Former division (d) ("Sunset Provision") deleted; Ord. 140-11, Eff. 8/4/2011. Undesignated paragraph following division (b)(3) amended; division (c)(1) amended; Ord. 129-17, Eff. 7/30/2017. Divisions (c)-(c)(2) deleted; divisions (a), (b), (b)(3) and following paragraph amended; second divisions (1)-(3)(B)(iv) redesignated as (c)(1)-(c)(3)(B)(iv) and amended; Ord. 13-26, Eff. 3/16/2026.

SEC. 785. [REPEALED.]

(Added by Ord. 70-08, File No. 071464, App. 4/17/2008; amended by Ord. 65-13 , File No. 130018, App. 4/17/2013, Eff. 5/17/2013; repealed by Ord. 261-13 , File No. 130084, App. 11/27/2013, Eff. 12/27/2013)

SEC. 786. THIRD STREET FORMULA RETAIL RESTRICTED USE DISTRICT.

(a) Findings. (1) San Francisco is a city of diverse and distinct neighborhoods identified in large part by the character of their commercial corridors. (2) San Francisco must create a supportive environment for small businesses in order to preserve the unique character of the City and foster a vibrant commercial sector. (3) One of the eight Priority Policies of the City's General Plan resolves that "existing neighborhood-serving retail uses be preserved and enhanced and future opportunities for resident employment in and ownership of such businesses enhanced." (4) The Bayview neighborhood is home to a diverse array of businesses including neighborhood commercial and industrial businesses that serve the working class community. The Third Street Corridor has served as the main merchant corridor for this neighborhood and is receiving significant investment of City resources to revitalize, grow and expand local business opportunities. (5) As development in San Francisco continues, neighborhoods, including residential and commercial areas in the Bayview area, will be subject to change, and new businesses may wish to locate in the Bayview area, particularly along the Third Street Corridor. (6) The Third Street Corridor presently has a mix of businesses, housing, shops, work places, community serving uses, religious institutions, parks and civic facilities that create an identifiable neighborhood. (7) An influx of formula retail businesses can put pressure on existing businesses and potentially price out existing and new independent businesses. (8) Bayview's mix of businesses, uses and architecture contributes to a strong sense of neighborhood community. The Third Street Corridor is generally of small scale, with buildings that have been identified as potential historic resources or have been landmarked as historic places. There is both architectural variety and variety in the types of goods and services offered on the Third Street Corridor. Additionally the majority of businesses on the Third Street Corridor are locally-owned, many for generations, and some have historically served the diverse ethnic communities of the Bayview. (9) Standardized architecture, color schemes, decor and signage of many formula retail businesses can detract from the distinctive character of the Bayview neighborhood community. (10) The increase of formula retail businesses in the Third Street Corridor, if not monitored and regulated, will hamper the City's goal of a diverse retail base within distinct neighborhood communities. (11) In 2004 the Board of Supervisors adopted a redevelopment plan ("Redevelopment Plan") for the Bayview Hunters Point Project Area, which was subsequently amended in 2010. The Redevelopment Plan was the result of years of community based planning efforts with the goal of revitalizing the area to create new parks and open space, retail opportunities, affordable housing and other community benefits. Three of the objectives outlined in the Redevelopment Plan are focused on supporting the commercial activities of the Third Street Corridor. Specifically, Section 1.2.1 lists these objectives as: strengthening the economic base of the Project Area and the community by strengthening retail and other commercial functions within the Project Area, retaining existing residents and existing cultural diversity to the extent feasible, and supporting locally-owned small businesses and local entrepreneurship. (12) One of the goals of the Redevelopment Plan was to provide structure and limitations to the development of the Bayview to encourage uses that would benefit the neighborhood, create new economic development opportunities and draw more residents and patrons to the Third Street Corridor. By establishing a Conditional Use process, both the City and the community have an opportunity to review and provide comments on any proposed location, expansion or alteration of formula retail uses to ensure that they meet the objectives of the Redevelopment Plan. (13) The unregulated and unmonitored establishment of additional formula retail uses may unduly limit or eliminate business establishment opportunities for non-traditional or unique businesses, thereby decreasing the diversity of merchandise and merchants along the Third Street corridor.

Source: SF Municipal Code PDF (amlegal)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_planning/0-0-0-1Fetched: 7/4/2026