Board eases formula-retail rules on Van Ness to spur storefront occupancy

The Board of Supervisors voted to pass on first reading an amendment to the Planning Code that removes conditional use authorization requirements for formula retail uses in residential-commercial districts fronting Van Ness Avenue.

Supervisor Sherrill, the measure's lead sponsor, told the board the law is designed to reduce barriers to filling persistent commercial vacancies on the corridor. "Planning department surveys found a 53% ground floor commercial vacancy rate on Van Ness," Sherrill said, comparing it to a citywide ground-floor vacancy rate near 7.7 percent. He said the ordinance also prevents a change of ownership or operator of a preexisting formula retail use from being treated as an intensification requiring conditional use authorization when the prior operator never obtained such authorization.

Sherrill cited the former Safeway on Fillmore as an example: because that store opened before formula-retail controls existed, subsequent grocery stores were being required to seek conditional use authorization under the existing code. "If we want a grocery store to replace a grocery store, we should probably make it easier to open a grocery store," he said.

The measure includes CEQA affirmation and related findings; the clerk reported the item as a committee report forwarded by the Land Use and Transportation Committee. The ordinance passed on first reading without objection.

Why it matters: Van Ness is a major commercial corridor and the sponsors argued streamlining rules for formula retail will facilitate quicker tenant turnover and potentially restore food access to some neighborhoods.

What remains: The ordinance passed on first reading and must complete subsequent readings and any required administrative steps to take effect.

Provenance: The item appears in the committee report and the sponsor's floor remarks are recorded in the transcript; the clerk confirmed the item passed on first reading.