Planning Commission backs Corona Heights special-use district with staff modifications

The San Francisco Planning Commission on June 22 recommended approval, with modifications, of legislation to create a Corona Heights Large Residence Special Use District that would require conditional-use review for large replacements or enlargements in the neighborhood.

Staff planner Audrey Buckus told the commission the SUD would require conditional use authorization for developments that result in more than 3,000 gross square feet or that reduce rear yard depth below 45 percent, and would add provisions to regulate through lots and studio-unit caps. Buckus said staff received 31 letters of support and two letters of opposition and recommended approval with clarifications and by restoring a through‑lot provision removed during drafting.

More than a dozen residents and neighborhood advocates testified for and against the ordinance. Supporters, including members of neighborhood groups and longtime residents, said the SUD would help preserve the area’s scale and protect rear-yard open space. Opponents and some housing advocates said the controls could have unintended affordability effects by making smaller homes harder or more expensive to upgrade. As one commenter noted, “Small doesn’t mean cheap,” arguing that limiting size does not guarantee lower prices.

Commissioners debated whether the proposal adequately accounted for different lot sizes and zoning (RH‑1, RH‑2, RH‑3) and whether thresholds should be adjusted to avoid incentivizing single-family conversions rather than multiunit housing. Commissioner Moore urged staff to add clearer language addressing parcel size and unit-count tradeoffs; staff agreed to recommend consideration of lot-size adjustments when the ordinance is forwarded.

The commission additionally handled a recusal: Commissioner Richards recused himself after realizing he owned property inside the proposed SUD boundary. With that recusal in place earlier in the hearing, the motion to approve staff recommendations with added direction on allowable square footage and attention to lot size passed unanimously 5–0.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the commission’s modifications and forward the legislation to the Board of Supervisors and, as staff noted, the SUD may be superseded in the future by citywide RH‑district residential expansion thresholds once that citywide work is completed.

Provenance: Topic begins at the staff introduction (SEG 1198) and concludes with the commission vote adopting recommendations (SEG 2369–2380).