AMENDED IN COMMITTEE
FILE NO. 190355
1/27/2020
ORDINANCE NO. 35-20
[Planning Code -Authorizing Interim Activities at Development Sites]
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to enable the use of development project sites
during the project approval and entitlement process by authorizing the Planning
Department to authorize certain interim activities at development project sites as
Temporary Uses for up to 36 months, subject to extension at the discretion of the
Planning Director in increments for up to a maximum possible total of a624 additional
months; adopting the Planning Department's determination under the California
Environmental Quality Act; making findings of public convenience, necessity, and
welfare under Planning Code, Section 302; and making findings of consistency with the
General Plan, and the eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1.
NOTE:
Unchanged Code text and uncodified text are in plain Arial font.
Additions to Codes are in single-underline italics Times New Roman [ant.
Deletions to Codes are in strikethrough italics Times ,\Tei~· Roman font.
Board amendment additions are in double-underlined Arial font.
Board amendment deletions are in strikethrough /\rial 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. 190355 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board adopts
these findings as its own.
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BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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(b) On April 25, 2019, the Planning Commission, in Resolution No. 20434, adopted
findings that the actions contemplated in this ordinance are consistent, on balance, with the
City's General Plan and eight priority policies of Planning Code Section 101.1. The Board
adopts these findings as its own. A copy of said Resolution is on file with the Clerk of the
Board of Supervisors in File No. 190355, and is incorporated herein by reference.
(c) Pursuant to Planning Code Section 302, this Board finds that these Planning Code
amendments will serve the public necessity, convenience, and welfare for the reasons set
forth in Planning Commission Resolution No. 20434, and the Board of Supervisors
incorporates such reasons herein by reference.
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Section 2. Findings and Purpose.
During the process of seeking development approvals and entitlements for land or
buildings, such land or buildings may become underutilized, vacant, and economically
unproductive for prolonged time periods. Occupying and activating such land or buildings with
temporary activities, and creating an active and vital street frontage, would help generate
economic activity, create jobs, deter crime and nuisance activities, and enhance the vitality of
the public realm near or within such land or buildings. The authorization of temporary uses
such land or buildings will also help ensure the proper upkeep and maintenance of such land
and buildings, while encouraging property owners to provide invaluable and scarce space for
arts activities, light industrial uses, retail or institutional uses, and other land uses.
Section 3. Article 2 of the Planning Code is hereby amended by revising Section~ 205±
and 205.2 and adding Section 205.5, to read as follows:
SEC. 205. TEMPORARY USES, GENERAL
(a) The temporary uses listed in Sections 205.1 through 205.4,2, where not otherwise
permitted in the district, may be authorized as provided therein and in this Section 205, up to the
time limits indicated. Further time for such uses may be authorized only by action upon a
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application, subject to all the requirements for the original application, unless otherwise
indicated in Sections 205.1 through 205.42.
(b) Action upon such uses may be authorized by the ZoningAdministratorPlanning
Director without a public hearing.
(c) Wherever a use exists at the effective date of this Code or of an amendment
thereto under which such use is classified as a temporary use, or wherever a use is being
conducted under a temporary use authorization given prior to such a date, such use may be
continued for the maximum term specified therefore, calculated from said effective date or
date of authorization. No such use shall continue thereafter unless a temporary use
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authorization shall have has been sought and obtained under a new application. Continuance
of a temporary use beyond the date of expiration of the period authorized therefore, or failure
to remove a structure for such temporary use within 10 days thereafter, shall constitute a
violation of this Code.
(d) The time periods referenced in Sections 205.1 through 205.3 and Section 205.5 are
consecutive hours or consecutive calendar days; they are not the total number of hours or
days that the use is in operation. Therefore, a 24-hour authorization that begins at 6:00 a.m.
expires at 6:00 a.m. the following day, even if the use was in operation only eight hours of that
24-hour period. Similarly, a 60-day authorization expires after 60 calendar days even though
the use may only have been open for business three days per week during that 60-day period.
