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Board passes first reading to protect neighborhood laundromats in planning code change
Summary
Supervisors unanimously passed, on first reading, a temporary planning code amendment to define laundromats, require conditional use authorization for replacements, and restrict ADUs that would reduce on‑site laundry service.
The Board of Supervisors on Nov. 2 passed, on first reading, an ordinance that adds a defined term for laundromat to the planning code and creates a three‑year interim control requiring conditional use authorization for replacing laundromats and prohibiting accessory dwelling units that would reduce on‑site laundry services unless the service is replaced.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, the ordinance sponsor, said the measure is a first step to prevent an ongoing loss of neighborhood laundromats — he said about a third of the city’s laundromats have closed over the past decade — and aims to preserve businesses that serve low‑income communities and communities of color. Peskin framed the ordinance as a temporary approach to allow the city to collect data and consider permanent controls.
He thanked planning department staff, Deputy City Attorney Audrey Pierson and community supporters. The board passed the ordinance on first reading unanimously under the “same house, same call” procedure; it will return for further readings according to the city’s ordinance schedule.
