Update on Site Permit Reform

| Gillian Allen
permit

On May 11, 2023, the San Francisco Planning Department gave a presentation on Permit Streamlining at a joint Building Inspection Commission and Planning Commission hearing.  The focus of the presentation was on ways that San Francisco agencies can improve on the existing permitting timelines which are known to be some of the longest in the State, due to lack of coordination, unclear steps for the applicants and use of outdated tools for tracking of workflows.  This is part of a key initiative to streamline and improve the project development and construction permitting process.

The Planning Department and the Department of Building Inspecation are partnering to create a process which will improve upon the current “Site Permit” process by creating a Development Review Permit.  If this process is adopted, it will allow applicants to apply online with the Planning Department through the Accela portal with an early set of plans, get a plan check letter within a short amount of time that has review comments from all City agencies including Planning, Building, Fire, DPW, SFPUC and BUF, as well as one cohesive list of all agency applications needed for the process.  The applicant will then be able to respond with a revised set of plans and responsive comments and, upon approval of the responses as well as filing of any additional applications identified in the plan check letter, will receive an issued Development Review Permit once entitlements are complete.  This permit will be appealable to the Board of Appeals.

After the Development Review Permit has been issued, construction level plans can be submitted through the Department of Building Inspection for review and issuance of construction permits through the addenda process.  Any construction documents submitted through the Addenda process will be protected from appeal as they are today.

Leading up to this presentation, both the Planning Department and Department of Building Inspection held meetings with the public to seek information and suggestions on process improvement.  Several of the suggestions were echoed at the joint hearing and the agencies will continue to work together to integrate and create the best process possible.  Many applicants are interested in what level of design documents will need to be submitted.  The Department of Building Inspection and the Planning Department are proposing that, at minimum, plans should provide enough information for agencies to perform a preliminary review of accessibility compliance, construction type, size and height of the building, fire protection to evaluate setbacks from property line and firewall or other fire protective design needs, as well as egress.  The Planning Department is also incorporating a list of review criteria proposed by the American Institute of Architects while the Department of Building Inspection is working on further defining what criteria they need for early review.  Both agencies are working towards finalizing these efforts on July 20, 2023 and will be holding workshops with the public thereafter to receive further feedback.  For more information and updates, please go to the information page.

 

Authored by Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP Manager, Post Entitlement Division Gillian Allen.

The issues discussed in this update are not intended to be legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is established with the recipient.  Readers should consult with legal counsel before relying on any of the information contained herein.  Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP is a full service real estate law firm.  We specialize in land use, development and entitlement law.  We also provide a wide range of transactional services, including leasing, acquisitions and sales, formation of limited liability companies and other entities, lending/workout assistance, subdivision and condominium work.

Building Department Update

| Gillian Allen
DBI

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (“DBI”) is working hard to improve on permit review and processing times. They launched a program called “Enhanced In-House Review Permit Application Process” on July 1, 2022, which should streamline the review and issuance of small and medium sized projects, and there are many new faces at the over-the-counter shifts which inevitably gives more seasoned staff time to work through their backlog.

The Enhanced In-House Review program incorporates suggestions from stakeholders and internal staff and creates new plan check categories. Until recently, DBI had only two options for plan review—Over-the-Counter and In-House review. For a project to qualify for Over-the-Counter review, the plan review needed to be an hour or less at each plan review station. Under their new Pre-Plan Check system launched on July 1, they added two new plan check categories for small to medium-sized projects that don’t qualify for Over-the-Counter review, but could be reviewed in one day after their assignment to a reviewer. Projects are now pre-screened per the criteria below:

Plan Check Category OTC Level 1 In-House Level 2 In-House Level 3 In-House Level 4
Time for plan review <1 hour 1-4 hours 4-8 hours >8 hours

New Central Queue

The new system also changes the way DBI assigns projects to plan reviewers. Previously, they assigned projects to plan reviewers as they came in—so if a plan reviewer had a large workload or went on vacation, customers waited longer for plan review. Under the new system, projects now go into a central queue and will be assigned to plan reviewers on a weekly basis. For customers, it means that once your project is assigned to a plan reviewer, you can expect DBI to begin review on your project in the next few business days. Over the past three weeks, the new process has effectively increased the quality of plan submissions and is helping DBI manage its workload better.

