Mayor Lurie Introduces Legislation to Streamline Building Code, Save Homeowners and Small Businesses Time and Money

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today introduced legislation as part of his PermitSF initiative to save homeowners and small business owners time and money. The legislation will make updates to the city’s building code, eliminating unnecessary and burdensome requirements that are redundant with existing state and federal law and do not improve the safety and livability of the city. The legislation is cosponsored by District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, and District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio.

The new legislation continues Mayor Lurie’s sweeping permitting reforms launched in February and comes on the heels of the signing of the first part of his PermitSF legislation and the passage of eight ordinances that reduce the cost and administrative burden for small businesses and homeowners. PermitSF is improving customer service processes to ensure customers get timely and consistent responses, with a request for information for technology to deliver a public-facing permit tracking tool.

“Our administration is creating the conditions for our economic recovery, and that includes removing unnecessary requirements that hurt our small businesses and make it difficult for residents to improve their homes,” said Mayor Lurie. “Our PermitSF legislation is cutting red tape and removing unnecessary hurdles—supporting San Francisco’s small business owners and homeowners, driving our economic recovery, and building a more vibrant future for our entire city.”

“San Franciscans shouldn’t have to navigate costly, outdated, and redundant rules to improve their homes or start a business,” said Supervisor Mahmood. “These are smart reforms that will make our permitting process faster, fairer, and laser-focused on what really matters: safety and livability.”

“This is a much-needed update that will eliminate redundancies in the Code that result in unnecessary process for projects while ensuring that we do not undercut life and safety protections,” said Supervisor Melgar.

“Permit SF is all about getting to yes and unlocking new possibilities, and this legislation is a commonsense step in the right direction,” said Supervisor Dorsey. “Our additional city regulations can be a death by a thousand cuts. Decluttering our code and removing unnecessary barriers will make projects move faster and improve the customer experience for homeowners and small businesses.”

“This ordinance finally turns a maze into a map. It sets clear standards, streamlines approvals, and replaces confusion with predictability so people can get to work building homes and businesses,” said Supervisor Sherrill. “I’m proud to continue partnering with Mayor Lurie to deliver transparent, predictable, and good governance.”

"San Francisco is the second most expensive city in the country to build in—it's about time we fix that,” said Supervisor Sauter. “This legislation will make it easier and cheaper to improve, remodel, and build homes in our city. I'm glad to work with Mayor Lurie on these important code updates to help address the skyrocketing cost of housing for all San Franciscans.”

“These are smart changes that will rein in some San Francisco-only code requirements that went way overboard,” said Department of Building Inspection Director Patrick O’Riordan, C.B.O. “There’s generally little need for a property owner to conduct a major geotechnical review simply because a sliver of their backyard is on a slope. There’s definitely no need for homeowners to foot the bill for heavy-duty driveway regulations that do nothing to improve safety. These may seem like modest tweaks to the code, but they will add up to big gains for homeowners, builders, and our city as a whole.”

The legislation introduced today will make four reforms to the San Francisco Building Code.

The Slope and Seismic Hazard Zone Protection Act: The updates will remove a requirement that automatically mandates a detailed geotechnical study that can cost thousands of dollars and can delay a construction project or home renovation by months, even if only a small portion of a property is on a slope. State building code already provides a process for evaluating proposed construction on a slope to ensure the project can be built safely. Instead, the city will work with property owners to determine whether a study is needed. Removing the mandatory requirement for this study would save property owners an average of $24,000 and allow them to start construction up to four months earlier.

Size Limits from Rooftop Structures: The updates will eliminate a requirement that prevents the construction of rooftop structures over a certain size, such as those that hold mechanical equipment. The current requirements place unnecessary constraints on the city’s efforts to modernize buildings and create needless barriers to smart design without enhancing safety.

Driveway and Sidewalk Load Requirements: The updates will remove a requirement that residential driveways and sidewalks be built to exceed the state’s heavy truck standards for how much weight they can bear. Current city requirements are far more stringent than the state code and require costly upgrades that do not improve safety.

Outdated Lighting Efficiency Standard: The updates will remove a 2010 requirement that helped San Francisco lead the nation in lighting efficiency. In 2012, the federal government adopted the same requirement, which made the city's regulation unnecessary and largely unenforceable. Removing this regulation from the code does not lessen the requirement for builders but streamlines the city’s building code.

“As an architect navigating San Francisco’s permitting process daily, I can attest that this legislation represents significant and long-overdue reform,” said Christopher Roach, Principal at Studio VARA and past Co-Chair of the AIA SF Public Policy and Advocacy Committee. “By removing unnecessary and duplicative requirements like the Slope Protection Act, we can meaningfully streamline project timelines and reduce costs—without compromising the health and life safety of the public. This is a smart, balanced approach that will make it easier to build housing of all types and benefit communities across the city.” 

“Reforming the Slope Protection Act removes costly and redundant layers of review that have stalled much-needed housing,” said Marc Babsin, President at the Emerald Fund. “In one case, a 24-home project faced a 10-month delay and hundreds of thousands in added fees—ultimately missing its development window. With these changes, we’re clearing the path for more timely, cost-effective homebuilding in San Francisco."