AMENDED IN COMMITTEE
FILE NO. 221023
1/23/2023
ORDINANCE NO. 011-23
[Planning Code - Grocery Stores in Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District]
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to authorize replacement of a Legacy General
Grocery use with a subsequent General Grocery use in excess of 4,000 square feet in
the Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District; affirming the Planning
Department's determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; and:
making findings of consistency with the General Plan and the eight priority policies of
Planning Code, Section 101.1; and making findings of public necessity, convenience,
and welfare pursuant to 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 itelics Times Ne,f Remen font.
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. 221023 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board affirms
this determination.
(b) On December 1, 2022, the Planning Commission, in Resolution No. 21212,
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
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Board adopts these findings as its own. A copy of said Resolution is on file with the 2 of the
Board of Supervisors in File No. 221023, and is incorporated herein by reference.
(c}
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. 21212, 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
No. 221023.
Section 2. The Planning Code is hereby amended by revising Sections 121.2 and 723,
to read as follows:
SEC. 121.2. NON-RESIDENTIAL USE SIZE LIMITS IN NEIGHBORHOOD
COMMERCIAL AND NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL TRANSIT DISTRICTS.
* * * *
(b) In order to protect and maintain a scale of development appropriate to each
district, Non- Residential .f!Y:.ses that exceed the square footage stated in the table below shall
not be permitted, except in the following circumstances:
(1) In the Castro Street Neighborhood Commercial District, a Child Care
Facility, School, Post-Secondary Educational Institution, Religious Institution, Social Service
or Philanthropic Facility, Community Facility, or a Residential Care Facility as defined in
Section 102 of this Code that is operated by a non-profit and is neighborhood-serving may
exceed this Subsection 121.2(b) with Conditional Use authorization.
(2) In the Regional Commercial District, Schools and Childcare Facilities as
defined in Section 102 may exceed this Subsection 121.2(b) with Conditional Use
authorization.
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(3) In the Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District, this subsection
121.2(b) shall not apply to a Movie Theater use, or the expansion ofan existing General Grocery
Use, as defined in Section 102 of this Code, and pursuant to the controls o(Section 723.
The use area shall be measured as the Gross Floor Area for each individual Non-
Residential use.
District
Use Size Limits
West Portal
4,000 ~square feet
t----------------------i
North Beach
Castro Street
Polk Street
Pacific Avenue
Regional Commercial District
25,000 square feet
SEC. 723. POLK STREET NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL DISTRICT.
(a) Background. Sitting in the gulch between Nob and Russian Hills and Pacific
Heights, the Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District extends for a mile as a north-
south linear strip, and includes a portion of Larkin Street between Post and California Streets.
Polk Street's dense mixed-use character consists of buildings with residential units above
ground-story commercial use. The district has an active, pedestrian-oriented, and continuous
commercial frontage along Polk Street for almost all of its length. Larkin Street and side
streets in the district have a greater proportion of residences than Polk Street itself. California
Street and Hyde Street also have active, pedestrian-oriented, and commercial frontage that is
small-scale. The district is well served by transit and includes the historic California Cable Car.
To preserve and maintain the district's small-scale, fine grain storefronts, the consolidation or
merger of existing retail or commercial spaces or storefronts is generally prohibited and lot
mergers are controlled. The district provides convenience goods and services to the
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residential communities in the Polk Gulch neighborhood and to the residents on the west
slopes of Nob and Russian Hills. It has many apparel and specialty stores, as well as some
automobile uses, which serve a broader trade area. Commercial uses also include offices, as
well as movie theaters, restaurants, and bars which keep the district active into the evening.
(b) Controls.
* * * *
(2) Replacement of a Legacy Business Requires Conditional Use
Authorization. Where an immediately prior use was a Legacy Business, as defined under
Administrative Code Section 2A.242, the controls require any new Non-Residential .fJy_se to
obtain Conditional Use authorization; provided, however, that this requirement shall not apply
where: (A) the subject non-residential space has had no occupant and has not been open to
the public for three or more years from the date the application for the new use is filed, &-(B)
whef,e the Legacy Business has removed itself or has been otherwise removed from the
Legacy Business Registry, or (C) the Legacy Business is an existing General Grocery use and is
replaced by another business classified as a General Grocery use, and only if the existing General
Grocery use is expanded into a building on the same Lot.
(3) Merger of Storefronts Prohibited. To preserve and maintain the district's
small-scale, fine grain storefronts, the consolidation or merger of existing ground floor retail or
commercial spaces or storefronts shall be prohibited, except that two adjacent storefronts may
be consolidated or merged if~ the storefronts are for a Legacy Business on a corner lot
within the same building and Block and Lot number, and provided that the consolidation or
merger of storefronts would not result in a use size in excess of the principally permitted use
size within the Polk Street NCO, or (B) the storefronts are merged by a General Grocery use in
association with the replacement of a Legacy Business that is also a General Grocery use, and the
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expansion of the General Grocery use is within a building on the same Lot, and is consistent with the
size limitations in Section 121. 2.
* * * *
Table 723. POLK STREET NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
ZONING CONTROL TABLE
I Polk Street NCO
Zoning Category
§ References I
Controls
NON-RESIDENTIAL STANDARDS AND USES (7)
* * * *
Controls by Story
1st
2nd
3rd+
* * * *
Sales and Service Use Category
Retail Sales and Service Uses*
§§ 102,
p
p
NP
202.2(a),
202.3
* * * *
Flexible Retail
§ 102
NP
NP
NP
Grocery, General
§§ 102,
p (2)
p
NP
121.2 (2)
* * * *
* * * *
(2) USE SIZE EXEMPTION: Per Planning Code Section 121.2(b}, Use Size shall
generally not exceed 4,000 square feet except that a Movie Theater as defined in Section 102
may exceed 4,000 square feet. In addition, the enlargement ofan existing General Grocery use on
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the same Lot, and in association with the replacement of a Legacy Business that is also a General
Grocery use. may exceed 4. 000 square feet.
* * * *
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.
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/ Austin Yang
AUSTIN M. YANG
Deputy City Attorney
n :\legana\as2022\230007 4 \01632623.docx
Supervisors Peskin; Preston
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page
City and County of San Francisco
Tails
Ordinance
City Hall
I Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
File Number:
221023
Date Passed: January 31, 2023
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to authorize replacement of a Legacy General Grocery use
with a subsequent General Grocery use in excess of 4,000 square feet in the Polk Street Neighborhood
Commercial District; affirming the Planning Department's determination under the California
Environmental Quality Act; and making findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight
priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1; and making findings of public necessity, convenience,
and welfare pursuant to Planning Code, Section 302.
January 23, 2023 Land Use and Transportation Committee - AMENDED, AN AMENDMENT
OF THE WHOLE BEARING NEW TITLE
January 23, 2023 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED AS
AMENDED AS A COMMITTEE REPORT
January 24, 2023 Board of Supervisors - PASSED ON FIRST READING
Ayes: 11 - Chan, Dorsey, Engardio, Mandelman, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen,
Safai, Stefani and Walton
January 31, 2023 Board of Supervisors - Fl NALLY PASSED
Ayes: 11 - Chan, Dorsey, Engardio, Mandelman, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen,
Safai, Stefani and Walton
File No. 221023
London N. Breed
Mayor
City and County of San Francisco
Page 1
I hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance was FINALLY PASSED on
1/31/2023 by the Board of Supervisors of the
City and County of San Francisco.
Angela Calvillo
Clerk of the Board
Date Approved
Printed at 9:49 am on 2/1/23