Hours or days of unused authorization cannot be stored or credited.
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(e) Any temporary uses authorized pursuant to this Section 205 and Sections 205.1 through
205. 5 shall not be required to comply with any Planning Code requirements that are not expressly
applicable to such temporary uses under this Section 205 and Sections 205.1 through 205. 5, provided,
however, any temporary uses authorized pursuant to this Section 205 and Sections 205.1 through 205. 5
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shall be subject to all applicable initiative ordinances approved by the voters ofthe City and County of
San Francisco.
(f) The decision oft he Planning Director to authorize or deny authorization of any temporary
use pursuant to this Section 205 and Sections 205.1 through 205. 5 may be appealed to the Board of
Appeals within 15 days after the date oft he decision by filing a written notice of appeal with that body.
SEC. 205.2. TEMPORARY USES: ONE TO FOUR-YEAR UMIT.
A temporary use may be authorized for a period not to exceed two years, or in the case
of a Temporary Cannabis Retail Use, for a period not to exceed four years, for any of the
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following uses:
(a) Temporary structures and uses incidental to the construction of a group of
buildings on the same or adjacent premises;
(b) Rental or sales office incidental to a new residential development, not including the
conduct of a general real estate business, provided that it be located within the development,
and in a temporary structure or part of a dwelling. A temporary use may be authorized for a
period not to exceed one year (including any extensions) for the following year.
(c) In any M-1 or M-2 District, an Automobile Wrecking use as defined in Section 102
of this Code, provided if the operation would be a conditional use in the district in question,
that the Zoning AdministratorPlanning Director determines the operation will meet within 90
days of commencing operation all conditions applicable to such use in that district.
(d) Temporary Wireless Telecommunications Services (WTS) Facilities for a period of
up to one year if the following requirements are met:
(1) the Zoning AdministratorPlanning Director determines that the Temporary
WTS Facility shall be sited and constructed so as to:
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(A) avoid proximity to residential dwellings to the maximum extent
feasible;
(B) comply with the provisions of Article 29 of the Police Code;
(C) be no taller than needed;
(D) be screened to the maximum extent feasible; and
(E) be erected for no longer than reasonably required.
(2) Permits in excess of 90 days for Temporary WTS Facilities operated for
commercial purposes shall be subject to Section 311 and 312 of this Code, where applicable.
(3) The Planning Department may require, where appropriate, notices along
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street frontages abutting the location of the Temporary WTS Facility indicating the nature of
the facility and the duration of the permit.
(e) Temporary Cannabis Retail Use for a period of up to four years, as provided by
Section 191, to be authorized no earlier than January 1, 2018 and to expire on January 1,
2022. This is the only type of Temporary Use allowed for the sale of cannabis or cannabis
products.
SEC. 205.5. TEMPORARY USES: INTERIM ACTIVITIES ON DEVELOPMENT SITES.
(a) Upon the satisfaction of the requirements in this Section 205. 5, an Interim Activity on an
Eligible Development Site located_jn an Eligible Area may be authorized as a temporary use for an
initial period not to exceed 36 months ("Initial Period").
@) Definitions. For purposes of this Section 205. 5, the following definitions shall apply:
"Development Project" has the meaning set forth in the definition of Eligible Development Site.
"Eligible Area" means the Commercial (CJ, Residential-Commercial (RC), Downtown
Residential {DTR). and Neighborhood Commercial Transit (NCT) Districts, and, Mixed Use and
Neighborhood Commercial (NC) Districts within the area bounded by Market Street, 13th
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Street/Duboce Avenue, Division Street, and King Street,_in Mixed Use and Neighborhood
Commercial (NC) Districts~
"Eligible Development Site" means a legal lot on which all of the following requirements
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have been satisfied: (1) an application has been submitted and accepted either to permit demolition I
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of an existing structure, or to permit alterations sufficiently extensive to be considered, in the judgment I
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o[the Planning Director, tantamount to demolition for the purposes ofthis Section 205.5; (2)
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applications and the associated fees have been submitted and accepted to obtain all required land use!
