Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
San Francisco planners push to codify ‘shared spaces’ after year of pandemic experiments
Summary
The Planning Department and SFMTA presented legislation to make temporary shared‑spaces (parklets, curbside dining, movable parklets) permanent with streamlined permits, fee deferrals and ADA provisions. The proposal drew extensive public comment—small business owners urged certainty, disability and neighborhood advocates pressed for stronger accessibility, enforcement and public‑access guarantees—and the committee continued the item to June 7 to allow more consultation and ground‑truthing.
The Planning Department on May 24 outlined an ordinance to codify San Francisco’s emergency shared spaces program, proposing new permit categories, fee deferrals and a timeline for sponsors to bring temporary installations into compliance.
The department’s director for shared spaces, Robin Abad Okabillo, said the proposal aims to keep the streamlined processes that helped merchants survive the COVID‑19 economic shock while reintroducing stable rules: one‑stop permitting, 30‑day permit reviews, and fee deferrals until March 31, 2022 with license fees waived through 2023. Abad said the program has supported immigrant‑ and women‑owned small businesses and that an interagency grants program—backed by a $2.3 million supplemental appropriation—would help merchants meet accessibility and capital needs.
Deputy Program Manager Monica Munowich (SFMTA) described three permit typologies—public parklets, movable parklets and commercial parklets—and said all would keep a public‑access requirement during…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
