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Commissioners press DBI and Planning on AB 1114's effect after staff briefing
Summary
DBI and Planning staff briefed the San Francisco Board of Appeals on AB 1114, which expands post-entitlement permit coverage and removes appealability in many cases. Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about lost appeal rights, public notice, and neighborhood impacts; DBI said it has updated intake, checklists and concurrent review to comply.
At an informational session, Department of Building Inspection and Planning staff summarized AB 1114 and how the city is implementing its requirements. Tate Hannah, DBI legislative affairs manager, told commissioners AB 1114 (authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney) expanded the definition of "post-entitlement" permits to include any permit issued under the California Building Code and removed the ability to appeal many post-entitlement permits.
Hannah described department changes including updated online intake, pre-plan-check stations for applicants, concurrent interagency review to accelerate timelines, and new public-facing checklists and example applications. She said DBI meets the 15-day completeness-check timeline 99.6% of the time and plan-check approval/denial timelines 97% of the time.
Commissioners questioned whether the city had been involved in the bill's drafting, whether timelines cited are business days or calendar days (DBI said timelines are business days), how broadly the law applies (examples discussed included ADUs and single-family projects), and whether the statute is susceptible to litigation (DBI said all state laws are potentially litigable). Several commissioners and members of the public urged better public education about the law's effects, asked whether this board should have input on the objective design standards staff will use, and expressed concern that the law eliminates de novo hearings and reduces public avenues for relief.
Public commenters including Georgia Shudisch and Sue Hester urged the board to hold more widely advertised hearings after Labor Day and to coordinate with planning commission and supervisors to ensure residents understand changes and where to seek relief under the new law.
DBI and Planning said they will continue outreach and can return with more data on the number of projects that previously would have come to the Board of Appeals but now will be processed administratively under AB 1114.
