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Neighbors, city staff clash over whether banks fall under San Francisco's formula‑retail rules; Chase permit partly upheld, one item continued
Summary
A divisive dispute over a proposed Chase Bank on Divisadero centered on whether financial institutions are covered by the city's formula-retail law and whether the combined storefront exceeds the 3,999 sq ft conditional-use threshold. The board approved one minor permit and continued a contested amendment pending a vote by the absent commissioner.
Neighbors and business owners clashed at the Board of Appeals March 16 over permits for a proposed Chase branch that would combine three storefronts on Divisadero. At issue were three legal points raised by appellants: whether financial institutions fall under the formula-retail definition, whether the project’s gross area exceeded a 3,999-square-foot threshold that would trigger conditional-use review, and whether a walk-up ATM required special neighborhood notice.
Dean Preston, who filed the appeal, argued the plain text of the Planning Code treats financial services as a subcategory of “sales and services retail” and therefore within the reach of the city's formula-retail controls. “The formula retail law specifically refers to a very broad category,…
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