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Planning Commission backs green-landscaping ordinance with SFPUC water amendments
Summary
The San Francisco Planning Commission recommended approval of a citywide Green Landscaping Ordinance on Feb. 18, urging additions from the SFPUC to limit water impacts. The vote was 5–2 after hours of public testimony on permeable surfaces, street trees and enforcement triggers.
The San Francisco Planning Commission on Feb. 18 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a proposed Green Landscaping Ordinance that would require greater permeable surfaces, expand street-tree and parking-area screening rules citywide, and add new triggers that bring landscaping requirements into play when building changes occur.
Planning staff described the proposal as amendments to five planning-code sections and three new definitions that together seek "a more comprehensive greening effort in the city," including a requirement that at least 50 percent of front setback areas be permeable when the triggers apply. The ordinance would also extend front-setback and street-tree rules to more zoning districts and require screening for larger vehicle-use areas.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission urged that the ordinance include water-conservation measures. "We must reduce our water that we draw from the regional water supply system ... by 10,000,000 gallons per day by 2018," SFPUC Government Relations Manager Bart Broom told the commission, arguing that new irrigated landscaping should be paired with low-water planting and compliance with the Water Efficient Irrigation Ordinance.
Public comment ranged from the San Francisco Urban Forest Coalition's call for stronger street-tree requirements to concerns from homeowners about maintenance burdens, water availability and enforceability. Several speakers urged broader triggers to capture common home remodels; staff said some trigger ideas would require expensive nexus studies but agreed to explore additional non-nexus triggers (for example, substantial facade or public-right-of-way encroachments).
Commissioner motion language accepted the SFPUC-recommended text tying low-water-use requirements to planning and public-works codes and asked staff to explore additional triggers that would not require a nexus study. The commission adopted the motion on a 5–2 vote with Commissioners Antonini and Segaye voting no.
Next steps: The Planning Commission's recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors, which will hold its own hearings and consider any further amendments and the technical language tying landscaping to SFPUC and DPW standards.
