Planning Ahead
by M. Brett Gladstone
The following column is a new quarterly feature that focuses on the types of approvals under the City’s Planning and Building Codes that owners need in order to perform work on residential or certain commercial properties. All section numbers below refer to sections of the San Francisco Planning Code as of December 2003.
Grandfathered Features
You should keep in mind for the most part but not always that existing
conditions on your property do not have the following
provisions applied to them if your building was built
prior to the time that these code provisions went into
effect and if the portion of your property being analyzed
is built with permits. The following provisions may
apply to portions of your property built without permits
or beyond the scope of permits.
Type of Use
The Zoning Use District describes how your property
may be used. To determine what uses are permitted and
at what densities, you must find out which Zoning Use
District applies to your property. After obtaining this
information, visit City Planning at 1660 Mission Street
or call 558-6377 and give them your information, so
they can look up your Zoning Use District in the Block
Book.
Height and Bulk
Article 2.5 of the Planning Code describes the maximum
building height and bulk that are permitted. The city
is divided into Height and Bulk Districts that are shown
on the Official Zoning Map. The allowable height for
your property depends on which District applies to your property.
The methods for measuring height are very specific and
are unusual for properties on inclines.
Parking
The required number and dimensions of parking spaces
are determined by the use on the property and, in some
cases, by the zoning district and the amount of space
occupied by the use. In all purely residential districts,
one parking space is required for each living unit added.
Another important parking rule is that once required
parking is provided, it cannot be taken away unless
you have been granted a variance. Projects that involve
any reduction in the number of required off-street parking
spaces, whether in a building or an open area, are specifically
forbidden by Section 150 (d), unless a variance is granted.
Usable Open Space
Usable open space refers to the amount of outdoor space
that must be made available to each dwelling unit. While
usable open space may be provided in the rear yard,
these are two separate requirements. Open space may
be provided in yards, balconies, decks, roof decks and/or
court-yards.
Rear Yard Setback or Rear
Yard
Rear yard setback or simply rear yard refers to an area
(usually in the back of a lot) where you cannot build
any structures. In residential districts, the rear yard
is required to be kept open on every story, not just
on the ground floor. In all districts there are certain
exceptions called permitted obstructions (such as certain
kinds of decks and small garden structures) that may
be built in parts of the rear yard. Parking is not permitted
in the rear yards.
Side Yards
Side yards refer to the area on the sides of a lot that
are required to be kept open. Side yards are only required
in
RH-1(D) [single-family detached house] districts.
The General Plan
The city has a General Plan, which is required by state
law to guide future development. The General Plan consists
of broad policy statements that are implemented through
the more specific zoning regulations in San Francisco’s
Planning Code. All proposals are evaluated for
conformance with General Plan policies.
Design Review
In the case of a building permit
application for new construction and alteration of residential
buildings in RH and RM districts, and recently in certain
commercial/industrialdistricts the
exterior design of buildings is reviewed by Planning
Department staff for compliance with the department’s“Design Guidelines.”
Apartment building owners may not realize that even
the replacement of original wood windows with metal
windows may not survive Planning Department scrutiny.
Generally, no
demolition permits are issued for buildings not in imminent
danger of collapse, unless an approval of a replacement
structure is obtained. An alteration is defined
(Sections 311 and 312) as any change in use of a building
or an increase to the building envelope of a residential
building or buildings in neighborhood commercial zones.
Neighborhood Notification
Section 311 and 312 requires the Planning Department
to notify your neighbors of all building permit applications
that seek the demolition or exterior alteration of buildings
in residential (and certain commercial) zones before
the department approves the permit. This notification
to neighbors, required by Section 311, is responsible
for most of the discretionary review cases heard by
the commission.
Discretionary Review
The Planning Commission may elect to review a project
that has a pending building permit application, if the
commission believes the alteration of the building could
have detrimental effects on the community. Any citizen
can also request such a Planning Commission review.
This discretionary review power, though originally intended
to be rarely used, may be applied to any project, including
those that comply completely with the various codes.
The Planning Commission decides to exercise its discretionary
review power by majority vote after a public hearing.
In addition to this neighbor-initiated process, the
department staff itself may initiate such a commission
hearing for certain types of projects (for example,
all mergers of dwelling units).
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. The information contained in this article is general in nature and should not be used in place of advice on specific code requirements. The author does not intend the text of this article to provide legal advice to the reader who should seek the advice of professionals regarding the specifics of their project. M. Brett Gladstone is a partner in the San Francisco real-estate law firm of Gladstone & Associates, a firm that works exclusively in the areas of real estate and land-use law, the Planning Code, Building Code, Subdivision Code, condominium law and other local ordinances relating to real estate. The firm does not practice in the area of landlord/tenant law. The author can be reached at 415-434-9500. Copyright © 2004.