(a) Purpose and Findings. This Section 206.4 describes the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Program, or “100 Percent Affordable Housing Program”. In addition to the purposes described in Section 206.1, the purpose of the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Program is to facilitate the construction and development of projects in which all of the residential units are affordable to Low and Very-Low Income Households. Projects pursuing a development bonus under this 100 Percent Affordable Program would exceed the City’s shared Proposition K housing goals that 50% of new housing constructed or rehabilitated in the City by 2020 be within the reach of working middle class San Franciscans, and at least 33% affordable for low and moderate income households.
(b) Applicability. A 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Project under this Section 206.4 shall be a Housing Project that:
(2) is located in any zoning district that:
(A) is not designated as an RH-1, RH-1(D), or RH-2 Zoning District; and
(B) allows Residential Uses;
(4) meets the definition of a “100 Percent Affordable Housing Project” in Section 206.2;
(5) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Environmental Review Officer that the Project does not:
(A) cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an historic resource as defined by California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 15064.5,
(B) create new shadow in a manner that substantially affects outdoor recreation facilities or other public areas; and
(C) alter wind in a manner that substantially affects public areas;
(6) does not demolish, remove, or convert any residential units and does not include any other parcel that has any residential units that would be demolished, removed, or converted as part of the project;
(7) includes, at the ground floor, neighborhood serving uses, including but not limited to general and specialty grocery, health service, institutional, and public facilities, all as defined in Section 102; and,
(8) is not located within the boundaries of the Northeastern Waterfront Area Plan south of the centerline of Broadway.
(c) Development Bonuses. A 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Project shall, at the project sponsor’s request, receive any or all of the following:
(1) Priority Processing. 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Projects shall receive Priority Processing.
(2) Form Based Density. Notwithstanding any zoning designation to the contrary, density of the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Project shall not be limited by lot area but rather by the applicable requirements and limitations set forth elsewhere in this Code. Such requirements and limitations include, but are not limited to, height, including any additional height allowed by subsection (c) herein, Bulk, Setbacks, Open Space, Exposure and unit mix as well as applicable design guidelines, elements and area plans of the General Plan and design review, including consistency with the Affordable Housing Bonus Program Design Guidelines, referenced in Section 315.1
, as determined by the Planning Department.
(3) Height. 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Projects shall be allowed up to 30 additional feet, not including allowed exceptions per Section 260(b), above the property’s height district limit in order to provide three additional stories of residential use. This additional height may only be used to provide up to three additional 10-foot stories to the project, or one additional story of not more than 10 feet in height
(4) Ground Floor Ceiling Height. In addition to the permitted height allowed under subsection (c)(3), 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Projects with active ground floors as defined in Section 145.1(b)(2) shall receive one additional foot of height, up to a maximum of an additional five feet at the ground floor, exclusively to provide a minimum 14-foot (floor to ceiling) ground floor ceiling height.
(5) Zoning Modifications. 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Projects may select any or all of the following zoning modifications:
(A) Rear Yard: the required rear yard per Section 134 or any applicable special use district may be reduced to no less than 20% of the lot depth or 15 feet, whichever is greater. Corner properties may provide 20% of the lot area at the interior corner of the property to meet the minimum rear yard requirement, provided that each horizontal dimension of the open area is a minimum of 15 feet; and that the open area is wholly or partially contiguous to the existing midblock open space, if any, formed by the rear yards of adjacent properties.
(B) Dwelling Unit Exposure: The dwelling unit exposure requirements of Section 140(a)(2) may be satisfied through qualifying windows facing an unobstructed open area that is no less than 15 feet in every horizontal dimension, and such open area is not required to expand in every horizontal dimension at each subsequent floor.
(D) Automobile Parking: Up to a 100% reduction in the minimum off-street residential and commercial automobile parking requirement under Article 1.5 of this Code.
(E) Open Space: Up to a 10% reduction in common open space requirements if required by Section 135, but no less than 36 square feet of open space per unit.
(F) Inner Courts as Open Space: In order for an inner court to qualify as useable common open space, Section 135(g)(2) requires it to be at least 20 feet in every horizontal dimension, and for the height of the walls and projections above the court on at least three sides (or 75% of the perimeter, whichever is greater) to be no higher than one foot for each foot that such point is horizontally distant from the opposite side of the clear space in the court. 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Projects may instead provide an inner court that is at least 25 feet in every horizontal dimension, with no restriction on the heights of adjacent walls. All area within such an inner court shall qualify as common open space under Section 135.
(d) Implementation.
(1) Application. The following procedures shall govern the processing of a request for a project to qualify under the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Program.
(A) An application to participate in the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Program shall be submitted with the first application for approval of a Housing Project and processed concurrently with all other applications required for the Housing Project. The application shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the City and shall include at least the following information:
(i) A full plan set including a site plan, elevations, sections and floor plans, showing the total number of units, unit sizes and planned affordability levels and any applicable funding sources;
(ii) The requested development bonuses from those listed in subsection (c);
(iii) Unit size and distribution of multi-bedroom units;
(iv) Documentation that the applicant has provided written notification to all existing commercial tenants that the applicant intends to develop the property pursuant to this section 206.4. Any affected commercial tenants shall be given priority processing similar to the Department’s Community Business Priority Processing Program, as adopted by the Planning Commission on February 12, 2015 under Resolution Number 19323 to support relocation of such business in concert with access to relevant local business support programs. In no case may an applicant receive a site permit or any demolition permit prior to 18 months from the date of written notification required by this subsection 206.4(d)(1)(B); and
(v) Documentation that the applicant shall comply with any applicable provisions of the State Relocation Law or Federal Uniform Relocation Act when a parcel includes existing commercial tenants.
(2) Conditions. Entitlements of 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Projects approved under this Section shall be valid for 10 years from the date of approval.
(3) Controls. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, no conditional use authorization shall be required for a 100 Percent Affordable Housing Bonus Project, unless such conditional use requirement was adopted by the voters.
(Added as Sec. 206.3 by Ord. 143-16, File No. 160687, App. 7/29/2016, Eff. 8/28/2016; redesignated and internal references amended by Ord. 116-17, File No. 150969, App. 6/13/2017, Eff. 7/13/2017; amended by Ord. 179-18, File No. 180423, App. 7/27/2018, Eff. 8/27/2018; Ord. 198-18, File No. 180456, App. 8/10/2018, Eff. 9/10/2018; Ord. 202-18, File No. 180557, App. 8/10/2018, Eff. 9/10/2018; Ord. 296-18, File No. 180184, App. 12/12/2018, Eff. 1/12/2019)
(Former Sec. 206.4 added by Ord. 72-08, File No. 071157, App. 4/3/2008; redesignated as Sec. 209.4 and amended by Ord. 22-15, File No. 141253, App. 2/20/2015, Eff. 3/22/2015)
AMENDMENT HISTORY
Divisions (c)(2) and (d)(2) amended; division (d)(3) deleted and former division (d)(4) redesignated as (d)(3); Ord. 179-18, Eff. 8/27/2018; also shown in Ord. 198-18, Eff. 9/10/2018. Divisions (a), (b), and (b)(1) amended; Ord. 202-18, Eff. 9/10/2018. Divisions (a), (b), and (b)(3) amended; Ord. 296-18, Eff. 1/12/2019.