Streamlining the SF Building Code and Slope Engineering Evaluations

Dear Customers,

Earlier this year, DBI engineers and policy staff identified unnecessary local regulations that slow down the ability to build or renovate housing, and that create obstacles to opening a new business.

Working with PermitSF, our proposal was rolled into legislation that passed the Board of Supervisors, was signed by the Mayor, and is now in effect.

The biggest change is the elimination of the Slope and Seismic Hazard Zone Protection Act (SSPA), which mandated heightened engineering review based on the slope of a property, without allowing DBI discretion to exempt low-risk projects.

Over the years, we’ve heard from many of you that the SSPA included overly broad swaths of the City with minimal risk of a landslide, and that the additional required evaluations and public hearings cost time and money without a corresponding improvement in safety.

We agree. Outside experts and public hearings are simply not needed to build properly on every San Francisco hillside. Further, DBI has structural and geotechnical engineers with decades of experience who can and do require additional evaluation when necessary.

For more details, see the revised Information Sheet S-05 – Geotechnical Report Requirements and Third-Party Review in Landslide Zones. We’ve also updated the Check if Your Project Requires a Geotechnical Report and Engineering Review webpage with instructions to help property owners determine if a geotechnical report is required for their project and if a heightened engineering review may be required to mitigate landslide hazards.

The legislation also removes the City’s size limits for rooftop structures, such as mechanical enclosures, eliminates requirements for extra infrastructure for driveways and sidewalks, and deletes an outdated lighting regulation. These are more modest changes, but will make many projects easier to design, review and build without reducing the protections in the building codes.

Please reach out to our Technical Services team at techq@sfgov.org if you have questions about the implications of these code changes on an upcoming project.

Thank you for your support and partnership. Stay safe.