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Planning Commission backs stricter limits on new garages, recommends ordinance to supervisors
Summary
The commission voted 6–1 to recommend Supervisor Chu's ordinance tightening approvals for new garage openings and curb cuts in Northeast neighborhoods, keeping conditional-use review and adding a 10-year no-fault-eviction restriction for affected properties.
The San Francisco Planning Commission voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors an ordinance that would make new curb cuts and garage openings in parts of Chinatown, North Beach, Telegraph Hill and nearby areas subject to stricter review.
Commissioners approved the motion 6 to 1 after a multihour hearing in which neighborhood groups, tenants and property owners clashed over the measure. Supporters cited research showing a recent pattern in which landlords pursue Ellis Act or other no-fault evictions, then obtain garage permits and convert buildings to condominiums or TICs; they argued the practice drives displacement and raises property values. Opponents said the ordinance as drafted is overly broad, risks unintended consequences for ordinary owners and needs more targeted revisions.
Staff told commissioners the proposal would create a new Telegraph Hill–North Beach Residential Special Use District, require conditional-use authorization for garage installations in the district, and add criteria focusing on loss of dwelling units, impacts to historic resources, sidewalk accessibility and loss of on-street parking. The department recommended a more tailored set of review criteria and a 30-day public-notice process in some cases; the commission adopted staff's recommended criteria and kept the conditional-use requirement in place.
The commission also asked supervisors to consider modest boundary adjustments and to include a 10‑year restriction barring garage approvals on properties that experienced no-fault evictions during that interval. The motion passed 6–1, with Commissioner Antonini opposed.
The measure now goes to the Board of Supervisors; if enacted, it would change review procedures at both the Planning Department and the Department of Public Works and require additional coordination with police and MTA for transportation and safety considerations.
What happens next: the ordinance will be transmitted to the Board of Supervisors for committee hearings and additional revisions. The Planning Department will work with supervisors' offices to refine technical language and the scope of the special-use district.
