Board of Appeals upholds zoning ruling allowing limited DoorDash Labs drone testing at Folsom Street site

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Nov. 19 denied an appeal by Teamsters Local 665 and upheld a zoning administrator’s Aug. 19 letter of determination that limited outdoor testing of delivery drones by DoorDash Labs at 1942 and 1960 Folsom Street qualifies as a laboratory use in the PDR‑1‑G district.

The board’s decision, made by a 3–0 vote, resolves a narrow legal question the panel considered: whether the proposed activities as described in the request fall under the planning code’s definition of a laboratory use and whether that use is principally permitted at the site. The ruling does not grant building or operational permits; those would be separate applications subject to additional review and public comment.

Mark Leeson, representing the appellant Teamsters Local 665, told commissioners the proposed program’s central activity is outdoor drone flight and testing, and argued that “we do not believe that the laboratory land use designation was ever intended to include the outdoor flying activities…