Planning Code - Fulton Street Grocery Store Special Use District
Ord. No. 0254-19
in effectAMENDED IN COMMITTEE
FILE NO. 190839
10/21/2019
ORDINANCE NO. 254-19
[Planning Code - Fulton Street Grocery Store Special Use District]
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to allow a grocery store use that is a formula
retail use in the Fulton Street Grocery Store Special Use District ("District"), on Fulton
Street between Laguna and Octavia Streets, subject to conditional use authorization,
and adding criteria for such authorization; clarify the definition of a grocery store use
within the District; eliminate square footage requirements for commercial uses in the
District other than a grocery store and for subsequent uses in a location previously
approved for a grocery store; extend the time period for effectiveness of controls for
the District to five years from the effective date of the Ordinance; and making
environmental findings, findings of consistency with the General Plan and the eight
priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1, and findings of public necessity,
convenience, 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 }lerv Roman 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. 190839 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board affirms
Supervisor Brown
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 1
this determination.
(b) On October 17, 2019, the Planning Commission, in Resolution No. 20546, 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. 190839, and is incorporated herein by reference.
(c) Pursuant to Planning Code Section 302, the Board finds that this Planning Code
amendment will serve the public necessity, convenience, and welfare for the reasons set forth
in Planning Commission Resolution No. 20546 and the Board incorporates such reasons
1 O
herein by reference. A copy of Planning Commission Resolution No. 20546 is on file with the
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 190839.
Section 2. Article 2 of the Planning Code is hereby amended by revising Section
249.35A, to read as follows:
SEC. 249.35A. FULTON STREET GROCERY STORE SPECIAL USE DISTRICT.
(a) Purpose. In order to provide for the consideration of a neighborhood-serving
grocery store of moderate size in a location accessible to the Hayes Valley and Western
Addition neighborhoods, there shall be a Fulton Street Grocery Store Special Use District,
consisting of Lots 001 and 058 through 198, inclusive, 015, and 028 of Assessor's Block 0794,_
between Laguna and Octavia Streets, as designated on Sectional Map 2SU of the Zoning Map.
This Special Use District would enable the consideration of a project containing a grocery
store in a district that does not permit such uses and (}fa building height notpermitted by the
established height limitations in the surrounding }llCT district. This Special Use District would
conditionally permit a grocery store that is a formula retail use, in order to allow consideration ofa
grocery store that is affordable to the neighborhood. l\ non formula retail grocery store may be
Supervisor Brown
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 2
less affordable, and tThis one-time lift of the ban on formula retail is intended to support an
affordable grocery store that is committed to serving and hiring from the neighborhood. According to
the US. Census Bureau's 2017 American Community Survey, the median household income in the
surrounding neighborhood is $24, 041, and over one-third ofresidents in the neighborhood live below
the poverty line.
(b) Definition. "Grocery Store" shall mean a retail use that provides fresh produce and
other unprepared perishable food products (such as dairy, fish, grains), in addition to other
general groceries, personal items, household goodsL and similar goods. The term "Grocery
Store" includes General Grocery and Specialty Grocery uses.
1 O
(c) Application. This sSpecial uUse dDistrict shall apply only to projects that meet all
of the following standards:
(1) The p::Project is mixed-use, with both commercial and residential uses;
(2) Commercial uses include a gGrocery sStore larger than 15,000 square feet
of gross occupied floor area; and
(3) Residential uses achieve a density of not less than 1 unit per 600 square
feet of lot area,_
(d) Controls. The following controls apply to projects meeting the criteria of
subsection (c) and to any subsequent alterations or changes of use in a building approved
under this Section 249.35A.
(1) The controls of the Hayes-Gough NCT apply in their entirety, except as
specified in this Section.
(2) Any commercial uses in addition to the grocery store may not exceed 3, 000 square
feet ofoccupiedjloor area per use.All formula retail uses are prohibited, except for a Grocery Store,
which may be permitted as a formula retail use, as defined in Section 303.1, through Conditional Use
Authorization pursuant to Section 303.1. Pursuant to the Planning Code, any such formula retail
Supervisor Brown
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 3
Grocery Store shall be subject to all provisions ofSection 303.1, including but not limited to subsection
(j) ofSection 303.1.
(3) Accessory off-street parking shall not be permitted for any commercial use
except the gGrocery sStore.
(4) All subsequent changes of use shall require Conditional Use authorization
from the Planning Commission. The only Non-Residential Uses that may be permitted in the
space initially approved for a gGrocery s&t:ore shall include Trade Shop, and Institutional Uses,
excluding Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, Hospitals,_ and Philanthropic Administrative
Services, except that General Retail Sales and Services, Pharmacy, or General or Specialty
Grocery uses may be permitted provided that no individual tenant occupies more than 3, 000 square
feet o.f Gross Floor Area.
(5) In addition to the standard criteria {Or Conditional Use authorization, as set {Orth in
Sections 303 and, if applicable, 303.1, a project sponsor proposing a Grocery Store shall also present
information about the a{fordability of.food (or the Commission's consideration. The Commission shall
consider such information, as well as whether the project sponsor can demonstrate that the proposed
Grocery Store will accept payment assistance, as set forth below.
(A) Acceptance of Payment Assistance. The project sponsor shall describe the
proposed Grocery Store's commitment to accept payment from individuals through assistance
programs including but not limited to the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (or
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and other similar public assistance programs.
