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Planning Commission adopts rules to make privately owned public open spaces easier to find
Summary
The Planning Commission approved an ordinance and related staff recommendations to standardize signage and wayfinding for Privately Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS), move design standards to a zoning administrator bulletin, and require compliance for certain existing POPOS within one year; the vote was unanimous.
The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved changes to city rules governing Privately Owned Public Open Spaces, seeking to make plazas, terraces and interior publicly accessible spaces easier for the public to find and to standardize maintenance and signage.
Planning staff described widespread problems with existing POPOS plaques — small sizes, poor placement, low contrast and inconsistent content — and recommended moving detailed graphic and dimensional standards into a zoning administrator bulletin and providing a design toolkit for property owners. "Most of these existing plaques don't comply with existing requirements," staff said during the presentation.
Judson True, legislative aide to Supervisor David Chu (the ordinance sponsor), said the aim is to ensure downtown workers, visitors and residents know when a space is open and public. Staff proposed retroactive compliance for noncompliant POPOS built after the 1985 downtown plan, with one year provided for property owners to update signage and a city database to help identify noncompliant spaces.
Property managers raised concerns about mixed‑use residential buildings, saying clear wayfinding might increase unwanted use of small, privately managed lobbies. Mark Marino, a property manager, asked the commission to consider exceptions for predominantly residential buildings that also host POPOS. SPUR and other advocates supported the ordinance and urged stronger wayfinding and a standard logo.
Commissioners discussed adding a short information sheet or "cheat sheet" for building managers, coordination with the Department of Public Health on smoking rules, and strengthening enforcement of maintenance obligations. Commissioner Borden moved approval with staff modifications and commission suggestions; the motion passed by unanimous vote.
The commission directed staff to complete a zoning administrator bulletin with templates, an enforcement plan and outreach materials to help property owners comply.
