Following our recent weekly update, the Planning Department has decided to hold off on its proposal to scrap the Tantamount to Demolition Standard under Planning Code Section 317 and replace it with a new form-based Residential Expansion Threshold in the RH Districts. This announcement comes shortly before today’s previously scheduled informational Commission hearing.
From the Department’s website:
“The Planning Department regrets to announce that it has suspended efforts to advance the proposed Residential Expansion Threshold (RET) Project to allow for additional review.
The Residential Expansion Threshold Project’s primary objective is to eliminate the ineffective Tantamount to Demolition controls and place more emphasis on the size and density of buildings by incentivizing a higher number of residential units while discouraging exceedingly large single-family homes. However, the Department believes it is necessary to shift its approach, and instead work in collaboration with the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) to improve the City’s considerably complex definition of “demolition. ”
The Department believes in a comprehensive and sensible approach to guiding development in the City’s residential districts. We will update the Planning Commission and other key stakeholders in the coming months as further details are determined.”
We’ll keep you posted as the Department’s position on this issue evolves.