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and permit entitlements for an associated development project that, if approved and completed,
would result in greater residential density than the residential density existing as of the time
both the land use and permit entitlement applications were submitted to the City
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("Development Project"): (3) provided that a Development Project proposes to include
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residential uses, it would result in greater residential density than the residential density
existing as of the time both the land use and permit entitlement applications were submitted to I
the City; and (-6~) applications and the associated fees have been submitted and accepted to evaluate I
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compliance o[the Development Project with the California Environmental Quality Act (California
Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq.) pursuant to Administrative Code Section 31.22.
"Interim Activity" means any Entertainment, Arts and Recreation Use; anv Arts Activities! I
Use: any Entertainment, General Use: any Social Service or Philanthropic Facility Use; any
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Homeless Shelter Use;__illlY_.Agriculture/Beverage Processing 1, Light Mamifacturing, or Metal I
Working Use permitted either C end iii on ally or P rin cipa lly within a PD R-1-D District; any Reta ii o rl
Institutional Use regardless of Use size; and/or any Use Principally or Conditionally permitted in I
the subject zoning district and/or any Office Use, so long as such Office space is less than 5,000
gross square feet and an equal or greater square footage of space is established within a
building on the same Eligible Development Site and dedicated for Arts Activities Use and/or
Light Manufacturing Use. In addition, in order for Office Use to constitute an Interim Activity,
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such l\rts Activities Use and/or Light Manufacturing Use occupancies or activities must
commence on the Eligible Development Site prior to or simultaneously with the Office Use
occupancies or activities, and the Arts Activities Use and/or Light Manufacturing Use
occupancies or activities must continue for the full duration of the Office Use occupancies or
activities.
(c) Application. The property owner or the property owner's authorized agent ("Applicant")
shall submit an application for temporary use to the Planning Department, on a form prepared by the
Planning Department. The application shall be accompanied by the applicable fees pursuant to
Planning Code Section 350 and shall include an affidavit signed by the Applicant and, as applicable,
each tenant occupying any portion o[the Eligible Development Site for the Interim Activity, or each
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tenant's authorized agent, acknowledging that the use ofthe Eligible Development Site for the Interim
Activity is temporary and subject to the time limits set forth in this Section 205. 5 and acknowledging
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that the Applicant has to pay any outstanding fees, invoices, or penalties owed to City agencies, and is .
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in compliance with all requirements o[the Municipal Code, including any requirements to file Updates I
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to Institutional Master Plans and abate any Code or Building Code violations. The Applicant shall not I
be required to pay additional fees set forth in Article 4 of the Planning Code as a prerequisite to
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obtaining temporary use authorization pursuant to this Section 205. 5.
(d) New, Additional, or Modified Temporary Uses. New, additional, or modified temporary
uses that were not previously approved by the Planning Director shall be reviewed through the filing ofl
a new application and submillal ofa new application fee.
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(e) New Tenants. Additional or different tenants (each a "New Tenant") may commence
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occupancy within and use of the Eligible Development Site in question without additional applications I
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or fees, provided that each New Tenant submits a completed affidavit to the Department attesting to the I
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truthfitlness and correctness o[the previously submitted application and declaring that the New Tenant I
will not discontinue, add to, or modifj; the approved Interim Activity.
Mayor Breed; Supervisor Haney
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(/) No Conversion, Change, Discontinuance, or Abandonment of Use. The approval or
commencement of an Interim Activity as a temporary use as authorized under this Section 205. 5 shall
not be considered a conversion, discontinuance, abandonment, or change of use for purposes of this
Code, notwithstanding Sections 182 and 183 ofthis Code. Any property for which the Interim Activity
is authorized shall retain its authorized land use(s). Such authorized land uses, including any
nonconforming uses, shall become operative upon the expiration, termination, or abandonment of such
temporary use authorization.
