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Board approves permanent 'Shared Spaces' program after hours-access and agency disputes
Summary
After hours of debate over public access and which city agency should oversee permitting, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an amended ordinance to make the pandemic-era Shared Spaces program permanent on first reading.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on July 13 to pass an amended ordinance on first reading that makes the Shared Spaces program permanent, preserving expanded outdoor dining and retail space first authorized during the COVID-19 emergency.
The ordinance — which municipal officials and supervisors said is intended to help small businesses recover — drew extensive debate over two issues: which city agency should coordinate the program and whether curbside shared spaces must remain open to the public outside of a business’s operating hours. Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Supervisor Safaié, Supervisor Preston, Supervisor Ronan and others led much of the floor discussion.
Supervisor Safaié proposed multiple amendments that would restore a coordination role to the Planning Department and would explicitly allow a fixed or movable commercial parklet to be secured overnight from midnight to 7 a.m. That pair of changes passed in separate amendment votes: the planning-role amendments passed 7–4 and the overnight-security amendment passed 6–5. Deputy City Attorney Anne Pearson confirmed the public-access language being debated addresses the question of when a business may secure the curbside shared space.
Supporters said the ordinance balances business needs and public access. Supervisor Preston and others argued that public access to these reclaimed right-of-way spaces was an important public benefit, while supervisors representing neighborhoods with concentrated late-night activity said businesses should be permitted to secure spaces at night to reduce liability and neighborhood impacts. Supervisor Melgar and others urged protections for small operators who must weigh investment risk and neighborhood conditions.
After the amendments, the board adopted the ordinance on first reading unanimously. The ordinance sets design, ADA and public-access requirements, assigns interdepartmental coordination responsibilities and creates a path for permanent permits for businesses currently operating under temporary emergency authorizations. The board and departments agreed to monitor the program and return with refinements as needed.
