New Ordinance NoticePublisher's Note: This Chapter includes sections affected by new legislation. Click here for a list of all new legislation affecting sections of this Code.
Short Title. | |
Findings. | |
Purposes and Goals. | |
Definitions. | |
Applicability of Article. | |
Air Pollutant Exposure Zone and Air Pollutant Exposure Zone Map. | |
Enhanced Ventilation Requirement. | |
Maintenance of Documents by Department. | |
Rules and Regulations. | |
Maintenance and Disclosure Requirements. | |
Fees. | |
No Conflict with Federal or State Law. | |
Severability. | |
Undertaking for the General Welfare. | |
This Article shall be entitled Enhanced Ventilation Required for Urban Infill Sensitive Use Developments.
(Added by Ord. 281-08, File No. 080934, 12/5/2008; amended by Ord. 224-14
, File No. 140806, App. 11/7/2014, Eff. 12/7/2014)
(a) Scientific studies show that exposure to particulate matter from air pollution leads to significant human health problems, including: aggravated asthma; chronic bronchitis; reduced lung function; irregular heartbeat; heart attack; and premature death in people with heart or lung disease. Exposure to air pollutants that are carcinogens can also have significant human health consequences. For example, exposure to diesel exhaust is an established cause of lung cancer.
(b) Heart disease and stroke are the first and fourth leading causes of death in the U.S. respectively. Air pollution affects heart health and can trigger or contribute to heart attacks and strokes. One in three Americans has heart or blood vessel disease and is at higher risk from air pollution. Impacts on the lungs may take several forms. Short-term effects include deficits in lung function that can limit breathing, especially during exercise. Irritants from air pollution may cause airway constriction or chest tightening that is uncomfortable or limiting to normal activity. These changes in lung function are sometimes accompanied by underlying lung tissue inflammation which over the long term may lead to chronic lung disease. Exposure to air pollutants may be a contributing factor to leading causes of death recorded for San Francisco's population (ischemic heart disease; lung, bronchus and tracheal cancers; cerebrovascular disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; hypertensive heart disease and lower respiratory infection).
(c) Persons living in close proximity to air pollution sources, such as freeways or busy roadways, have poorer lung functions and are more susceptible to developing asthma and other respiratory problems, compared with persons living at a greater distance from such sources. The California Air Resources Board's 2005 Land Use Guidance document, "Air Quality and Land Use Handbook: A Community Health Perspective," reviewed traffic-related air pollution studies and found that particulate matter pollution levels decrease by about 70 percent at 500 feet from freeways and high-traffic roadways, defined as urban roads with 100,000 vehicles/day or rural roads with 50,000 vehicles/day.
(d) Proximity to sources of air pollution increases exposure, and proximity to sources is established to be more common for the poor and for certain ethnic minorities.
(e) Consequently, health vulnerability varies among neighborhoods and populations within San Francisco, as measured by population health records of air pollution-associated hospital discharges and emergency room visits, and non-accident mortality. Health vulnerable populations are likely to have more significant health consequences from air pollutant exposure compared to populations that are less vulnerable.
(f) Existing regulatory control measures, often focused on new stationary sources of emissions and average regional air pollution concentrations, are not sufficient to address all local sources of exposure or disparities in exposure.
(g) "Sensitive Use" buildings have the highest proportion of individuals who are most vulnerable to air pollutant exposures.
(h) Available technologies exist to protect sensitive uses from air pollution health effects. Available and accepted air pollution modeling technology allows for the estimation of certain air pollutant concentrations for individual land parcels. Furthermore, available building ventilation and engineering technologies provide mechanisms to protect indoor environments from the infiltration of ambient air pollutants.
(Added by Ord. 281-08, File No. 080934, 12/5/2008; amended by Ord. 224-14
, File No. 140806, App. 11/7/2014, Eff. 12/7/2014)
(a) The purpose of this Article 38 is to protect the public health and welfare by establishing an Air Pollutant Exposure Zone and imposing an enhanced ventilation requirement for all urban infill sensitive use development within the Air Pollutant Exposure Zone.
(b) The goals of this Article 38 are to maintain and increase the stock of infill housing and other sensitive use development in the City while reducing the risk to human health from air pollutants among occupants of, and visitors to, buildings in the Air Pollutant Exposure Zone.
For the purposes of this Article 38, the following words shall have the following meanings:
"Air Pollutant Exposure Zone" means those areas within the City which, by virtue of their proximity to air pollution emissions sources, including Freeways, have substantially greater concentrations of air pollutants. The Air Pollutant Exposure Zone shall be modeled according to specific risk factors defined in the Rules and Regulations, and will include at a minimum, criteria for maximum allowed excess cancer risks and maximum PM2.5 concentrations; these criteria shall be more stringent in Health Vulnerable Locations, as defined below.
"Building" means a building that contains a "Sensitive Use" and that is either:
(1) a new building; or
(2) a building undergoing a "Major Alteration to Existing Building" as defined by the San Francisco Green Building Code; or
(3) a building undergoing a Planning Department permitted change of use.
"City" means the City and County of San Francisco.
"Department" means the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
"Director" means the Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health or the Director's designee.
"Enhanced Ventilation" means a ventilation system capable of achieving the protection from particulate matter (PM2.5) equivalent to that associated with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 13 filtration (as defined by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard 52.2).
"Freeway" refers to freeways as defined in the San Francisco General Plan, Transportation Element.
"Health Vulnerable Locations" means those San Francisco zip codes, census tracts or other defined locations having the highest percentage of health vulnerable residents, based on criteria such as State discharge data from respiratory and cardiovascular related hospitalizations, non-accident mortality, or other criteria as determined by the Director and specified in the Rules and Regulations enacted under this Article.
"PM2.5" means solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air, that are less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (μm) in diameter.
"Sensitive Use" means:
(1) any building or facility designed for residential use, including but not limited to those defined by City, state or federal law and regulations, excluding Tourist Hotels;
(2) any facility serving specific populations, including but not limited to California Department of Social Services (CDSS)-licensed Adult Day Care Centers, Adult Support Centers, Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, Infant Care Centers, School-Aged Child Care Centers, and Community Treatment Centers;
(3) any California Department of Education (CDE)-licensed schools;
(4) any California Department of Public Health (CDPH)-licensed Health Care Facilities with 24-hour care, except for CDPH-licensed hospitals, which are subject to specific regulations;
(5) any California Building Code Section 305-defined occupancies of Educational Group E;
(6) any California Building Code Section 308-defined occupancies of Institutional Group I; and
(7) any California Building Code Section 310-defined occupancies of Residential Group R.
"Site" means a parcel of land as defined in the San Francisco Building Code.
(Added as Sec. 3803 by Ord. 281-08, File No. 080934, 12/5/2008; redesignated and amended by Ord. 224-14
, File No. 140806, App. 11/7/2014, Eff. 12/7/2014)
This Article 38 shall apply to Sensitive Use buildings located on a site identified as within the Air Pollutant Exposure Zone that are either:
(a) Newly constructed; or
(b) Undergoing a "Major Alteration to Existing Building" as defined by the San Francisco Green Building Code; or
(c) The subject of an application tor a Planning Department-permitted Change of Use.
(Added as Sec. 3804 by Ord. 281-08, File No. 080934, 12/5/2008; redesignated and amended by Ord. 224-14
, File No. 140806, App. 11/7/2014, Eff. 12/7/2014)
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