(a) Except for variance decisions and permits issued by the Entertainment Commission or its Director, and as otherwise specified in this Section 8, appeals to the Board of Appeals shall be taken within 15 days from the making or entry of the order or decision from which the appeal is taken. Appeals of variance decisions shall be taken within 10 days.
(b) Appeals to the Board of Appeals of permit decisions made pursuant to Planning Code Section 343 shall be taken within 10 days of the permit decision. This subsection (b) shall expire on the Sunset Date of Planning Code Section 343, as defined in that Section. Upon the expiration of this subsection, the City Attorney shall cause this subsection to be removed from the Business and Tax Regulations Code.
(c) Appeals to the Board of Appeals of permit decisions made pursuant to Planning Code Section 207, subsection (c)(6), shall be taken within 10 days of the permit decision.
(d) Appeals of actions taken by the Entertainment Commission or its Director on the granting, denial, amendment, suspension, or revocation of a permit, or on denial of exceptions from regulations for an Extended-Hours Premises Permit, shall be taken within 10 days from the making of the decision. Nothing in this Section 8 is intended to require an appeal to the Board of Appeals if any provision of Article 15, Article 15.1 (Entertainment Regulations Permit and License Provisions), or Article 15.2 (Entertainment Regulations for Extended-Hours Premises) of the Police Code governing these permits otherwise provides.
(e) Appeals shall be taken by filing a notice of appeal with the Board of Appeals and paying to said Board at such time a filing fee as follows:
(1) Zoning Administrator, Planning Department, Director of Planning, and Planning Commission.
(A) For each appeal from the Zoning Administrator’s variance decision, the fee shall be $600.
(B) For each appeal from any order, requirement, decision, or other determination (other than a variance) made by the Zoning Administrator, the Planning Department or Commission or the Director of Planning, including an appeal from disapproval of a permit which results from such an action, the fee shall be $600.
(2) Department of Building Inspection.
(A) For each appeal from a Department of Building Inspection denial, conditional approval, or granting of a residential hotel or apartment conversion permit, the fee shall be $525.
(B) For each appeal from the granting or denial of a building demolition or other permit (other than residential hotel conversion).1
the fee shall be $175.
(C) For each appeal from the imposition of a penalty only, the fee shall be $300.
(3) Police Department and Entertainment Commission.
(A) For each appeal from the denial or granting of a permit or license issued by the Police Department, Entertainment Commission, or the Director of the Entertainment Commission, to the owner or operator of a business, the fee shall be $375; for each such permit or license issued to an individual employed by or working under contract to a business, the fee shall be $150.
(B) For each appeal from the revocation or suspension of a permit or license by the Police Department, Entertainment Commission, or the Director of the Entertainment Commission, the fee shall be $375 for an entity or individual.
(4) Department of Public Works. For each appeal from the decision of the Director of the Department of Public Works concerning street tree removal by a City agency, commission, or department, the fee shall be $100.
(5) For each appeal from any other order or decision, the fee shall be $300.
(7) For requests for jurisdiction, the fee shall be $150.
(8) An exemption from paying the full fee specified in subsections (e)(1) through (7) herein may be granted upon the filing under penalty of perjury of a declaration of indigency on the form provided and approved by the Board. All agencies of the City and County of San Francisco are exempted from these fees.
(9) Additional Requirements.
(A) Notice of appeal shall be in such form as may be provided by the rules of the Board of Appeals.
(B) On the filing of any appeal, the Board of Appeals shall notify in writing the department, board, commission, officer, or other person from whose action the appeal is taken of such appeal. On the filing of any appeal concerning a structural addition to an existing building, the Board of Appeals shall additionally notify in writing the property owners of buildings immediately adjacent to the subject building.
(C) Except as otherwise specified in this subsection (e)(9)(C), the Board of Appeals shall fix the time and place of hearing, which shall be not less than 10 nor more than 45 days after the filing of said appeal, and shall act thereon not later than 60 days after such filing or a reasonable time thereafter.
(i) In the case of a permit issued by the Entertainment Commission or its Director, the Board of Appeals shall set the hearing not less than 15 days after the filing of said appeal, shall act thereon not more than 30 days after such filing, and shall not entertain a motion for rehearing.