DBI’s next step is to remove projects from individual plan checker’s queues and to move all the existing in-house review project submissions into one queue and then begin assigning them to plan reviewers on a weekly basis.

The program has been in action for about two months, and according to the August update, DBI is pleased with the progress on the transition to the new process. About 68% of new applications have been accepted as complete and all of the older priority projects, such as affordable housing and Accessible Dwelling Units, have been assigned to a plan reviewer.

The new system also establishes a minimum 20 business days and maximum 40 business days target for DBI to respond to the application with comments for the applicant to clarify or address. Other agencies will attempt to match these turnaround thresholds but may have exceptions.

To ensure clear communication and to keep projects moving, DBI staff comments that cannot be or are not addressed with two resubmittals (ie: resubmitting revised plans), will be automatically escalated to a DBI plan check supervisor. Should a project have unresolved comments after four resubmittals, the project will automatically be escalated to the Deputy Director of Permit Services.

DBI plans to start posting updates to their website in September to let you know the date range of projects being assigned to DBI staff every week and appreciates your support as they move from the old system to a new system that will serve you better. Learn more here.

 

Authored by Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP Manager, Post Entitlement Division Gillian Allen.

The issues discussed in this update are not intended to be legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is established with the recipient.  Readers should consult with legal counsel before relying on any of the information contained herein.  Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP is a full service real estate law firm.  We specialize in land use, development and entitlement law.  We also provide a wide range of transactional services, including leasing, acquisitions and sales, formation of limited liability companies and other entities, lending/workout assistance, subdivision and condominium work.

Building Department and ADU Update

| Gillian Allen
ADU

The Code Advisory Committee of the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (“Building Department”) held a discussion with the public and with Building Department officials on December 8, 2021 to discuss concerns about the impact of suspending Information Sheet EG-02, which allowed a local equivalency for Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings (EEROs), opening into a yard with a minimum 25-foot depth. While the conversation did not result in an immediate solution, and the Building Department is unable to reinstate the equivalency because it is in direct violation of the building and fire codes, the Building Department stated their priority is to keep working with projects to try and find an alternate design. A recommendation was made that the Building Department work to create a task force to address this issue.

Ordinance 208-21: Additional Required Noticing for ADUs Now In Effect

On December 12, 2021, Ordinance No. 208-21, amending the Planning Code to clarify the requirements for applications to construct Accessory Dwelling Units (“ADU”) under the City’s local Accessory Dwelling Unit approval process, went into effect.

This Ordinance is intended, in part, to clarify the existing rules in the Rent Ordinance as to housing services. The term housing services refers to services provided by the landlord connected with the use or occupancy of a rental unit, including, but not limited to, access to areas such as garages, driveways, storage spaces, laundry rooms, decks, patios, gardens on the same lot, and kitchen facilities or lobbies in single room occupancy (SRO) hotels. This Ordinance clarifies that landlords may not sever, remove, or reduce housing services without just Notification.

Prior to submitting an ADU application, an owner must file a declaration with the Rent Board demonstrating the project will comply with the requirements of the Rent Control & Eviction Ordinance.

The declaration is to include: (1) a description of housing services supplied in connection with the use or occupancy of any units on the property that are located in the area of the property or building where the ADU would be constructed; (2) whether construction of the ADU would result in the severance, substantial reduction, or removal of any such housing services; and (3) whether any just causes for eviction would apply.

An owner must also mail or deliver notice to each unit (including unauthorized units) at the subject property at least 15 calendar days prior to submitting the application. The property owner shall submit proof of these notices to the Planning Department as part of the application to construct an ADU. These notices shall have a format and content determined by the Zoning Administrator, and shall generally describe the project, including the number and location of the proposed ADU(s), and shall include a copy of the written declaration required.

Tenants may contest the information in the declaration by petition to the Rent Board within 30 days after notice. The Rent Board will make determination and send to Planning within 90 days of receipt of petition.

 

Authored by Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP Manager, Post Entitlement Division Gillian Allen.

The issues discussed in this update are not intended to be legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is established with the recipient.  Readers should consult with legal counsel before relying on any of the information contained herein.  Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP is a full service real estate law firm.  We specialize in land use, development and entitlement law.  We also provide a wide range of transactional services, including leasing, acquisitions and sales, formation of limited liability companies and other entities, lending/workout assistance, subdivision and condominium work.