Planning Commission disapproves Daley—s interim ordinance, adopts staff—s pipeline policies with lower interim fee

The San Francisco Planning Commission on a motion by Commissioner Moore voted to disapprove Supervisor Daley—s proposed interim ordinance for the Eastern Neighborhoods pipeline and to adopt staff-recommended interim policies instead.

Ken Rich, presenting for planning staff, told commissioners the Daley ordinance would have imposed a uniform $21-per-square-foot impact fee for new residential projects and allowed alternatives to on-site PDR (production, distribution, repair) replacement, including paying an in-lieu fee of $125 per square foot or funding a study and paying 80 percent of the study—s cost. Staff recommended against that approach, arguing a $21 fee would be infeasible for most projects during the interim period and that the city lacks a clear mechanism to spend collected in-lieu funds or to show a legal nexus for charging them.

Instead, staff proposed interim policies that mirror the code the Board will adopt later, including an interim graduated fee structure that staff said should typically be $10 per square foot for projects that can proceed without upzoning. Commissioners favored the staff approach, noting the board will have an opportunity to set long-term rules and that staff—s package is largely aligned with the Eastern Neighborhoods program.

Commissioner Moore moved to disapprove the proposed ordinance and to adopt the department—s resolution directing staff to enact the interim pipeline policy; the motion passed on the floor and the item was recorded by the commission as disapproved.

What happens next: the staff will incorporate the commission—s directions into final resolutions for the Board of Supervisors and finalize interim pipeline controls to apply while the board considers the Eastern Neighborhoods program.