(g) Fenestration, Transparency, and Visibility Requirements. Construction proposed in
connection with the Interim Activity shall not cause noncompliance or exacerbate existing
noncompliance with respect to fenestration, transparency, or any other visibility requirement of Section
145.1 ofthis Code. Further, no film, adhesive, blinds, or other treatment may be applied to any
existing fenestration.
(h) Information To Be Available To Public. The Department shall make available to the public
in the Planning Department's main office and on its website a list of all applications approved under
this Section 205. 5, along with applicable time frames and any additional information the Planning
Department deems usefitl for or relevant to the continued and successfitl activation of those spaces in
the Eligible Area.
(i) Extension oflnitial Period. Upon the Planning Director's determination that permits for
the Development Project are being and have been diligently pursued, and that the Interim Activity has
been consistent with public convenience, necessity, or the general welfare ofthe City, the Planning
Director is authorized to permit the Interim Activity to exceed the Initial Period for an additional
period not to exceed 12 months. The Planning Director is authorized to extend the Initial Period up to
#tree two times (the first time being the extension referenced in the previous sentence) such that each
extension o[the Initial Period may be up to 12 months, each extension shall require a separate
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determination of the Planning Director according to this Section 205. 5 (i), and the authorization o[the
Interim Activity may not exceed a total duration of~ 60 months.
(j) Other Temporary Uses. Authorization of an Interim Activity pursuant to this Section 205. 5
shall not preclude the authorization of any other temporary uses recognized in Sections 205.1 through
205.4.
Section 4. 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.
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Section 5. 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.
Section 6. Ordinance No. 27 4-19, which will be effective December 28, 2019, revised
the text of Planning Code Section 205.2. The text of Section 205.2, as it appears in this
ordinance, includes the revisions made in Ordinance No. 274-19.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DENNIS . H~RRERA, City Attorney
By:
OPHER T. T
Deputy City Attorney
n:\legana\as2020\ 1900067\01422563.docx
Mayor Breed; Supervisor Haney
BOARD OF SUPERViSORS
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City Hall
City and County of San Francisco
Tails
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
Ordinance
File Number:
190355
Date Passed:
February 25, 2020
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to enable the use of development project sites during the
project approval and entitlement process by authorizing the Planning Department to authorize
certain interim activities at development project sites as Temporary Uses for up to 36 months,
subject to extension at the discretion of the Planning Director in increments for up to a maximum
possible total of 24 additional months; adopting the Planning Department's determination under the
California Environmental Quality Act; making findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the
eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1; and making findings of public convenience,
necessity, and welfare under Planning Code, Section 302.
July 08, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee - CONTINUED
Septembei 09, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee
THE CHAIR
f"'r'll\ITll\11 rr::n Tr\ ("LI I I nr::
V'Vl'll I 11'\IVL-LJ
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December 16, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee -AMENDED
December 16, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee -AMENDED
December 16, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee -AMENDED
December 16, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee -AMENDED
December 16, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED AS
AMENDED
January 07, 2020 Board of Supervisors - RE-REFERRED
Ayes: 11 - Fewer, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai,
Stefani, Walton and Yee
January 27, 2020 Land Use and Transportation Committee -AMENDED, AN
AMENDMENT OF THE WHOLE BEARING SAME TITLE
January 27, 2020 Land Use and Transportation Committee - CONTINUED AS AMENDED
February 03, 2020 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED
February 03, 2020 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED
February 11, 2020 Board of Supervisors - PASSED ON FIRST READING
City and County of San Francisco
Ayes: 11 - Fewer, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai,
Stefani, Walton and Yee
Pagel
Printed at 9:21 am 011 2126120
February 25, 2020 Board of Supervisors - FINALLY PASSED
Ayes: 11 - Fewer, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai,
Stefani, Walton and Yee
File No. 190355
London N. Breed
Mayor
City and County of San Francisco
Page2
I hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance was FINALLY PASSED on
2/25/2020 by the Board of Supervisors of
the City and County of San Francisco.
'
Date Approved
Printed at 9:21 am on 2126120
