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Building Inspection Commission backs extension for accessible business entrance deadlines
Summary
The commission voted 4–1 on May 15, 2024 to recommend Board of Supervisors Ordinance file 240297, extending deadlines for the Accessible Business Entrance program. DBI staff said outreach has produced a 70% compliance rate, while commissioners urged continued focus on timely access for people with disabilities.
The San Francisco Building Inspection Commission on May 15 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve Ordinance file 240297 to extend deadlines for the city's Accessible Business Entrance (ABE) program. The commission voted 4'to—2 to support the ordinance; Commissioner Williams recorded the lone no vote.
DBI communications director Patrick Hannon told commissioners the ABE program, created in 2016 and extended in 2021, covers 23,504 buildings. "We have a 70% compliance rate," Hannon said, adding that 16,505 buildings have come into compliance and just under 7,000 remain noncompliant. Under the proposed ordinance the deadline to file the program checklist would be extended to Dec. 31 of this year, permit applications would be due by the end of the year, and required work would need to be completed by Sept. 29, 2025.
The legislation seeks to avoid immediate enforcement and give owners and small businesses more time to meet requirements. Calvin Ho, legislative aide to Supervisor Mandelmann, said the extension responds to outreach from "hundreds of different small business owners" and is intended to allow additional coordination among DBI, the Office of Small Business, Public Works and disability-community partners.
Some commissioners pressed the department on the effect of further deadline extensions on people with disabilities, saying more time could prolong lack of access to businesses. DBI staff acknowledged those concerns but said outreach has been extensive (multiple mailings in four languages, merchant walks and community events) and that many property owners have already submitted checklists or claimed technical infeasibility or unreasonable hardship. Staff emphasized the ABE program focuses specifically on business entrances and is not a substitute for full Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance.
The commission took the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors with the advice that outreach continue and that the department clarify technical- and financial-hardship options for property owners. The recommendation will be considered by the Board and, if approved and signed by the mayor, the extension would become effective according to the Board's timetable.
