Mayor Lurie Introduces Permit Reforms to Cut More Red Tape for San Franciscans, Speed Up Affordable Housing Construction

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today introduced new legislation as part of his PermitSF initiative to accelerate San Francisco’s economic recovery by making the city’s permitting process fast, predictable, and transparent. This latest slate of reforms will accelerate the construction of new affordable housing, following the passage of the Family Zoning plan to help the next generation of San Franciscans raise their children in the city. Additional common-sense changes include practical improvements like allowing the city to plant street trees in priority neighborhoods, rather than placing the burden on individual property owners. The slate of reforms brings the total number of ordinances enacted or introduced as part of PermitSF to 18 since the program kicked off in February. Ten are already in effect, supporting small business owners and residents and helping accelerate San Francisco’s recovery. In the last six months, Mayor Lurie also has cut the ribbon on new affordable housing communities across San Francisco’s Bayview, Sunnydale, Hunters Point Shipyard, Civic Center, and Outer Sunset neighborhoods. Previous PermitSF reforms—such as establishing transparent performance metrics—are improving the conditions for more affordable housing development, with the city getting 80% of permits issued in 30 days or fewer across departments.  
“San Francisco needs more housing so families can afford to live here—and we need it faster. Through PermitSF, we’re getting rid of rules that might have made sense decades ago but now just create delays and unintended consequences,” said Mayor Lurie. “These latest common-sense reforms update our planning code so people can build homes, open businesses, and stay rooted in their communities. We are making it clear: San Francisco is serious about building homes, growing jobs, and making this city work for residents.” 
“We continue to see tremendous public interest in PermitSF, reflecting just how much San Franciscans want to see the city cut through its bureaucracy to improve the day-to-day lives of our neighbors and entrepreneurs,” said Liz Watty, Director of Current Planning at San Francisco Planning and PermitSF Director. “These latest reforms continue the momentum towards permitting that is transparent, predictable, and has common sense at its core.” 
The legislative package introduced today includes ordinances that would: 

• Eliminate barriers to 100% affordable housing rehabilitation and construction. This legislation reduces requirements that create financial burdens for affordable housing development by creating more flexibility in the planning code, including:
  • Allowing sites to generate revenue or serve the community before construction starts, including using sites for parking, pop-up retail, or community programming.  
  • Removing ground-floor commercial space requirements. Exempting affordable housing projects from mandatory ground-floor commercial space can give builders more flexibility, lower per-unit costs, and lead to more housing to be built.
• This legislation is co-sponsored by Supervisor Mahmood.
• Provide flexibility to meet the city’s street tree requirement. Projects that require tree planting as an environmental offset to development will now allow permit applicants to choose one of two options: either plant street trees in front of their property or pay an in-lieu fee and skip a multi-step and often unpredictable tree permitting process. This second option enables Public Works to plant trees in neighborhoods with the greatest need for canopy coverage. This shift transfers tree-planting responsibility from individual property owners to the city, allowing for strategic investment in underserved areas while making permitting easier, faster, and more affordable. Applicants will have more options earlier in the process, reducing permitting timelines by weeks. This legislation is cosponsored by Supervisor Wong.
• Simplify process when there are minor changes to new construction projects. This legislation eliminates the planning department’s public hearing and re-entitlement requirements when projects require minor modifications. Currently, even small changes trigger a re-entitlement process that takes up to four months and costs a minimum of $1,626—plus architect fees and staff time, delaying crucial new housing construction. This reform will save applicants up to four months in permitting time, allowing new housing to move forward without unnecessary bureaucratic delays. 

“This is smart policy that makes permitting faster while strengthening our urban forest where it's needed most by strategically planting street trees in communities with the least canopy coverage,” said District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong. “I'm proud to support a policy that reduces red tape for applicants while advancing our environmental and equity goals.” 
“San Franciscans can’t wait decades for affordable homes,” said Supervisor Bilal Mahmood. “By removing outdated barriers, it creates flexibility to turn unused spaces into housing for the residents who need it most—it’s exactly the creative housing policy we need to unlock more affordable homes.” 
“This thoughtful approach is a win-win—it streamlines the permitting process to allow applicants to move their projects forward faster and it ensures the continued growth of San Francisco’s urban forest to reap the important environmental and socio-economic benefits of street trees in an urban environment,” said Public Works Director Carla Short. 
“This legislation expands the range of allowable uses and permits TNDC the flexibility in how sites are used before construction begins. At our Pennsylvania Street site in Potrero Hill, for example, this would allow us to more easily lease the vacant site out for interim use, such as parking, which helps offset costs,” said Alberto Benejam, Associate Director of Housing Development at Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC). “Every dollar saved and every barrier removed means more homes for families who need them most. These changes empower us to focus on what matters—building safe, stable, and affordable housing for San Francisco.”   
In addition to legislative reforms, PermitSF continues to streamline processes, improve customer experience, and cut red tape. In the past 100 days of PermitSF, this includes: 

• The consolidation of the permit center stations that applicants must visit, leading to increased efficiency for staff and the public.
• A new virtual site inspection process that enables the city and applicants for small residential and commercial projects to identify required survey monuments faster and more clearly, eliminating confusion and lengthy email exchanges.
• The launch of a unified website to guide applicants through permitting for special outdoor events like concerts, block parties, and street fairs. Applicants previously navigated up to seven different websites to find instructions and forms—now everything is centralized in one place.  
• Starting in January, event organizers can use city-approved site plan templates for downtown’s most active streets and entertainment zones—eliminating the need for costly custom architectural drawings and repeated submittals that can cost thousands of dollars and lead to months of delays. 

In addition, a number of other reforms were enacted in the 300 days since Mayor Lurie launched PermitSF, resulting in meaningful progress to make permitting faster, simpler, and more accessible. These include: 

• The elimination of permits for sidewalk tables and chairs and sidewalk merchandise displays to support small businesses.  
• The passing of legislation that cuts red tape for business and homeowners. Legislative changes feature improvements for storefronts, entertainment and nightlife businesses, pop-ups, and businesses located downtown, as well as for homeowners managing routine home repairs.
• Changes to allow San Franciscans to park in their own driveways by eliminating the planning code requirement for a screen or fence.