Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Urban Design topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning Commission adopts citywide Urban Design Guidelines, excludes Article 10 historic districts
Summary
After months of outreach and negotiations over scope and applicability, the Planning Commission adopted a revised Urban Design Guidelines package on March 22, 2018, including a commitment to develop neighborhood‑specific 'special area' guidelines and an explicit exclusion of Article 10 historic districts from UDG application.
The Planning Commission voted 4–1 on March 22 to adopt a citywide set of Urban Design Guidelines (UDGs) intended to provide consistent design review direction across neighborhood commercial, mixed‑use and downtown districts.
Staff framed the UDGs as an implementation tool for the general plan’s urban design element that would not change zoning or heights but would give staff, designers and the public a common reference for site design, architecture and the public realm. The guidelines emphasize neighborhood compatibility and human‑scale design, and staff added a process commitment to produce neighborhood 'special area guidelines' (for places such as North Beach, Polk/Pacific and Japantown) to capture local character. Importantly, staff recommended — and the commission adopted — language removing UDG applicability within Article 10 historic districts, where Secretary of the Interior standards and existing district appendices already operate.
Why it matters: Commissioners and community groups debated how prescriptive the UDGs should be and whether neighborhood‑specific rules should default to or supplant the citywide guidance. Several neighborhood coalitions and the American Institute of Architects urged clear definitions and local tailoring; neighborhood groups successfully pressed to ensure that special‑area guidelines will be developed and that historic districts are excluded from UDG application. Commissioner Moore voted against adoption, saying the guidelines remained too generalized and complex.
Next steps: Staff will continue producing special‑area guidelines and incorporate public feedback; projects will be reviewed against the adopted UDGs where applicable, with existing area‑specific guidelines and residential design guidelines superseding UDGs when conflicts arise.
