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Written notice of the issuance of all other permits by departments shall be posted for a period of five successive days by the department issuing such permit on a bulletin board to be maintained in a conspicuous place accessible to the public in the office where the original application is filed.
The issuance, revocation or transfer of any permit enumerated in Section 22 of this Article shall not take effect until 10 days after action thereon, during which period appeal may be made to the Board of Appeals from the action taken by the department concerned.
(Amended by Ord. 128-97, App. 4/9/97)
On the issuance, denial or revocation of any permit, any applicant for a permit who is denied such permit, or any permittee whose permit is ordered revoked, or any person who deems that his interest or property, or that the general public interest will be adversely affected as the result of operations authorized by or under any permit granted or issued, or the transfer thereof, may appeal to the Board of Appeals. Such appeal shall be in writing, and except for variances, shall be filed with the Board of Appeals not later than 15 days after the action of the department from which the appeal is taken. An appeal from the decision on a variance shall be filed with the Board of Appeals not later than 10 days after the action of the Zoning Administrator.
The form and notice of said appeal, and the procedure thereon, shall be as provided by ordinance, and when not so provided then in such form as is provided by the Board of Appeals.
(Amended by Ord. 255-88, App. 6/22/88; Ord. 128-97, App. 4/9/97)
Whenever any person, firm or corporation shall make application for any permit, pursuant to the provisions of this Article, and said permit shall be denied by any officer, board, department or commission having jurisdiction so to do, and no appeal from the denial of said permit shall be taken, as provided in this Article, or when any appeal shall be taken to the Board of Appeals from any action or order of any officer, board, department or commission granting or denying any permit in connection with which appeal to the Board of Appeals is provided for and said Board of Appeals shall, in the instance where said permit has been granted, overrule, and in the instance where such permit had been denied, concur in, the judgment or order of said officer, board, department or commission, said application for said permit, nor for a like permit covering the same location, shall not be renewed nor shall the same be heard by the officer, board, department or commission to whom or to which the original application was made until the expiration of one year from the date of the action on said original application by said officer, board, department or commission and there shall be no appeal to said Board of Appeals for failure or refusal to hear any such application within said one-year period, provided that when any permit is denied by reason of definite existing conditions which prevent the granting of said permit, and said conditions are removed or remedied, the one-year's prohibition against reapplication will not apply.
(Amended by Ord. 992, App. 1/14/41; Ord. 128-97, App. 4/9/97)
(a) General Requirement. City departments that are responsible for reviewing permit applications for the establishment, modification, and/or operation of a principally permitted storefront commercial use shall develop a process for the coordinated and streamlined review of those permit applications, with timely responses from applicants, and any inspections required in connection with the applications, in order to (1) ensure that San Francisco’s commercial corridors remain thriving, (2) support existing businesses in adapting their business models in a changing economic environment, (3) improve access for business owners from all backgrounds to successfully open their business in San Francisco, and (4) protect the City’s tax base.
(b) Deadline for Implementation of Coordinated and Simplified Review Process. The City departments subject to this Section 32 include, but are not limited to, the Planning Department, Department of Building Inspection, Fire Department, Department of Public Works, and Health Department. No later than 30 days from the effective date of this Section 32, the subject City departments shall implement a coordinated and simplified process for the review of all applications for principally permitted storefront commercial uses, and shall periodically review and update the process.
(c) Concurrent Review of Complete Permit Applications. Relevant departments shall perform a concurrent review of the permit application, when such review would reduce the length of the permit review process, provided the applicant submits a complete and accurate application. To the maximum extent feasible, this review shall be completed within 30 days of the date a complete application is submitted. If this review is not or cannot be completed within 30 days, the reason or reasons therefor shall be provided to the applicant, explaining why a decision could not be made on the permit application, the necessary steps to complete review, and the time needed to finalize review after receiving any additional information necessary to complete such review.
(d) Pre-Approval Inspections. If inspection of the proposed use is required before operation may begin, the inspection shall be limited to compliance with the items on an adopted checklist of objective threshold requirements for business operation. To the maximum extent feasible, the City departments involved shall coordinate their inspections and schedule them within two weeks of a request. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Municipal Code, an applicant may submit an inspection report by a qualified entity as determined and authorized by the head of the reviewing Department.
(e) Conditional Approvals. Where only minor corrective action is required before the proposed use may operate, a reviewing City department shall grant conditional approval so long as the Director of the department has found that no substantial hazard will result from operation of the use, or portion thereof. If the minor corrective action is not completed within a reasonable amount of time, as determined by the Director of the department, the failure to perform the corrective action shall be deemed a code violation which may be abated pursuant to the requirements of the applicable code.
(f) Expedited Process and Waiver of Additional Fees Where Department Error Results in Additional Review. Where a reviewing City department has made a significant error late in the application process in interpreting code requirements or determining the approvals required, and the error affects the timeliness of the City’s review, as determined by the Director of the involved department, the department shall expedite the additional review. In addition, notwithstanding any other provision of the Municipal Code, said department shall waive any fees applicable to the additional review. If the applicant or agent submits false or misleading information, no fee waiver shall apply.
