Leg Dig Ver4,5

LEGISLATIVE DIGEST (Amended in Committee – November 17 2025 ) [ Zoning Map - Family Zoning Plan ] Ordinance amending the Zoning Map to implement the Family Zoning Plan by: amending the Zoning Use District Maps to: 1) reclassify certain properties currently zoned as various types of Residential to Residential Transit Oriented - Commercial (RTO-C); 2) reclassify properties currently zoned Residential Transit Oriented (RTO) to Residential Transit Oriented - 1 (RTO-1); 3) reclassify certain properties from Residential districts other than RTO to RTO-1; 4) reclassify certain properties currently zoned Neighborhood Commercial (NC) or Public (P) to Community Business (C-2); and 5) reclassify certain properties from Public to Mixed-Use or Neighborhood Commercial Districts; amending the Height and Bulk Map to: 1) reclassify properties in the Family Zoning Plan to R-4 Height and Bulk District , except for properties with structures designated as landmarks or contributors to historic districts pursuant to Article 10 ; 2) change the height limits on certain lots in the R-4 Height and Bulk District; and 3) designating various parcels to be included in the Non-Contiguous San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Sites Special Use District (SFMTA SUD); amending the Local Coastal Program to: 1) reclassify all properties in the Coastal Zone to R-4 Height and Bulk District; 2) reclassify certain properties to RTO-C and Neighborhood Commercial District; 3) designate one parcel as part of the SFMTA SUD; and 4) directing the Planning Director to transmit the Ordinance to the Coastal Commission upon enactment; affirming the Planning Department’s determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; making findings of public necessity, convenience, and welfare under Planning Code, Section 302; making findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight priority policies of Planning Code, Section 101.1; and making findings under the City’s Local Coastal Program and the California Coastal Act of 1976. Existing Law The Zoning Map of the City and County of San Francisco establishes the designat ions, locations , and boundaries of various districts within the City. The Zoning Maps consists of a series of numbers sectional maps, which depict the use district , h e ight and bulk district , and S pecial U se D istricts established in the Planning Code . Type of use districts include : Residential, Residential-Mixed, Residential Transit - Oriented, Neighborhood Commercial, Commercial, and Public. Height and Bulk District m aps generally depict heights ranging from 40 feet to 1000 feet . Bulk limits are generally designated by a letter, which corresponds to a chart in Planning Code section 270 . Planning Code section 270 and related sections regulate the maximum lengths and diagonal dimensions of projects , thereby limiting the size and shape of buildings on a particular parcel or lot. Special Use D istricts are areas or parcels with particular zoning controls that may deviate from some or all of the otherwise applicable Planning Code requirements. Amendments to Current Law This ordinance would amend the Z oning M ap to implement the Family Zoning Plan by changing the use districts , and height and bulk districts for parcels in w ell -r esourced a reas, which are neighborhoods or areas with existing infrastructure, transit, businesses, well-performing public schools and lower levels of environmental pollution . Some of these changes would apply in areas outside well-resourced neighborhoods. The ordinance is being introduced in tandem with another ordinance amending the Planning Code , which can be found in Board File N o. 250701 (“ Planning Code ordinance”). Changes to Zoning Districts T h is ordin ance would establish the designations, locations, and boundaries of two new use districts: Residential Transit Oriented – Commercial (RTO-C), and Residential Transit Oriented-1 (RTO-1) , which are proposed for adoption in the Planning Code ordinance . The RTO-C use district would apply to certain parcels currently zoned various other Residential districts, such as Residential or Residential-Mixed, and would allow, but not require, certain non-residential uses on the ground floor. Parcels currently zoned Residential Transit Oriented (RTO) , if not otherwise reclassified in th is ordinance, and some Residential Districts would be reclassified Residential Transit Oriented-1 (RTO-1) . Generally, RTO-1 parcels would have the same controls as parcels currently zoned RTO. The general designation “RTO District ” would encompass RTO-1, RTO-C and RTO-Mission. The ordinance would also classify three properties zoned Neighborhood Commercial (NC) or Public (P) to Community Business (C-2). In addition, t he ordinance would establish the bou n daries of a new Height and Bulk District called R-4 , established in the Planning Code ordinance . The R-4 H eight and B ulk D istrict designation would allow development on those parcels the option to use the Housing Choice-San Francisco Program, proposed in the companion ordinance, which would allow form-based density , additional height, and other Planning Code modifications. Changes to Height and Bulk The ordinance would amend the Height and Bulk District maps to primarily increase, or in some limited instances decrease, the applicable height limit. Generally, additional