Supervisors amend planning code to lift retail size limits for health services in eastern MUO district

The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted May 19 to amend and continue legislation that would eliminate retail use size limits for health service uses in a portion of the Mixed Use Office (MUO) district.

The committee, chaired by Supervisor Mirna Melgar, adopted amendments circulated by Madison Tam of Supervisor Dorsey’s office that narrow the ordinance’s scope to the portion of the MUO east of Seventh Street, add findings explaining the change, and expressly include reproductive health clinics among services exempted from retail-size caps and from a retail-ratio requirement. Veronica Flores of the Planning Department told the committee the Planning Commission recommended those modifications. After a motion from Chair Mirna Melgar, the committee voted 3-0 to approve the amendments and continue the item to the June 2 Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting.

The ordinance as introduced would amend the Planning Code to remove retail use size limits on health service uses in the MUO district, affirm the Planning Department’s determination under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and make findings of consistency with the city’s General Plan and with the eight priority policies listed in Planning Code section 101.1, as well as findings of public necessity, convenience and welfare under Planning Code section 302. “This legislation allows for more flexibility and diversity of uses by eliminating retail use size limits for health service uses and retail ratio requirements in the MUO,” Madison Tam told the committee.

Tam and Planning Department staff described a market-driven rationale: the office and commercial real-estate market has shifted since 2020, and the MUO portion covered by the legislation sits at the crossroads of downtown, South Beach, South Park and the Embarcadero, near UCSF’s Mission Bay campus and close to dense residential and office uses. Planning Department staff member Veronica Flores said the Planning Commission’s April 17 recommendation included limiting the changes to the MUO east of Seventh Street and asking the Board to review controls on the MUO west of Seventh Street at a later time.

No members of the public spoke on the item during the committee hearing. The committee clerk confirmed the motion to adopt the amendments and continue the item carried with votes recorded as “Chen, I; Mahmood, I; Melgar, I.” The committee clerk also noted that items acted on by the committee typically appear on the full Board of Supervisors agenda of June 3 unless otherwise stated.

Next steps: the ordinance will return to the Land Use and Transportation Committee on June 2 with the amendments adopted May 19. The committee’s action on May 19 was to amend and continue the ordinance; no final adoption by the Board of Supervisors was recorded at that meeting.

Authorities and scope: the committee record states the ordinance affirms a CEQA determination and makes findings under Planning Code sections 101.1 and 302; the Planning Commission’s recommendations and the sponsor’s amendments will be part of the record taken to the next committee meeting. The committee’s action did not themselves adopt a final ordinance at the May 19 hearing.