(a) Upon the satisfaction of the requirements in this Section 205.5, an Interim Activity on an Eligible Development Site located in an Eligible Area may be authorized as a temporary use for an initial period not to exceed 36 months (“Initial Period”).
“Development Project” has the meaning set forth in the definition of Eligible Development Site.
“Eligible Area” means the Commercial (C), Residential-Commercial (RC), Downtown Residential (DTR), and Neighborhood Commercial Transit (NCT) Districts, and Mixed Use and Neighborhood Commercial (NC) Districts within the area bounded by Market Street, 13th Street/Duboce Avenue, Division Street, and King Street.
“Eligible Development Site” means a legal lot on which all of the following requirements have been satisfied: (1) an application has been submitted and accepted either to permit demolition of an existing structure, or to permit alterations sufficiently extensive to be considered, in the judgment of the Planning Director, tantamount to demolition for the purposes of this Section 205.5
; (2) applications and the associated fees have been submitted and accepted to obtain all required land use and permit entitlements for an associated development project (“Development Project”); (3) provided that a Development Project proposes to include residential uses, it would result in greater residential density than the residential density existing as of the time both the land use and permit entitlement applications were submitted to the City; and (4) applications and the associated fees have been submitted and accepted to evaluate compliance of the Development Project with the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq.) pursuant to Administrative Code Section 31.22.
“Interim Activity” means any Arts Activities Use; any Entertainment, General Use; any Use within a PDR-1-D District; and/or any Use Principally Permitted in the subject zoning district.
(c) Application. The property owner or the property owner’s authorized agent (“Applicant”) shall submit an application for temporary use to the Planning Department, on a form prepared by the Planning Department. The application shall be accompanied by the applicable fees pursuant to Planning Code Section 350 and shall include an affidavit signed by the Applicant and, as applicable, each tenant occupying any portion of the Eligible Development Site for the Interim Activity, or each tenant’s authorized agent, acknowledging that the use of the Eligible Development Site for the Interim Activity is temporary and subject to the time limits set forth in this Section 205.5 and acknowledging that the Applicant has to pay any outstanding fees, invoices, or penalties owed to City agencies, and is in compliance with all requirements of the Municipal Code, including any requirements to file Updates to Institutional Master Plans and abate any Code or Building Code violations. The Applicant shall not be required to pay additional fees set forth in Article 4 of the Planning Code as a prerequisite to obtaining temporary use authorization pursuant to this Section 205.5.
(d) New, Additional, or Modified Temporary Uses. New, additional, or modified temporary uses that were not previously approved by the Planning Director shall be reviewed through the filing of a new application and submittal of a new application fee.
(e) New Tenants. Additional or different tenants (each a “New Tenant”) may commence occupancy within and use of the Eligible Development Site in question without additional applications or fees, provided that each New Tenant submits a completed affidavit to the Department attesting to the truthfulness and correctness of the previously submitted application and declaring that the New Tenant will not discontinue, add to, or modify the approved Interim Activity.
(f) No Conversion, Change, Discontinuance, or Abandonment of Use. The approval or commencement of an Interim Activity as a temporary use as authorized under this Section 205.5 shall not be considered a conversion, discontinuance, abandonment, or change of use for purposes of this Code, notwithstanding Sections 182 and 183 of this Code. Any property for which the Interim Activity is authorized shall retain its authorized land use(s). Such authorized land uses, including any nonconforming uses, shall become operative upon the expiration, termination, or abandonment of such temporary use authorization.
(g) Fenestration, Transparency, and Visibility Requirements. Construction proposed in connection with the Interim Activity shall not cause noncompliance or exacerbate existing noncompliance with respect to fenestration, transparency, or any other visibility requirement of Section 145.1 of this Code. Further, no film, adhesive, blinds, or other treatment may be applied to any existing fenestration.
(h) Information To Be Available To Public. The Department shall make available to the public in the Planning Department’s main office and on its website a list of all applications approved under this Section 205.5, along with applicable time frames and any additional information the Planning Department deems useful for or relevant to the continued and successful activation of those spaces in the Eligible Area.
(i) Extension of Initial Period. Upon the Planning Director’s determination that permits for the Development Project are being and have been diligently pursued, and that the Interim Activity has been consistent with public convenience, necessity, or the general welfare of the City, the Planning Director is authorized to permit the Interim Activity to exceed the Initial Period for an additional period not to exceed 12 months. The Planning Director is authorized to extend the Initial Period up to two times (the first time being the extension referenced in the previous sentence) such that each extension of the Initial Period may be up to 12 months, each extension shall require a separate determination of the Planning Director according to this Section 205.5(i), and the authorization of the Interim Activity may not exceed a total duration of 60 months.
AMENDMENT HISTORY
Division (b), “Interim Activity” amended; Ord. 136-21, Eff. 9/4/2021.