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Neighborhood groups urge delay of draft Urban Design Guidelines, call for deeper outreach
Summary
Multiple neighborhood organizations urged the San Francisco Planning Commission to postpone adoption of the draft Urban Design Guidelines, saying the public outreach promised in January did not occur and asking staff to clarify how the UDGs would relate to existing Residential Design Guidelines and the general plan.
Several neighborhood organizations told the San Francisco Planning Commission that the department’s draft Urban Design Guidelines (UDGs) need more public vetting before adoption.
At the public-comment portion of the Sept. 8 meeting, speakers from the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, Liberty Hill Neighborhood Association, Telegraph Hill Dwellers and other groups argued the department did not deliver the five-month outreach process the January executive summary promised. "We were under the impression ... that there would be five months of draft interaction," Lisa Fromer of Liberty Hill said, asking commissioners to postpone the Oct. 20 target adoption date so the community could participate and staff could integrate feedback.
Speakers said the draft UDGs are unclear about scope and hierarchy: neighbors want the planning department to explain whether the UDGs would apply citywide or only in mixed-use, commercial and transit districts, and whether the UDGs would supersede or complement the Residential Design Guidelines (RDGs). "The residential design guidelines might still apply to, and I'm quoting, 'more modest projects,'" Matt McCabe said, calling that phrasing "disconcerting." Petitioners requested that the UDGs and revised RDGs be developed and vetted together.
Director Grama responded that staff had intended to use the Oct. 20 hearing to update the commission and that staff planned to extend the public comment period and schedule more meetings. The director said the RDGs are intended as higher-level umbrella guidance and that staff would continue to work with neighborhoods to clarify how the documents relate.
Commissioners asked staff to prepare an executive summary clarifying the UDGs' purpose, geographic scope, district applicability and relationship to existing plan elements before any final vote. Several commissioners also urged staff to explain waiver provisions and provide illustrations showing how UDGs would operate alongside RDGs.
The department did not present an adoption motion at the Sept. 8 meeting; commissioners instead had this public-comment exchange and directed staff follow-up and further public outreach.
What’s next: The Planning Department has scheduled the UDG update for a future hearing; neighbors asked the commission to defer final consideration until the department has completed additional outreach and clarified how the UDGs will be applied in practice.
