FILE NO. 210535
ORDINANCE NO. 149-21
Supervisors Mandelman; Ronen, Preston, Peskin, Melgar, Mar
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 1
[Planning Code - Conditional Use Authorization Requirements Regarding Residential Care
Facilities]
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to eliminate the requirement of Conditional
Use Authorization for Residential Care Facilities for seven or more people in
Residential, House (RH) Districts; require Conditional Use Authorization for a change
of use or demolition of a Residential Care Facility, and consideration of certain factors
in determining whether to grant Conditional Use Authorization; affirming the Planning
Department’s determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; and
making findings of consistency with the General Plan, the eight priority policies of
Planning Code, Section 101.1, and public necessity, convenience, and general welfare
findings 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 italics Times New 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. Land Use and Environmental 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. 210535 and is incorporated herein by reference. The Board affirms
this determination.
Supervisors Mandelman; Ronen, Preston, Peskin, Melgar, Mar
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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(b) On July 22, 2021, the Planning Commission, in Resolution No. 20944, 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. 210535, and is incorporated herein by reference.
(c) Pursuant to Planning Code Section 302, the Board of Supervisors finds that this
ordinance will serve the public necessity, convenience, and welfare for the reasons set forth in
Planning Commission Resolution No. 20944, recommending approval of the proposed
designation.
Section 2. General Findings.
(a) Residential Care Facilities, as defined in Planning Code Sections 102 and
890.50(e) and established with or without the benefit of any permits required under City law,
provide lodging, board, and care for 24 hours or more to persons in need of specialized aid by
State-licensed personnel, and include board and care homes, family care homes, long-term
nurseries, orphanages, rest homes, or homes for the treatment of addictive, contagious, or
other diseases, or psychological disorders.
(b) San Francisco has the highest percentage of seniors and adults with disabilities of
any urban area in California, and the number of seniors is steadily increasing, especially those
over the age of 85.
(c) Over 40% of San Francisco’s seniors live without adequate support networks, in
part because their families cannot find affordable housing in the City or because they do not
have children. This problem is especially acute among LGBTQ seniors.
(d) In January 2019, the San Francisco Long-Term Care Coordinating Council’s
Assisted Living Workgroup issued a report regarding affordable assisted living in the City,
Supervisors Mandelman; Ronen, Preston, Peskin, Melgar, Mar
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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which is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors in File No. 210535, and which
found:
(1) As of August 2018, there were 101 assisted living facilities with a total of
2,518 assisted living beds and since 2012, the City had lost 43 assisted living facilities which
had provided 243 assisted living facility beds;
(2) The number of assisted living facilities in the City has decreased, and the
decrease has primarily occurred through the closure of small facilities, particularly the board
and care homes with six or fewer beds, which are generally more affordable than other
facilities;
(3) Assisted living facilities in the City face economic challenges, such as slim
profit margins and difficulty in finding employees, which make it difficult for them to continue to
operate; and
(4) There is unmet need for affordable assisted living facility placements, and as
of January 2019, available waitlist data indicated that at least 103 persons require such
placements.
(e) In October 2019, the City adopted Resolution No. 430-19, which imposed interim
controls for an 18-month period to require Conditional Use Authorization and specified
findings for a proposed change of use from a Residential Care Facility.
(f) The Planning Department issued a report dated January 29, 2021, which found
that, since the effective date of Resolution No. 430-19 on October 11, 2019:
(1) Two Conditional Use applications had been filed for the removal of a
Residential Care Facility, one seeking to convert a previously closed facility with five assisted
living beds into a single-family home, and the second to convert a closed facility with six
assisted living beds into two residential units; and
Supervisors Mandelman; Ronen, Preston, Peskin, Melgar, Mar
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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(2) Residential Care Facilities are considered an Institutional Use that is
permitted in Residential zoning districts, with the exception of the RH-1 and RH-2 zoning
districts, where new Residential Care Facilities of seven or more beds are conditionally
permitted; are not permitted in PDR districts; are not permitted on the ground floor in the North
Beach and Folsom Street Neighborhood Commercial Districts and Regional Commercial
Districts, and are conditionally permitted on the upper floors in those districts; and are
conditionally permitted in the Pacific Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District.
(g) The circumstances that caused the City to adopt the interim controls continue to
exist, with preliminary data provided by the Human Services Agency showing the loss of an
additional 11 assisted living facilities from January 2019 to January 2021, accounting for a
loss during that period of 226 assisted living facility beds in facilities with fewer than 100 beds.
(h) In April 2021, the City adopted Resolution No. 139-21, which extended the interim
controls for an additional 6-month period to require Conditional Use Authorization and
specified findings for a proposed change of use from a Residential Care Facility through
October 11, 2021.
