Board advances Western SoMa area plan despite objections over offices, nightlife and Academy of Art grandfathering

San Francisco ' The Board of Supervisors voted 10‑1 on March 12 to pass on first reading a package of ordinances and resolutions that integrate the Western South of Market (Western SoMa) area plan into the city's planning rules, zoning map and monitoring program.

Why it matters: Western SoMa has been under development for nearly a decade. The package seeks to steer growth in a part of the city facing heavy development pressure by encouraging mixed uses, protecting production, distribution and repair (PDR) and arts activities in designated areas (a new "Sally" zone), and setting inclusionary requirements and impact fees intended to support affordable housing and neighborhood stability.

What the board approved: Items 19 through 22 that came to the board as a package included a general plan amendment adding the Western SoMa area plan, changes to the Planning Code to implement the plan's goals, revisions to zoning map sheets affecting use districts and height/bulk districts within the plan area, and administrative code changes to fold Western SoMa into the Eastern Neighborhoods monitoring program. After extended debate, the board approved the package on first reading by roll call (10 ayes, 1 no).

Key debates and concerns raised:

- Office space and PDR balance: Supporters said zoning is a tool to protect PDR and arts uses from being priced out by office conversions; opponents warned that the plan's approach to limiting office in certain "Sally" areas could micromanage land use and prevent small design offices and other businesses from expanding. Corey Teague, planning staff, explained that regulating subsets of office (like "workspace of design professionals") is difficult to define and enforce and that from a land‑use perspective, most desk‑based work functions as office with similar neighborhood impacts.

- Nightlife and live performance permits: Some supervisors and members of the entertainment industry expressed concern that limitations on nightclub uses and the treatment of limited live performance permits (LLPs) were too restrictive in parts of the plan. Supervisor Kim said the LLP policy would be returned to the board for broader citywide consideration in a couple of months and that permitting in Western SoMa should be consistent citywide if adopted.

- Academy of Art University parcel: One amendment would grandfather a conditional use authorization that the Academy of Art University had filed for property in the plan area. Several supervisors and community members said the Academy's longstanding code enforcement history makes the grandfathering politically sensitive; planning department staff clarified that grandfathering preserves the pending conditional use application so it can be processed under the new plan, but final approval would still be by the Planning Commission and subject to project review.

Planner's explanation: Corey Teague of the Planning Department told the board that the "Sally" zone was designed to preserve PDR and arts activity by preventing conversion to office and residential where PDR is a policy priority. Teague said the department has found that allowing carve‑outs (for one subset of office) creates enforcement problems in practice and that Eastern Neighborhoods and past city planning practice informed the approach.

Vote and next steps: The package passed first reading with 10 ayes and 1 no (Supervisor Weiner voting no). Because these were ordinance changes, additional hearings and the second reading will be required for final adoption. Planning staff and the sponsor said they would continue to work on implementation details and on related citywide policies such as LLP permitting.

Voices: Supervisor Kim, who led the long process to bring the plan to the board, called it the product of an 8‑year community process; Supervisor Weiner said he could not support the plan due to concerns it categorically bans some office uses and might create unintended consequences. Planning staff and several supervisors said the plan strives for balance between new growth and protection of the existing community and arts/PDR sectors.

Implication: The first‑reading approval advances a plan that attempts a fine‑grained zoning approach to preserve industrial arts and nightlife character in parts of SoMa while channeling growth elsewhere. Opponents urged caution about the plan's enforcement and long‑term impacts; backers cited the plan's community process and the near‑term protections it aims to secure.