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San Francisco commissions push for earlier fire and DBI input on complex projects
Summary
Planning and Building Inspection commissioners discussed formal criteria to bring fire and DBI expertise into project review earlier — before public notice — to spot access, slope and life‑safety problems and avoid late, costly redesigns.
City planning and building officials signaled a policy shift toward earlier technical review for projects with high fire risk, steep slopes or narrow access, saying the change aims to catch "fatal flaws" before public notice and reduce time‑consuming reversals later in the process.
At a joint meeting of the San Francisco Planning Commission and the Building Inspection Commission, Planning staffer Larry Badner described an emerging approach: involve DBI and the fire marshal after planning has shaped a proposal but before the project goes out for neighborhood notice. "That's the time to get a quick check from DBI and fire so we're on the right track," Badner said (planning staff comment). Fire Marshal Barb Schultheis and DBI deputies said they support front‑end participation and have held stakeholder meetings on issues such as elevator access in super‑tall buildings.
New DBI director Esam Hassanan told commissioners DBI will assign resources and continue meetings with planning and fire; the departments plan to meet on policy matters every two weeks and to assign a senior planner to coordinate staff‑level exchanges. DBI deputy Wing Lau said the department is committed to providing technical expertise at appropriate discretionary review points and is exploring adding in‑house geotechnical expertise to address landslide and slope stability questions.
Commissioners emphasized the scope should include not only very tall towers but also neighborhood master plans and difficult small‑building sites. Commissioner Catherine Moore asked that the early review process be applied to large neighborhoods including the Eastern neighborhoods and Market/Octavia to avoid long‑term mistakes; Commissioner Antonini noted the change could help reduce cost and delay for developers and neighbors alike.
Public commenters pushed for specific triggers to pull DBI and fire into front‑end review. Several Crestmont Heights residents described steep slopes, narrow cul‑de‑sac access and landslide risk at the Crestmont Hills project and asked for on‑site review and geotechnical input. Dr. Samuel Sobel said narrow turnarounds and chronic parking could "effectively trap" residents during an emergency; Paul Gorman presented a geology map showing most of the project lies in high‑slide risk areas.
Staff indicated concrete next steps: continue the interdepartmental working group, draft written criteria and consider a brief memo or administrative bulletin identifying site characteristics (steep slopes, narrow access, liquefaction zones, soft‑story exposures) that should prompt DBI/fire checks prior to public notice. Commissioners also requested periodic updates as staff develops the procedures. The joint session did not produce a formal vote but directed staff to continue work on operationalizing early coordination and report back.
