Mayor Lurie Kicks Off Love Our Neighborhoods Permit Program to Expedite Neighborhood Improvement Projects

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today kicked off Love Our Neighborhoods, simplifying the permitting process to make it easier for San Franciscans to make their neighborhoods more vibrant and welcoming. Developed by San Francisco Public Works, the new process will create a more user-friendly permitting process for many community projects, making it simpler and more affordable to beautify public spaces in neighborhoods across the city.

The Love Our Neighborhoods program’s kickoff continues Mayor Lurie’s work to drive the city’s economic recovery by cutting red tape and energizing neighborhoods. Just last week, the Board of Supervisors advanced Mayor Lurie’s PermitSF legislative package to make the permitting process faster and more transparent for homeowners and small businesses owners. Mayor Lurie has also signed legislation to support small businesses and reinvigorate neighborhoods—extending the First Year Free program to help new businesses open and grow, adding new entertainment zones across the city to bring life to neighborhoods, and strengthening public safety so that residents and visitors feel safe in every neighborhood.

“I love this city, and every San Franciscan I meet on the street does too. You feel that pride and that care in every neighborhood—and this program is about unlocking that energy and letting it flourish,” said Mayor Lurie. “We’re making it easier for residents to take on neighborhood projects, because if someone wants to help their community look better and feel more alive, the city should help them do it.”  

Through Love Our Neighborhoods, San Franciscans will be able to apply for a permit in under 45 minutes for both small-scale projects like adding a little library or a planter and larger projects like adding string lights, sidewalk plaques, or murals. Smaller projects will be able to receive approval quickly and for free by uploading photos online.

“San Francisco is filled with visionary residents and community groups eager to transform our public spaces by making them more welcoming and vibrant. The city should be doing everything to make the process as easy as possible,” said District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar. “These projects help nurture community, and that’s exactly what we need more of these days. This program launch is just the beginning, and we are eager to work on more ways to embrace this momentum.”

“One of the truly wonderful things about this city is the engagement of our residents. Every week in neighborhoods across San Francisco neighbors come together to beautify our public spaces and make their piece of the city just a little more delightful,” said Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman. “City government should be doing everything we can to support these efforts, and that’s the rationale behind the Love Our Neighborhoods program. I want to thank and congratulate Supervisor Melgar and Public Works and of course the many neighborhood leaders who have labored to establish and improve this program.”

Love Our Neighborhoods will provide applicants with a dedicated program point of contact who will help drive the process forward from application through construction—streamlining the process and providing step-by-step guidance. The program will also include a team of specialized engineers available to assess more complex projects that require more stringent reviews to ensure safety and accessibility.

“Part of what makes San Francisco a spectacular city is the way residents and community groups care for and love their neighborhoods,” said San Francisco Public Works Director Carla Short. “While safety and accessibility remain a priority for us as stewards of the public right of way, we want to help guide and support people in their efforts to improve and beautify our shared public spaces. This new program aims to simplify and speed up the process of enhancing and enriching our neighborhoods—and looks to foster an environment where creativity, dedication, and civic pride can flourish.”

Love Our Neighborhoods permits come at a lower cost to permit holders than other city-issued permits for encroachment into the public right of way and will cost as little as $0. Projects are divided into three tiers based upon their type and complexity:

• Tier One: Tier one projects include projects by property owners and homeowners that can be installed in front of a home and are free of charge. Projects can include benches, little libraries, and planters. To register a tier one project, registrants can provide contact information and photos of the completed project to self-certify that it follows the common-sense program regulations.
• Tier Two: Tier two projects are larger and may incorporate more significant parts of the public right of way. Projects can include murals on retaining walls, bridges or sidewalks, decorative staircases, commemorative plaques, and minor landscape projects. Established community organizations, nonprofits, community benefit districts, or merchants associations may apply for tier two permits. Applications may require interagency reviews, depending on the project type.
• Tier Three: Tier three projects require the most coordination and highest level of review. Projects can include string lights hung across a street in a commercial corridor, certain tiled staircases, new stairways or retaining walls, sculptures, fog catchers that capture water for irrigation, pedestrian-scale lighting, major landscape projects, and multi-amenity designs. Established community organizations, nonprofits, community benefit districts, or merchants associations may apply for tier three permits. Applications may require interagency reviews, depending on the project type.

“Community-driven projects are the ideas, voices, and energies of residents. They grow connections and foster pride,” said Renee Berger, who spearheaded the completed Burnside mural and tiled staircase projects in Glen Park. “The murals that brighten once-forlorn areas, gardens that replace thickets of weeds, and colorful mosaic stairways that we see in San Francisco are dreams realized by community members committed to nurturing healthy neighborhoods.”