(B) Food Affordability Projection. The project sponsor shall prepare a
projection offood affordability at the proposed location and submit it (or review by the Planning
Commission. The projection shall consist of current retail pricing (or a sampling of everyday grocery
items that represent all categories within the market basket of(oods maintained by the USDA 's Center
Supervisor Brown
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 4
for Nutrition Policy and Promotion for their Official USDA Food Plans.
(C) Periodis Reporting Requirement. In addition to the other
requirements of this subsection (d)(5), a project sponsor shall submit for revievv by the
Commission the information required in subsections (/\) and (B) of this subsection (d)(5),
updated to reflect current conditions, 'avithin five years after the last submission of such
information, upon a change of ovmership of the Grocery Store site, or upon the operation of a
new Grocery Store at the site, whichever is earliest.
(JQ.) Signs shall be subject to the requirements of Article 6 of this Code, except
that allowable business signs for the gGrocery sStore shall be limited to the following:
1 O
(A) Window Signs. The total area of all window signs, as set forth in
Section 602.1 (b), shall not exceed 10% of the area of the window on or in which the signs are
located. Such signs may be non-illuminated.
(B) Wall Signs. The total area of all wall signs shall not exceed 40
square feet on the Fulton Street frontage occupied by the use, and 40 square feet on the
Laguna Street frontage occupied by the use. The height of any wall sign shall not exceed 24
feet,_ or the height of the wall to which it is attached, or the height of the lowest of any
residential windowsill on the wall to which the sign is attached, whichever is lower. Such signs
may be non-illuminated or indirectly illuminated.
(C) Projecting Signs. The number of projecting signs shall not exceed
one per business. The area of such sign, as set forth in Section 602.1 (a), shall not exceed 24
square feet. The height of such sign shall not exceed 24 feet, or the height of the wall to which
it is attached, or the height of the lowest of any residential windowsill on the wall to which the
sign is attached, whichever is lower. No part of the sign shall project more than 75%percent of
the horizontal distance from the street property line to the curbline, or six feet six inches,
whichever is less. Such signs may be non-illuminated or indirectly illuminated.
Supervisor Brown
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 5
(D) Signs on Awnings and Marquees. Sign copy may be located on
permitted awnings or marquees in lieu of wall signs. The area of such sign copy as set forth in
Section 602.1 (c) shall not exceed 40 square feet on the Fulton Street frontage occupied by
the use, and 40 square feet on the Laguna Street frontage occupied by the use. Such sign
copy may be non-illuminated or indirectly illuminated.
(E) Freestanding Signs and Sign Towers. Freestanding signs or sign
towers per lot shall not be permitted.
(e) Effectiveness of Controls in this OrdinaneeSpecial Use District. The controls of
this Section 249.35A shall apply only to a gGrocery sStore that the Planning Commission
1 O
approves pursuant to the requirements of this Section 249.35A between A1ay 4, 2008 and
January 1, 2019within 5 years ofthe effective date ofthe ordinance in Board File No. 180939190839,
amending this Section.
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
Ill
Ill
Ill
Supervisor Brown
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 6
additions, and Board amendment deletions in accordance with the "Note" that appears under
the official title of the ordinance.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DENNIS J. HERRERA, City Attorney
By:
F
,,
l/~,/ll~~,_*
'
'~-,,~~,~.,
VICTORIA WONG ...
Deputy City Attorney\
n:\legana\as2019\1900663\01400963.docx
Supervisor Brown
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 7
City and County of San Francisco
Tails
Ordinance
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
File Number:
190839
Date Passed: November 05, 2019
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to allow a grocery store use that is a formula retail use in
the Fulton Street Grocery Store Special Use District ("District"), on Fulton Street between Laguna
and Octavia Streets, subject to conditional use authorization, and adding criteria for such
authorization; clarify the definition of a grocery store use within the District; eliminate square footage
requirements for commercial uses in the District other than a grocery store and for subsequent uses
in a location previously approved for a grocery store; extend the time period for effectiveness of
controls for the District to five years from the effective date of the Ordinance; and making
environmental findings, findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight priority policies
of Planning Code, Section 101.1, and findings of public necessity, convenience, and welfare under
Planning Code, Section 302.
October 21, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee -AMENDED, AN
AMENDMENT OF THE WHOLE BEARING SAME TITLE
October 21, 2019 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED AS
AMENDED
October 29, 2019 Board of Supervisors - PASSED ON FIRST READING
Ayes: 10 - Brown, Fewer, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Peskin, Ronen, Safai, Stefani
and Yee
Excused: 1 - Walton
November 05, 2019 Board of Supervisors - FINALLY PASSED
City and County of San Francisco
Ayes: 10 - Fewer, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Peskin, Ronen, Safai, Stefani, Walton
and Yee
Excused: 1 - Brown
Pagel
Printed at 11:03 am on 1116/19
File No. 190839
London N. Breed
Mayor
City and County of San Francisco
Page2
I hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance was FINALLY PASSED on
11/5/2019 by the Board of Supervisors of
the City and County of San Francisco.
Date Approved
Printed at 11 :03 am 011 1116119
References
amendsSec. 249.35
amendsSec. 249.36
amendsSec. 249.37
Source: sf_ordinance_pdfURL: https://sfbos.archive.sf.gov/sites/default/files/o0254-19.pdfFetched: 7/4/2026