(ii) In the case of a decision on a permit application made pursuant to Planning Code Section 343, the Board of Appeals shall set the hearing not less than 10 days after the filing of said appeal, shall act thereon not more than 30 days after such filing, and shall not entertain a motion for rehearing. This subsection (e)(9)(C)(ii) shall expire on the Sunset Date of Planning Code Section 343, as defined in that Section. Upon the expiration of this subsection, the City Attorney shall cause this subsection to be removed from the Business and Tax Regulations Code.
(iii) In the case of a decision on a permit application made pursuant to Planning Code Section 207.2, the Board of Appeals shall set the hearing not less than 10 days after the filing of said appeal, shall act thereon not more than 30 days after such filing, and shall not entertain a motion for rehearing.
(iv) In the case of a decision on a permit or determination of compliance regarding a homeless shelter located on City owned or leased property during a declared shelter crisis, the Board of Appeals shall set the hearing not less than 10 days after the filing of said appeal, shall act thereon not more than 30 days after such filing, and shall not entertain a motion for rehearing.
(D) With respect to any decision of the Board of Appeals related to any “dwelling” in which “protected class members” are likely to reside (each as defined in Administrative Code Chapter 87), the Board of Appeals shall comply with the requirements of Administrative Code Chapter 87 which requires, among other things, that the Board of Appeals not base any decision regarding the development of such units on information which may be discriminatory to any member of a “protected class.”
(E) Pending decision by the Board of Appeals, the action of such department, board, commission, officer or other person from which an appeal is taken, shall be suspended, except for: (i) actions of revocation or suspension of a permit by the Director of Public Health when determined by the Director to be an extreme public health hazard; (ii) actions by the Zoning Administrator or Director of the Department of Building Inspection stopping work under or suspending an issued permit; (iii) actions of suspension or revocation by the Entertainment Commission or the Director of the Entertainment Commission when the suspending or revoking authority determines that ongoing operation of the activity during the appeal to the Board of Appeals would pose a serious threat to public safety; (iv) actions of the Director of the Office of Cannabis awarding a Temporary Cannabis Business Permit; (v) actions pursuant to a permit or determination of compliance by the Departments of Public Works or Building Inspection regarding homeless shelters during a declared shelter crisis; and (vi) actions of the Director of Public Health under Section 4613(c) of the Health Code summarily suspending an Overdose Prevention Program permit or revoking such a permit after a summary suspension.
(Amended by Ord. 315-81, App. 6/21/81; Ord. 95-86, App. 3/21/86; Ord. 27-88, App. 1/28/88; Ord. 255-88, App. 6/22/88; Ord. 434-88, App. 9/16/88; Ord. 285-89, App. 8/2/89; Ord. 340-92, App. 11/5/92; Ord. 61-96, App. 2/9/96; Ord. 128-97, App. 4/9/97; Ord. 191-98, App. 6/12/98; Ord. 295-98, Eff. 11/4/98; Ord. 306-99, File No. 990497, App. 12/3/99; Ord. 223-01, File No. 011578, App. 11/16/2001; Ord. 193-05, File No. 051027, App. 7/29/2005; Ord. 102-09, File No. 090543, App. 6/23/2009; Ord. 239-09, File No. 080323, App. 11/20/2009; Ord. 172-11
, File No. 110506, App. 9/12/2011, Eff. 10/12/2011; Ord. 195-14
, File No. 140776, App. 9/19/2014, Eff. 10/19/2014; Ord. 230-17, File No. 171042, App. 12/6/2017, Eff. 1/5/2018; Ord. 281-18, File No. 180453, App. 12/7/2018, Eff. 1/7/2019, Oper. 1/7/2019; Ord. 60-19, File No. 190045, App. 4/4/2019, Eff. 5/5/2019; Ord. 116-19, File No. 181156, App. 6/28/2019, Eff. 7/29/2019; Ord. 105-20, File No. 200243, App. 7/10/2020, Eff. 8/10/2020; Ord. 62-24, File No. 230310, App. 3/28/2024, Eff. 4/28/2024)
CODIFICATION NOTE
1. So in Ord. 281-18.