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San Francisco planning and building staff outline joint overhaul of permitting and review processes
Summary
DBI and Planning staff described a broad business process reengineering effort to streamline plan review, inspections and permitting across departments, including a GIS-based automation track and a tentative MOU to integrate Fire and DBI into planning project review; commissioners asked for training, budget alignment and follow-up on enforcement gaps.
The San Francisco Planning Commission and the Building Inspection Commission heard a status update Aug. 30 on a citywide business process reengineering (BPR) effort meant to shorten permit review times and reduce duplication between departments.
Director Islam Hassanen of the Department of Building Inspection said the BPR has convened a steering committee of director-level staff from building, planning, fire, redevelopment, public health and public works and formed four working subcommittees focused on plan review and permit issuance, inspection services, automation and performance standards. "We have completed most of the major phases of that process," Hassanen said, describing "as‑is" and "to‑be" process mapping and a goal of producing a final report to DBI and the mayor's office in October.
The BPR effort has been intensive and broad: staff reported roughly "about a 100" employees from multiple agencies and stakeholders participating in weekly subcommittee meetings to identify duplication and propose streamlined steps. Lawrence Badner, Zoning Administrator, said staff is drafting a tentative memorandum of understanding to involve Fire and DBI earlier in planning's project-review process so that issues can be resolved before a building permit is requested.
Stakeholders who co-chair subcommittees urged commissioners to ensure the work is resourced. John Selsmann, chair of AIU San Francisco and co‑chair of the plan review committee, said the process revealed both pitfalls and opportunities and warned that implementation will require budget and staffing commitments. "When your budgets come forward in the next fiscal year, please ask your directors and your staff the question, how does BPR work with this budget?" he said.
Commissioners pressed staff on public access and automation. Commissioner Seguaya asked whether the automation work would include GIS and online public access; Hassanen said the automation subcommittee is developing specifications for a GIS‑based system to capture the citywide development review process and that web‑based permitting expansion is on the schedule. "We want a computer system that would capture the entire development review process for the city and county of San Francisco," he said, noting the goal of shared data for entitlement through inspections.
Enforcement questions surfaced during the BPR discussion. Commissioner Bill Lee asked how several food service businesses (identified in the discussion as a chain example) had opened without proper planning or building permits and whether the city could pursue the construction firms. Zoning Administrator Badner and DBI staff said many operators had pulled health permits but not building permits; DBI reported active enforcement, Board of Appeals cases and staff time devoted to investigating roughly five apparent violations. Staff said identifying contractors is difficult when no building permit was filed but that citations and appeals processes are underway.
Next steps listed by staff include steering‑committee review of subcommittee recommendations this fall, a final report to DBI and the mayor's office, continued work on automation and targeted training sessions for planning staff and small designers ahead of code changes. Commissioners asked staff to return with updates on IT staffing, online permitting expansion and enforcement outcomes.
The meeting moved to the next agenda item after closing public comment on the BPR presentation.
