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Committee backs ordinance easing rules for small rear-yard accessory structures
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Land Use and Transportation Committee voted 3-0 to send an ordinance to the full board that clarifies rules for nonconforming and accessory structures in required yards and reads in several non‑substantive amendments proposed by the sponsor.
Supervisor Mirana Melgar, chair of the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, presided over a 3-0 committee vote July 21 to send an ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors that would amend the planning code and building code to set conditions for repair, relocation and limited new accessory structures within required yards.
The committee sent the item as a committee report with a positive recommendation, after Supervisor Joel Engadio, the legislation’s sponsor, read four amendments into the record and Deputy City Attorney Bridal Russi confirmed those changes were non‑substantive. Vice Chair Supervisor Cheyenne Chen said she supported the amendments as a way to reduce barriers for property owners navigating the city’s permitting process.
The ordinance as summarized at the committee would: allow accessory structures up to 10 feet in height and 120 square feet within required yards; treat certain accessory structures as eligible for an exemption from the building-code-related CEQA determination process described in the item summary; and make findings of consistency with the general plan and planning code section 302. Engadio read amendments that would expressly allow “one or more detached structures which may not include sleeping quarters or full kitchens, but may include bathrooms and wet bars,” add language clarifying that required alterations may include fire‑rated walls, permit relocation within a yard only if the new location is equally or further set back from the nearest property line, and remove a specific subsection identified in the amendments (188.1c).
No members of the public spoke during the public-comment period for this item. After discussion and the city attorney’s confirmation that the proposed edits were procedural, Vice Chair Chen moved to amend the ordinance and to recommend it to the full board as amended; Supervisor Bilal Mahmood seconded. The committee clerk recorded the vote as Chen—aye; Mahmood—aye; Melgar—aye.
The committee noted the item would appear on the full Board of Supervisors agenda on Sept. 2, 2025, unless otherwise stated. The committee did not take any separate direction to staff beyond forwarding the item as a committee report with a positive recommendation.
Details of the ordinance text and any subsequent amendments or analyses will be available in the official file when the item is posted to the full board agenda. The committee adjourned after the vote.