height – between 65 and 85 feet – is proposed for most corridors, with wider streets adjacent to or near major transit lines and stations getting rezoned to 85 feet . Heights ranging from 140 feet to 650 feet are proposed in areas that currently allow high rise construction above 85 feet (such as the Van Ness Avenue corridor) , at key intersections and locations along major corridors (such as the inter section of Geary Boulevard and 19th Avenue) , on wider street s that have a number of m edium and large-sized parcels (for example Market Street and Lombard Street) and ar e as near major transit stops or stations (such as Market Street, Geary Boulevard, and Glen Park) . The ordinance would create the R-4 Height and Bulk District. P arcels in the R-4 Height and Bulk District would have two designated height limits separated by a double slash. The number before the double slash indicates the base height ; the number after the double slash, which is often, but not always h igher, indicates the height limit for projects using the Housing Choice-San Francisco Program. If numbers are separated by a single slash, the first number is the maximum height for podium buildings and the number following the single slash is the maximum height for towers. Some parcels will have numbers separated by a single slash and numbers separated by a double slash, indicating the podium and tower heights for projects not using, or using, the Housing Choice-San Francisco Program, respectively. The Ordinance would designate parcels for the Non-contiguous San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Special Use District . The SFMTA SUD would be established in the Planning Code ordinance, and would rezone those parcels from Public (P) or Residential (R) to various Neighborhood Commercial ( NC) districts. Finally, t he Ordinance would amend the City’s Local Coastal Program to update the Zo ning M ap cha n ges to the parcels within the Local Coastal Program. Background Information This ordinance (Version 3) is a substitute for the ordinance (Version 2) that was introduced on July 29, 2025 in Board File No. 250700 . Version 1 of this ordinance was introduced on June 24, 2025. On November 17, 2025 the Land Use and Transportation Committee amended Version 3 of this ordinance as follows: Removed properties with structures designated as landmarks or contributors to historic districts pursuant to Article 10 of the Planning Code from the R-4 Height and Bulk District Decrease d heights for parcels on Geary Boulevard between Wood Street and Emerson Street from 70// 140-R-4 to 50// 85-R-4 and 40// 65-R-4 Retain ed existing zoning district (RH-2) for a parcel on Geary Boulevard between Wood Street and Emerson Street Decreas ed heights at 11-15 Marina Boulevard from 40// 65-R-4 to 40// 40-R-4 Decreas ed heights on Block 0452 ( Ghirardelli Square) from 40// 65-R-4 to 40// 40-R-4 Decreased heights on North Point Street between Larkin Street and Hyde Street from 40// 65-R-4 to 40// 40-R-4 Increas ed heights along the western portion of Van Ness Avenue between Ellis Street and Turk Street, generally from 130// 300-R-4 to 140// 350-R-4 Increas ed heights along Pine Street between Leavenworth Street and Larkin Street, generally from 65// 120-R-4 to 80// 140-R-4 On October 20, 2025, the Land Use and Transportation Committee duplicated and amended Version 3 of the ordinance ; the duplicate file is located in Board File No. 251071. That duplicate ordinance was further amended on November 3, 2025. On November 17, 2025, the Land Use and Transportation Committee tabled the duplicate file. Under State law, every city and county must have a housing element. Among other requirements, s tate law requires that a housing element identify adequate sites for housing for all economic segments of the community. (Gov. Code §   65583.) The City’s adopted the 2022 Housing Element update on January 31, 2023. A jurisdiction’s existing and projected housing needs is known as its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) . If a jurisdiction is not able to identify adequate sites to accommodate its RHNA, it must adopt zoning changes, generally within three years of housing element adoption. San Francisco’s RHNA is approximately 82,000 units, and because the City does not have sufficient capacity to accommodate its RHNA, it must rezone sufficient sites to allow for additional units by January 31, 2026. The number of individual parcels to be rezoned to meet the City’s RHNA exceeds 92,000. Therefore, the text of the Zoning Map ordinance only includes a general description of the Z oning M ap amendments. The exact parcels to be rezoned, and the new zoning categories are provided in the “ Family Zoning Plan Map Ordinance Parcel Tables ” document which is incorporated by reference, and can be found in Board File No. 250700 . A n interactive rezoning map can be found on the Planning Department’s Family Zoning Plan website: https://sfplanning.org/sf-family-zoning-plan#hearing-info-resources . This ordinance is part of a package of ordinances that will implement the Family Zoning Plan , which will allow the City to accommodate approximately 36,200 additional units as required by state housing law. Additional ordinances include the Planning Code ordinance found in Board File No. 250701 , and a General Plan amendment found in Board File 250966 . 4897-1057-9835, v. 1