(Added by Proposition H, 11/3/2020, Eff. 12/18/2020; amended by Ord. 111-21, File No. 210285, App. 8/4/2021, Eff. 9/4/2021)
(a) Unless otherwise specifically provided, all fixed fees for inspection or permits which involve the Health Department shall be payable in advance annually. A filing fee of $298 payable in advance to the Health Department for each inspection for a permit is required for a first-time inspection of a premises or thing if such inspection is requested or required as a condition of the issuance of a first permit or of a first license, except applications for permits for ambulances, refuse trucks, swill trucks, fumigation site surveillance, soft-serve ice cream machines and hazardous material storage.
(b) When two or more food product and marketing establishments or food preparation and service establishments, or any combination thereof, subject to inspection are located on the same premises, are not contiguous to each other, and are conducted by one owner whether person, firm or corporation, a permit shall be required for each such establishment.
(c) When the owner or lessee of premises where said class or classes of business are located or conducted does not directly or indirectly conduct the same, the owner or lessee of said premises shall not be required to obtain a permit for said premises or pay any fee imposed by this Section.
(e) Exemptions. The following establishments are exempt, as set forth in Section 249.1 of this Code, from paying fees:
(1) Food preparation and service establishments used exclusively by day care facilities for children.
(2) Food preparation and service establishments funded through the San Francisco Commission on Aging for nutrition projects for older individuals.
(f) When the Health Department provides environmental health inspection services, permit review, or training services, whether in response to a permit or license application or by request, a fee of $167 per hour will be charged for service by environmental health inspectors, and a fee of $150 per hour will be charged for service by environmental health technicians. When these services are provided during nonregular working hours, a fee of $174 per hour will be charged. "Environmental Health Inspection services, permit review, or training services" includes but is not limited to reviewing plans and blueprints, providing consultations and making site inspections. A bill for these services will be issued to the person making the application or request and must be paid prior to the Department's providing the service. If the time expended exceeds what the Department anticipated, the Department shall bill the applicant or person making the request for the additional time expended and such person shall be responsible for paying that amount. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 35, all fees for routine, nonenforcement-related inspection services provided for solid waste transfer station permit issuance and compliance review will be included in the license fee required by Section 249.15 of this Article.
(g) When the Health Department, while in the process of conducting inspections of businesses required to have a valid Permit To Operate, issued by the Department of Public Health, finds violations of local, state law or federal law, requiring follow up inspection(s) to determine if the documented violations have been corrected, the permitted establishment is liable for payment to the San Francisco Department of Public Health a fee of $75 per half-hour of on-site inspection services. Violations subject to reinspection fees include those listed as high-risk violations on the Department of Public Health food inspection report.
Not later than April 1, the Director shall report to the Controller the revenues generated by the fees for the prior fiscal year and the prior fiscal year's costs of operation, as well as any other information that the Controller determines appropriate to the performance of the duties set forth in this Section.
Not later than May 15, the Controller shall determine whether the current fees have produced or are projected to produce revenues sufficient to support the costs of providing the services for which the fees are assessed and that the fees will not produce revenue that is significantly more than the costs of providing the services for which the fees are assessed.
The Controller shall, if necessary, adjust the fees upward or downward for the upcoming fiscal year as appropriate to ensure that the program recovers the costs of operation without producing revenue which is significantly more than such costs. The adjusted rates shall become operative on July 1.
(Ord. 270-85, App. 5/30/85; amended by Ord. 443-86, App. 11/13/86; Ord. 341-88, App. 7/28/88; Ord. 244-91, App. 6/24/91; Ord. 207-93, App. 6/25/93; Ord. 131-97, App. 4/18/97; Ord. 117-01, File No. 010515, App. 6/1/2001; Ord. 5-05, File No. 041588, App. 1/8/2005; Ord. 149-08, File No. 080744, App. 7/30/2008)
If any fee provided for in Sections 35 and 35.1 of this Article shall not be paid within 30 days after the same shall become due and payable as herein provided, 10 percent of the amount thereof shall be added thereto as a penalty for nonpayment, and if said fees are not paid within 60 days after becoming due 15 percent of the amount thereof shall be added thereto, and if not paid within 90 days after becoming due 25 percent of the amount thereof shall be added thereto.
(Amended by Ord. 478-60, App. 9/15/60)
The inspections for which the fees provided for in Section 35 of this Article are imposed shall be made by the officer, board or commission charged by law or ordinance with making said inspection.
All police officers in addition to their several duties as police officers are hereby required to examine all premises in their respective beats subject to the fee imposed in Section 35 of this Article and to see that such fees have been paid and in addition to Deputy Tax Collectors shall have and exercise the power:
Second, to enter free of charge at any time any premises which is required by Sections 35 to 38, inclusive, of this Article to pay an inspection fee and to demand the exhibition of the receipt of such inspection fee for the current term, and if such person shall then and there fail to exhibit such receipt from the Tax Collector such person shall be liable to the penalty provided for violation of Sections 35 to 39, inclusive, of this Article.
It is hereby made the duty of the police officers to cause complaints to be filed against corporations occupying premises within their respective beats and not having paid the inspection fee, with their addresses, and deliver such list to the Tax Collector.
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