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(a) Purposes. The principal purposes of the requirements for institutional master plans contained in this Section are:
(1) To provide notice and information to the Planning Commission, community and neighborhood organizations, other public and private agencies and the general public as to the plans of each affected institution at an early stage, and to give an opportunity for early and meaningful involvement of these groups in such plans prior to substantial investment in property acquisition or building design by the institution;
(2) To enable the institution to make modifications to its master plan in response to comments made in public hearings prior to its more detailed planning and prior to any request for authorization by the City of new development proposed in the Master Plan; and
(3) To provide the Planning Commission, community and neighborhood organizations, other public and private agencies, the general public, and other institutions with information that may help guide their decisions with regard to use of, and investment in, land in the vicinity of the institution, provision of public services, and particularly the planning of similar institutions in order to insure that costly duplication of facilities does not occur.
(b) When Required. Each Hospital and each Post-Secondary Educational Institution in the City and County of San Francisco (for the purposes of this Section collectively referred to as "institution(s)"), including Group Housing affiliated with and operated by any such institution shall have on file with the Planning Department a current Institutional Master Plan describing the existing and anticipated future development of that institution as provided in Subsection (c) below. Institutions of less than 50,000 square feet or of less than 100,000 square feet in the C-3 district may submit an Abbreviated Institutional Master Plan as described in Subsection (d) below.
Thereafter, at intervals of two years, each such institution shall file an Update with the Planning Department describing the current status of its Institutional Master Plan. The requirements for an Update are provided in Subsection (f) below.
The Zoning Administrator shall be notified whenever the following occur to determine whether a new Institutional Master Plan or an Update shall be required: there are significant revisions to the information contained in the Institutional Master Plan; or 10 years have passed since the last Institutional Master Plan was submitted and heard by the Planning Commission (as described by Subsection (e) below). Significant revisions may include plans to construct new facilities that were not previously discussed in the Institutional Master Plan, plans to demolish existing facilities that were not discussed in the Institutional Master Plan, closure of an existing unit, opening of a new unit, change in use of an existing unit or inpatient facility, an increase in the institution's size by 10,000 square feet or 25% of total square footage (whichever is less), or significant changes in use of existing facilities that were not discussed in the Institutional Master Plan.
(c) Format and Substance of the Institutional Master Plan. In the case of an institution occupying a site area of 50,000 or more square feet (100,000 or more square feet in the C-3 District), or occupying a site area of less than 50,000 square feet (100,000 or more square feet in the C-3 District) but anticipating future expansion over 50,000 square feet (100,000 or more square feet in the C-3 District), the plan submitted shall be a full Institutional Master Plan and shall at a minimum contain textual and graphic descriptions of:
(1) The nature of the institution, its history of growth, physical changes in the neighborhood which can be identified as having occurred as a result of such growth, the services provided and service population, employment characteristics, the institution's affirmative action program, property owned or leased by the institution throughout the City and County of San Francisco, and any other relevant general information pertaining to the institution and its services;
(2) The present physical plant of the institution, including the location and bulk of buildings, land uses on adjacent properties, traffic circulation patterns, and parking in and around the institution;
(3) The development plans of the institution for a future period of not less than 10 years, and the physical changes in the institution projected to be needed to achieve those plans. Any plans for physical development during the first five years shall include the site area, ground coverage, building bulk, approximate floor area by function, off-street parking, circulation patterns, areas for land acquisition, and timing for the proposed construction. In addition, with respect to plans of any duration, the submission shall contain a description and analysis of each of the following:
(A) The conformity of proposed development plans to the General Plan of the City and County of San Francisco, and to any neighborhood plans on file with the Planning Department,
(B) The anticipated impact of any proposed development by the institution on the surrounding neighborhood, including but not limited to the effect on existing housing units, relocation of housing occupants and commercial and industrial tenants, changes in traffic levels and circulation patterns, transit demand and parking availability, and the character and scale of development in the surrounding neighborhood,
(C) Any alternatives which might avoid, or lessen adverse impacts upon the surrounding neighborhood, including location and configuration alternatives, the alternative of no new development, and the approximate costs and benefits of each alternative,
(D) The mitigating actions proposed by the institution to lessen adverse impacts upon the surrounding neighborhood;
(4) A projection of related services and physical development by others, including but not limited to office space and medical outpatient facilities, which may occur as a result of the implementation of the institution's master plan;
(5) Any other items as may be reasonably required by the Planning Department or Planning Commission.
