(a) Purpose. In order to provide for the consideration of a neighborhood-serving grocery store of moderate size in a location accessible to the Hayes Valley and Western Addition neighborhoods, there shall be a Fulton Street Grocery Store Special Use District, consisting of Lots 001 and 058 through 198, inclusive of Assessor’s Block 0794, between Laguna and Octavia Streets, as designated on Sectional Map 2SU of the Zoning Map. This Special Use District would enable the consideration of a project containing a grocery store in a district that does not permit such uses. This Special Use District would conditionally permit a grocery store that is a formula retail use, in order to allow consideration of a grocery store that is affordable to the neighborhood. This one-time lift of the ban on formula retail is intended to support an affordable grocery store that is committed to serving and hiring from the neighborhood. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey, the median household income in the surrounding neighborhood is $24,041, and over one-third of residents in the neighborhood live below the poverty line.
(b) Definition. “Grocery Store” shall mean a retail use that provides fresh produce and other unprepared perishable food products (such as dairy, fish, grains), in addition to other general groceries, personal items, household goods, and similar goods. The term “Grocery Store” includes General Grocery and Specialty Grocery uses.
(c) Application. This Special Use District shall apply only to projects that meet all of the following standards:
(1) The project is mixed-use, with both commercial and residential uses;
(2) Commercial uses include a Grocery Store larger than 15,000 square feet of gross occupied floor area; and
(3) Residential uses achieve a density of not less than 1 unit per 600 square feet of lot area.
(d) Controls. The following controls apply to projects meeting the criteria of subsection (c) and to any subsequent alterations or changes of use in a building approved under this Section 249.35A.
(1) The controls of the Hayes-Gough NCT apply in their entirety, except as specified in this Section.
(2) All formula retail uses are prohibited, except for a Grocery Store, which may be permitted as a formula retail use, as defined in Section 303.1, through Conditional Use Authorization pursuant to Section 303.1. Pursuant to the Planning Code, any such formula retail Grocery Store shall be subject to all provisions of Section 303.1, including but not limited to subsection (j) of Section 303.1.
(3) Accessory off-street parking shall not be permitted for any commercial use except the Grocery Store.
(4) All subsequent changes of use shall require Conditional Use authorization from the Planning Commission. The only Non-Residential Uses that may be permitted in the space initially approved for a Grocery tore1
shall include Trade Shop and Institutional Uses, excluding Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, and Hospitals, except that General Retail Sales and Services, Pharmacy, or General or Specialty Grocery uses may be permitted.
(5) In addition to the standard criteria for Conditional Use authorization, as set forth in Sections 303 and, if applicable, 303.1, a project sponsor proposing a Grocery Store shall also present information about the affordability of food for the Commission’s consideration. The Commission shall consider such information, as well as whether the project sponsor can demonstrate that the proposed Grocery Store will accept payment assistance, as set forth below.
(A) Acceptance of Payment Assistance. The project sponsor shall describe the proposed Grocery Store’s commitment to accept payment from individuals through assistance programs including but not limited to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and other similar public assistance programs.
(B) Food Affordability Projection. The project sponsor shall prepare a projection of food affordability at the proposed location and submit it for review by the Planning Commission. The projection shall consist of current retail pricing for a sampling of everyday grocery items that represent all categories within the market basket of foods maintained by the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion for their Official USDA Food Plans.
(6) Signs shall be subject to the requirements of Article 6 of this Code, except that allowable business signs for the Grocery Store shall be limited to the following:
(A) Window Signs. The total area of all window signs, as set forth in Section 602.1(b), shall not exceed 10% of the area of the window on or in which the signs are located. Such signs may be non-illuminated.
(B) Wall Signs. The total area of all wall signs shall not exceed 40 square feet on the Fulton Street frontage occupied by the use, and 40 square feet on the Laguna Street frontage occupied by the use. The height of any wall sign shall not exceed 24 feet, or the height of the wall to which it is attached, or the height of the lowest of any residential windowsill on the wall to which the sign is attached, whichever is lower. Such signs may be non-illuminated or indirectly illuminated.
(C) Projecting Signs. The number of projecting signs shall not exceed one per business. The area of such sign, as set forth in Section 602.1(a), shall not exceed 24 square feet. The height of such sign shall not exceed 24 feet, or the height of the wall to which it is attached, or the height of the lowest of any residential windowsill on the wall to which the sign is attached, whichever is lower. No part of the sign shall project more than 75% of the horizontal distance from the street property line to the curbline, or six feet six inches, whichever is less. Such signs may be non-illuminated or indirectly illuminated.
(D) Signs on Awnings and Marquees. Sign copy may be located on permitted awnings or marquees in lieu of wall signs. The area of such sign copy as set forth in Section 602.1(c) shall not exceed 40 square feet on the Fulton Street frontage occupied by the use, and 40 square feet on the Laguna Street frontage occupied by the use. Such sign copy may be non-illuminated or indirectly illuminated.
(E) Freestanding Signs and Sign Towers. Freestanding signs or sign towers per lot shall not be permitted.
(e) Effectiveness of Controls in this Special Use District. The controls of this Section 249.35A shall apply only to a Grocery Store that the Planning Commission approves pursuant to the requirements of this Section 249.35A within 5 years of the effective date of the ordinance in Board File No. 190839 amending this Section.
(Added by Ord. 72-08, File No. 071157, App. 4/3/2008; amended by Ord. 4-14
, File No. 131085, App. 2/4/2014, Eff. 3/6/2014; Ord. 22-15, File No. 141253, App. 2/20/2015, Eff. 3/22/2015; Ord. 129-17, File No. 170203, App. 6/30/2017, Eff. 7/30/2017; Ord. 254-19, File No. 190839, App. 11/15/2019, Eff. 12/16/2019; Ord. 63-20, File No. 200077, App. 4/24/2020, Eff. 5/25/2020; Ord. 136-21, File No. 210674, App. 8/4/2021, Eff. 9/4/2021)
AMENDMENT HISTORY
Divisions (b) and (d)(4) amended; new division (d)(5) added; division (e) amended; Ord. 4-14
, Eff. 3/6/2014. Divisions (a), (b), and (c)(2) amended; Ord. 22-15, Eff. 3/22/2015. Division (d)(4) amended; Ord. 129-17, Eff. 7/30/2017. Divisions (a)-(d), (d)(2)-(d)(4), and (e) amended; new divisions (d)(5)-(d)(5)(B) added; former divisions (d)(5)-(d)(5)(E) redesignated as (d)(6)-(d)(6)(E); Ord. 254-19, Eff. 12/16/2019. Division (d)(4) amended; Ord. 63-20, Eff. 5/25/2020. Division (e) amended; Ord. 136-21, Eff. 9/4/2021.
CODIFICATION NOTE
Editor's Note:
This section originally was designated 249.34 when enacted by Ord. 72-08. The section was redesignated by the editor in order to avoid conflicting with previously existing material. This section subsequently has been amended multiple times under its current number, as documented in the history note above.
This section originally was designated 249.34 when enacted by Ord. 72-08. The section was redesignated by the editor in order to avoid conflicting with previously existing material. This section subsequently has been amended multiple times under its current number, as documented in the history note above.