Panel opts to remove 'hall' from active‑space exclusion, keeping transparency requirements

Commissioners and staff discussed what the code should treat as "active space" and agreed to remove "hall" from the list of nonactive uses, allowing circulation areas to satisfy active‑space requirements when appropriate. The group reviewed the code's current definition: "any occupiable space designed and intended for human activities, such as living, working, commerce, sleeping, eating, or cooking as determined by the administrator," and noted the code already excludes restrooms, closets, storage and utility spaces.

As staff read the definition into the record, they emphasized the administrator's discretion and the code's existing transparency standards: "...any occupiable space designed and intended for human activities, such as living, working, commerce, sleeping, eating, or cooking as determined by the administrator," with restrooms, toilet rooms, closets, storage, or utility spaces called out as nonactive. Commissioners noted that removing 'hall' from the nonactive list would make buildings like the Apex and some mixed‑use projects feasible under active‑depth rules by allowing circulation to be counted; they also discussed screening requirements for garages and how the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) and other review processes currently interact with those facades. Staff will draft language that permits circulation to be counted while flagging pathological designs (for example, exterior corridors designed solely to circumvent access rules).

Commissioners stressed the need for clarity to prevent unintended outcomes (e.g., storage or garage uses being disguised as circulation). Staff said they would refine definitions to ensure the exemption applies to genuine occupiable circulation and not to purely storage or vehicular uses.