(d) Format and Substance of the Abbreviated Institutional Master Plan. In the case of an institution presently occupying or proposing to occupy a site area of less than 50,000 square feet or 100,000 square feet in the C-3 District, and placing on file with the Planning Department a statement that the institution does not anticipate any future expansion to more than 50,000 square feet or 100,000 square feet in the C-3 District, an abbreviated institutional master plan may be filed, consisting of a textual description of the institution's physical plant and employment, the institution's affirmative action program, all ownership by the institution of properties throughout the City and County of San Francisco, the services provided and service population, parking availability, and any other relevant general information pertaining to the institution and its services.
(e) Hearing and Acceptance of the Plan. In a case in which a full Institutional Master Plan, or revision to such a plan, has been filed and the submission has been determined by the Planning Department to contain all information in accordance with Subsection (c) above, the Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing on such plan or revisions. The Zoning Administrator shall set the time and place for the hearing within a reasonable period, but in no event shall the hearing date be less than 30 days nor more than 180 days after the plan, or revisions, have been accepted for filing. An Institutional Master Plan shall be considered accepted when the Planning Commission hearing has closed.
In a case in which an abbreviated institutional master plan has been filed in accordance with Subsection (c) above, the Zoning Administrator shall report the filing to the Planning Commission, and the Commission may, at its option, either hold or not hold a public hearing on such plan, as the Commission may deem the public interest to require. In the event a public hearing is to be held on such an abbreviated institutional master plan, the Planning Department or the Commission may require submission of additional information by the institution as deemed necessary for such hearing. An abbreviated Institutional Master Plan shall be considered accepted after the Zoning Administrator reports the filing to the Planning Commission, unless the Planning Commission requests a public hearing, at which case acceptance shall occur when the Planning Commission hearing has closed.
The public hearing conducted by the Planning Commission on any Institutional Master Plan, or revisions thereto, shall be for the receipt of public testimony only, and shall in no way constitute an approval or disapproval of the Institutional Master Plan or revision, or of any facility described therein, by the Planning Commission.
Notice of all hearings provided for herein shall be given in the same manner as prescribed for conditional use applications under Section 306.3 of this Code. The institution may be required to file with its master plan, or revisions thereto, the information and other material needed for the preparation and mailing of notices as specified in that Section.
To facilitate accessibility of the Master Plan to the public, once an institutional master plan or abbreviated institutional master plan is determined by the Planning Department to contain all information in accordance with Subsection (c) above, the institution shall provide the Planning Department with ten (10) print versions of the document in addition to any other format deemed useful and appropriate for easy public accessibility.
Public testimony, as represented in the official minutes of the Planning Commission and written correspondence to the Commission, concerning the content of an Institutional Master Plan and revisions thereto, shall become a part of the Institutional Master Plan file at the Planning Department and shall be available for public review.
(f) Update to the Plan. Every two years or sooner from the date of the most recent approval, the institution must submit an Update to the Planning Department. This Update shall provide a description of all projects that: (1) have been completed since the most recent submission; (2) are ongoing, including a description of the status and estimated timetables for completion of such projects; (3) are scheduled to begin in the upcoming 24 months, including estimated timetables for the commencement, progress, and completion of such projects; and, (4) are no longer being considered by the institution.
