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Commission advances phase‑2 zoning changes and mapping corrections for commercial/land‑use code
Summary
The commission reviewed and largely adopted staff recommendations on phase‑2 of the CHU (commercial/land‑use) ordinance including revised controls on parking, limited corner commercial uses, accessory use performance rules, nonconforming uses, and several special‑use districts; related zoning map corrections were approved unanimously.
Planning Department staff presented phase‑2 of a multi‑phase ordinance to revise commercial and special‑use zoning rules. The package covers automotive uses, limited corner commercial uses (LCCUs), accessory‑use performance standards (shifting some numeric horsepower limits to performance standards such as noise and emissions), nonconforming uses, and clarifications to Washington‑Broadway and waterfront special‑use districts.
Staff recommended targeted edits: allow new surface parking in certain C2 districts only with conditional use authorization (rather than a flat prohibition), retain existing LCCU protections in Market‑Octavia while adjusting elsewhere, expand accessory use allowances where appropriate and replace some prescriptive numeric limits with performance standards, and tighten rules about conversions of nonconforming uses. Commissioners discussed temporary permit durations for surface lots (staff suggested 5 years in C3 rather than 2), Chinatown parking exemptions, and the practical impacts of Mello‑Roos and other fees.
The motion reflecting planning staff’s recommendations on phase‑2 passed (recorded 6–1 on one item where a commissioner opposed). The commission also unanimously approved related map corrections (Washington Broadway/Special Sign District and Waterfront SUD boundary adjustments) that staff characterized as corrections or modest clarifications.
