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Committee narrows priority processing expansion after North Beach, Calle 24 groups press concerns
Summary
The committee approved amendments to a proposed expansion of San Francisco's priority permit processing program, excluding North Beach and the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District after neighborhood stakeholders and the Planning Commission raised concerns.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee voted 3-0 to amend and recommend an ordinance that consolidates and updates San Francisco’s priority permit processing program for certain commercial uses, but with an exclusion for North Beach Neighborhood Commercial District, the North Beach Special Use District, and the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District.
Katie Tang, director of the Office of Small Business, told the committee the ordinance seeks to consolidate two existing priority-processing regimes — one in the Planning Commission’s resolution and one in the Planning Code — to provide certainty to small-business applicants and to require scheduling of Planning Commission hearings within 90 days for eligible conditional-use applications once an application is complete.
Aaron Starr of the Planning Department said the Planning Commission reviewed the ordinance on June 26 and recommended removing North Beach and Calle 24 from the priority-processing program.
During public comment multiple neighborhood organizations urged the committee to exclude those districts. Nick Farris of the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, speaking also for the North Beach Business Association and Chinatown Community Development Center, said the districts "are thriving and have a healthy mix of locally owned businesses" and that "the process is working." Susana Rojas, executive director of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, told the committee her corridor had one of the city’s lowest vacancy rates — 6 vacancies out of 151, or about 4 percent as of June 23, 2025 — and urged exclusion from the expansion.
Chair Mirna Melgar acknowledged differing neighborhood needs. Vice Chair Cheyenne Chen, who moved the amendment, said the priority-processing changes aim to make permitting more transparent and faster for businesses but supported the commission’s recommendation to exempt the two districts.
The committee approved the motion to amend the ordinance as recommended and to forward it with a positive recommendation to the full Board of Supervisors. The vote was recorded as Chen, Mahmood and Melgar voting aye.