The Update will not require a hearing, although the document will be made publicly accessible. Per Subsection (i) below, the Planning Department will not grant any permits to the Institution until the Update is considered complete. The institution shall provide the Planning Department with ten (10) print versions of the Update in addition to any other format that is deemed useful and appropriate for easy public accessibility.
(g) Submission to Department of Public Health. The Planning Department shall submit all institutional master plans and updates filed by medical institutions pursuant to Subsections (b) and (f), above, for any changes to inpatient facilities, including the addition or removal of any licensed or staffed hospital beds and emergency services, and transfer of services, to the Director of the Department of Public Health for review and comment by a qualified health planner retained by contract by the Department of Public Health on the proposed action and its relationship to Citywide healthcare needs. For purposes of this Section, the Department of Public Health contracting process shall include a review of each candidate health planner to ensure there is no potential conflict of interest with regard to the medical institution(s) being reviewed. The Director of Public Health shall prepare a budget to cover actual time and materials expected to be incurred, in consultation with the Planning Department. A sum equal to ½ the expected cost will be submitted by the applicant to the Department of Public Health, prior to the commencement of the review. The remainder of the cost will be due at the time the initial payment is depleted. Each submission shall be made not more than 10 days after the Institutional Master Plan or update has been accepted for filing. Comments are due back to the Planning Department no later than 90 days after the date of submission.
For purposes of this Section, medical institution terms are defined as follows:
(1) Inpatient Facility. The term "Inpatient Facility" includes every entity in San Francisco licensed as a general acute care hospital, as defined by Section 1250(a) of the California Health and Safety Code, other than hospitals exempt from taxation under Section of the San Francisco Business and Tax Regulations Code.
(2) Licensed Beds. The term "Licensed Beds" includes the number of beds stated on the facility license. It excludes beds placed in suspense and nursery bassinets.
(3) Staffed Beds. The term "Staffed Beds" includes beds that are licensed and physically available for which staff is on hand to attend to the patient who occupies the bed. Staffed beds include those that are occupied and those that are vacant.
(4) Emergency Services. The term "Emergency Services" includes the ambulatory services cost center in a hospital that provides emergency treatment to the ill and injured who require immediate medical or surgical care on an unscheduled basis, including occasional care for conditions which would not be considered emergencies.
(5) Unit. The term "Unit" shall mean a division of area of an inpatient facility that is staffed and equipped to provide a particular kind of care.
(h) Conditional Use Authorizations. In the case of any institution subject to the institutional master plan requirements of this Section, no conditional use or any other entitlement requiring Planning Commission action required for development by the institution under Articles 2, 7 or 8 of this Code shall be authorized by the Planning Commission unless such development shall be as described in the Institutional Master Plan or update, filed with the Planning Department, and heard by the Planning Commission as provided in this Section. Additionally, no hearing shall be held or consent calendar item approved by the Commission on any such application for a new conditional use until three months shall have elapsed after the date on which the public hearing is closed and the Institutional Master Plan, is accepted. The procedures for conditional use applications and other entitlements requiring Planning Commission action shall be those set forth in Section 303 and elsewhere in this Code.
Furthermore, no conditional use authorization or any other entitlement requiring Planning Commission action shall be approved by the Planning Commission for any medical institution until the proposed development has first been approved pursuant to Sections 1513, 1523 and 1604 of Public Law 93-641 or Sections 437 and 438 of the California Health and Safety Code, if such approval is found by the reviewing agencies to be required under those Sections.
(i) Permit Applications. The Planning Department shall not approve any building permit application for any construction pertaining to any development of any institution subject to this Section, with the exception of interior alterations which do not significantly intensify, change or expand the use, occupancy or inpatient services or facilities of the institution as determined by the Zoning Administrator, and are necessary to correct immediate hazards to health or safety, unless that institution has complied with all the applicable requirements of Subsections (b), (c), and (f) above with regard to its filing of an Institutional Master Plan or revisions thereto.
AMENDMENT HISTORY