Section 3. The Planning Code is hereby amended by adding Section 202.11 and
revising Sections 209.1 and 303, to read as follows:
* * * *
SEC. 202.11. LIMITATION ON CHANGE IN USE OR DEMOLITION OF RESIDENTIAL CARE
FACILITY.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article 2, a change in use or demolition of a
Residential Care Facility use, as defined in Section 102, shall require Conditional Use authorization
pursuant to Section 303, including the specific conditions in that Section for conversion of such a use.
This Section 202.11 shall not authorize a change in use if the new use or uses are otherwise prohibited.
Supervisors Mandelman; Ronen, Preston, Peskin, Melgar, Mar
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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SEC. 209.1. RH (RESIDENTIAL, HOUSE) DISTRICTS.
Table 209.1
ZONING CONTROL TABLE FOR RH DISTRICTS
Zoning Category
§ References
RH-1(D)
RH-1
RH-1(S)
RH-2
RH-3
* * * *
NON-RESIDENTIAL STANDARDS AND USES
* * * *
Institutional Use Category
Institutional Uses*
§ 102
NP
NP
NP
NP
NP
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
Residential Care
Facility
§ 102
P(3)
P(3)
P(3)
P(3)
P
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* Not listed below.
* * * *
(3) [Note deleted]C required for seven or more persons.
* * * *
Supervisors Mandelman; Ronen, Preston, Peskin, Melgar, Mar
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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SEC. 303. CONDITIONAL USES.
* * * *
(aa) Change in Use or Demolition of Residential Care Facility. With respect to a change of
use from or demolition of a Residential Care Facility, as defined in Sections 102 and 890.50(e) of the
Planning Code, including a Residential Care Facility established with or without the benefit of any
permits required under the Municipal Code, in addition to the criteria set forth in subsections (c) and
(d) of this Section 303, the Commission shall take into account the following factors when considering
a Conditional Use Authorization for the change of use or demolition of a Residential Care Facility:
(1) Information provided by the Department of Public Health, the Human Services
Agency, the Department of Disability and Aging Services, the Golden Gate Regional Center, and/or the
San Francisco Long-Term Care Coordinating Council with regard to the population served, nature and
quality of services provided, and capacity of the existing Residential Care Facility;
(2) Data on available beds at licensed Residential Care Facilities within a one-mile
radius of the site, and assessment from any of the above agencies regarding whether these available
beds are sufficient to serve the need for residential care beds in the neighborhoods served by the
Residential Care Facility proposed for a change of use or demolition, and in San Francisco;
(3) Whether the Residential Care Facility proposed for a change of use or demolition
will be relocated or its capacity will be replaced at another Residential Care Facility Use, and whether
such relocation or replacement is practically feasible; and
(4) Whether the continued operation of the existing Residential Care Facility by the
current operator is practically feasible and whether any other licensed operator or any of the above
agencies has been contacted by the applicant seeking the change of use or demolition, or has expressed
interest in continuing to operate the facility.
Supervisors Mandelman; Ronen, Preston, Peskin, Melgar, Mar
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Page 7
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.
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.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DENNIS J. HERRERA, City Attorney
By:
/s/ Victoria Wong
VICTORIA WONG
Deputy City Attorney
n:\legana\as2021\2100249\01530971.docx
Tails
City and County of San Francisco
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
Ordinance
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to eliminate the requirement of Conditional Use
Authorization for Residential Care Facilities for seven or more people in Residential, House (RH)
Districts; require Conditional Use Authorization for a change of use or demolition of a Residential
Care Facility, and consideration of certain factors in determining whether to grant Conditional Use
Authorization; affirming the Planning Department’s determination under the California Environmental
Quality Act; and making findings of consistency with the General Plan, the eight priority policies of
Planning Code, Section 101.1, and public necessity, convenience, and general welfare findings
pursuant to Planning Code, Section 302.
File Number:
September 21, 2021
Date Passed:
210535
September 13, 2021 Land Use and Transportation Committee - RECOMMENDED AS
COMMITTEE REPORT
September 14, 2021 Board of Supervisors - PASSED ON FIRST READING
Ayes: 11 - Chan, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai,
Stefani and Walton
September 21, 2021 Board of Supervisors - FINALLY PASSED
Ayes: 11 - Chan, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Melgar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Safai,
Stefani and Walton
I hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance was FINALLY PASSED on
9/21/2021 by the Board of Supervisors of
the City and County of San Francisco.
File No. 210535
Clerk of the Board
Angela Calvillo
Date Approved
London N. Breed
Mayor
Page 1
City and County of San Francisco
Printed at 2:57 pm on 9/22/21
9/29/21
