SEC. 121.2. NON-RESIDENTIAL USE SIZE LIMITS IN NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL AND NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL TRANSIT DISTRICTS.

(a) In order to protect and maintain a scale of development appropriate to each district, Non-Residential Uses of the same size or larger than the square footage stated in the table below may be permitted only as Conditional Uses. The use area shall be measured as the Gross Floor Area for each individual Non-Residential Use.

District	Use Size Limits
Castro Street	2,000 sq. ft.
North Beach
Pacific Avenue
Polk Street*
24th Street-Mission	2,500 sq. ft.
24th Street-Noe Valley
Haight Street
Inner Clement Street
Inner Sunset
Japantown
Outer Clement Street
Sacramento Street
Union Street
Upper Fillmore Street
West Portal Avenue
NC-1, NCT-1	3,000 sq. ft.
Broadway
Hayes-Gough
Upper Market Street
Valencia Street
NC-2, NCT-2	4,000 sq. ft.
Divisadero Street
Folsom Street
Glen Park
Irving Street
Judah Street
Noriega Street
Ocean Avenue
SoMa
Taraval Street
NC-3, NCT-3	6,000 sq. ft.
Excelsior Outer Mission Street
Fillmore Street
Mission Street
NC-S
Regional Commercial District	10,000 sq. ft.

* Conditional Use not required for any Limited Restaurant use that relocates within the Polk Street NCD, and is designated as a Legacy Business as of the effective date of the ordinance in Board File No. 240411.

In addition to the criteria of Section 303(c) of this Code, the Commission shall consider the extent to which the following criteria are met:

(1) The intensity of activity in the district is not such that allowing the larger use will be likely to foreclose the location of other needed neighborhood-serving uses in the area.

(2) The proposed use will serve the neighborhood, in whole or in significant part, and the nature of the use requires a larger size in order to function.

(3) The building in which the use is to be located is designed in discrete elements which respect the scale of development in the district.

(b) In order to protect and maintain a scale of development appropriate to each district, Non-Residential uses that exceed the square footage stated in the table below shall not be permitted, except in the following circumstances:

(1) In the Castro Street Neighborhood Commercial District, a Child Care Facility, School, Post-Secondary Educational Institution, Religious Institution, Social Service or Philanthropic Facility, Community Facility, or a Residential Care Facility as defined in Section 102 of this Code that is operated by a non-profit and is neighborhood-serving may exceed this Subsection 121.2(b) with Conditional Use authorization.

(2) In the Regional Commercial District, Schools and Childcare Facilities as defined in Section 102 may exceed this Subsection 121.2(b) with Conditional Use authorization.

(3) In the Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District, this subsection 121.2(b) shall not apply to a Movie Theater use, or the expansion of an existing General Grocery Use, as defined in Section 102 of this Code, and pursuant to the controls of Section 723.

The use area shall be measured as the Gross Floor Area for each individual Non-Residential use.

District	Use Size Limits
West Portal Avenue	4,000 square feet
North Beach
Castro Street
Polk Street
Pacific Avenue
Regional Commercial District	25,000 square feet

(c) In order to protect the pedestrian scale of the Mission Street NCT and provide space for small businesses, the following control shall apply in the Mission Street NCT:

(1) Applicability. Lot mergers pursuant to Section 121.7(f) and any project located on a parcel that was created as a result of a lot merger pursuant to Section 121.7(f).

(2) Control. Any such project that does not include at least one non-residential space of no more than 2,500 square feet, located on the ground floor and fronting directly onto Mission Street, shall require a conditional use authorization. In considering whether to grant such conditional use authorization, the Commission shall consider the criteria in Sections 121.2(a) and 303(c).

(Added by Ord. 69-87, App. 3/13/87; amended by Ord. 445-87, App. 11/12/87; Ord. 312-99, File No. 991586, App. 12/3/99; Ord. 198-00, File No. 992321, App. 8/18/2000; Ord. 262-00, File No. 001426, App. 11/17/2000; Ord. 251-07, File No. 070851, App. 11/7/2007; Ord. 72-08, File No. 071157, App. 4/3/2008; Ord. 245-08, File No. 080696; Ord. 298-08, File No. 081153, App. 12/19/2008; Ord. 61-09, File No. 090181, App. 4/17/2009; Ord. 140-11, File No. 110482, App. 7/5/2011, Eff. 8/4/2011; Ord. 35-12 , File No. 111305, App. 2/21/2012, Eff. 3/22/2012; Ord. 42-13 , File No. 130002, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013; Ord. 56-13 , File No. 130062, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013; Ord. 154-13 , File No. 130263, App. 7/25/2013, Eff. 8/24/2013; Ord. 188-15 , File No. 150871, App. 11/4/2015, Eff. 12/4/2015; Ord. 129-17, File No. 170203, App. 6/30/2017, Eff. 7/30/2017; Ord. 205-17, File No. 170418, App. 11/3/2017, Eff. 12/3/2017; Ord. 17-18, File No. 171173, App. 2/9/2018, Eff. 3/12/2018; Ord. 202-18, File No. 180557, App. 8/10/2018, Eff. 9/10/2018; Ord. 11-23, File No. 221023, App. 2/9/2023, Eff. 3/12/2023; Ord. 169-24, File No. 240411, App. 7/12/2024, Eff. 8/12/2024)

AMENDMENT HISTORY

Division (a) table amended; Ord. 140-11, Eff. 8/4/2011. Division (a) table amended; Ord. 35-12 , Eff. 3/22/2012. Division (a) table amended; Ord. 42-13 , Eff. 4/27/2013. Division (a) table amended; division (b) table amended; Ord. 56-13 , Eff. 4/27/2013. Division (a) table amended [identical amendments previously had been made by Ord. 56-13 ]; division (b) amended; Ord. 154-13 , Eff. 8/24/2013. Division (a) amended; Ord. 188-15 , Eff. 12/4/2015. Section header, divisions (a) and (b), and both tables amended; division (b) divided into divisions (b), (b)(1), (b)(2), and undesignated paragraph; Ord. 129-17, Eff. 7/30/2017. Division (b)(3) added; division (b) table amended; Ord. 205-17, Eff. 12/3/2017. Divisions (c)-(c)(2) added; Ord. 17-18, Eff. 3/12/2018. Division (a) table amended; Ord. 202-18, Eff. 9/10/2018. Divisions (b) and (b)(3) and division (b) table amended; Ord. 11-23, Eff. 3/12/2023. Division (a) table note added; Ord. 169-24, Eff. 8/12/2024.

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