(a) General Permit Requirements.
(1) The Director of Transportation shall issue a Residential Parking Permit for use by a specified vehicle upon receipt of a written application from a qualifying property resident. No more than one Parking permit shall be issued to each vehicle for which application is made.
(2) The Parking privileges of a Residential Parking Permit do not extend to any non-Electric Vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) in excess of 6,000 pounds, any Electric Vehicle with a GVWR in excess of 8,000 pounds, or any trailer, trailer coach, utility trailer, or any other type of vehicle as defined in the California Vehicle Code, whether separate from or attached to a motor vehicle possessing a Residential Parking Permit.
(3) A Residential Parking Permit does not guarantee or reserve to the Permittee an on-street parking space within a Residential Parking Permit Area.
(4) A Residential Parking Permit may be issued to residents of a Residential Parking Permit Area for motor vehicles registered out-of-state, provided that the applicant documents the resident’s active military duty status.
(b) Permit Privileges.
(1) Any vehicle that possesses a valid Residential Parking Permit shall be permitted to Park in the Residential Parking Permit Area for which the permit has been issued notwithstanding posted time restrictions, but is not exempt from Parking restrictions established pursuant to any authority other than this Section 905 except as set forth in subsection (b)(2).
(2) Any vehicle that possesses a valid Residential Parking Permit shall be exempt from payment at on-street Parking Meters, as required by Division I, Section 7.2.23 (Payment of Parking Meter), located in a Residential Parking Permit Area where designated by the SFMTA with posted signs.
(c) Number of Permits.
(1) Except as set forth in subsection (c)(2), no more than four Residential Parking Permits shall be issued to a single address. Residents may file a request for waiver of this limitation with the SFMTA to obtain additional permits. Factors that may be considered by the Director of Transportation or his or her designee in determining whether to grant a waiver request are the following: the availability of on-street Parking in the requester’s residential area and the number of licensed drivers in the household. The Director of Transportation shall maintain public records for all waivers granted, including all documentation provided in support of approval. The annual fee for additional permits shall be twice the base annual permit fee for the fifth permit, three times the base annual permit fee for the sixth permit, and four times the base annual permit fee for any permits over six.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1), for residents of Areas AA and EE, and for residents of Residential Parking Permit Areas established after May 1, 2018, no more than one Residential Parking Permit shall be issued to an individual person and no more than two Residential Parking Permits shall be issued to a single address. Residents of Areas AA and EE and residents of Residential Parking Permit Areas established after May 1, 2018 may file a request for a waiver of these limitations with the SFMTA for up to a maximum of four Residential Parking Permits issued to a single address. Factors that may be considered by the Director of Transportation or his or her designee in determining whether to grant a waiver request are the following: the availability of on-street Parking in the requester’s residential area and the number of licensed drivers in the household. The annual fee for additional permits shall be twice the base annual permit fee for the third permit, and three times the base annual permit fee for the fourth permit. Any Residential Parking Permit issued to a resident of Areas AA and EE, or residents of Residential Parking Permit Areas established after May 1, 2018, for purposes of subsection (e)(1) [Health Care Worker Permit] or subsection (e)(5) [Childcare Permit] shall not count towards the maximum number of Residential Parking Permits that can be issued to a single address except that the total number of permits issued to a single address shall not exceed four permits.
(d) Application Requirements.
(1) Each application for a permit or renewal of a permit shall contain information sufficient to:
(A) Identify the applicant;
(B) Identify the residence or real property address within a Residential Parking Permit Area;
(C) Establish that the applicant owns the property (has at least a one-quarter interest in the property) or leases the property (pays rent or other remuneration for use of the real property as the applicant's residence or place of business); and
(D) Identify the license number and provide proof of current California registration of the motor vehicle for which the permit would be issued.
(2) Residential Parking Permits may be issued for motor vehicles only upon application of the following Persons:
(A) A legal resident of the Residential Parking Permit Area who has a motor vehicle that is both registered in his or her name, and registered at his or her address within that Residential Parking Permit Area, or a legal resident of the Residential Parking Permit Area who has a motor vehicle for his or her exclusive use and under his or her control where said motor vehicle is registered or leased to his or her employer or a vanpool agency and he or she presents a valid employee identification card or other proof of employment that is acceptable to the SFMTA.
(B) A legal resident of a Residential Parking Permit Area who has become a resident within the past 30 days, or who has recently acquired a new vehicle.
(C) A Person who owns or leases commercial property and actively engages in business activity within a Residential Parking Permit area. However, a permit shall only be issued if the applicant presents a valid business registration or tax exemption certificate required by Article 12 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code. No more than one permit may be issued for each commercial property defined by a separate entrance and mailing address for a motor vehicle registered to or under the control of such a Person. The authority to qualify for a Residential Parking Permit pursuant to this subsection is transferable to a bona fide employee of the business. A business may purchase up to three additional permits for delivery vehicles provided that the vehicles are registered to the business’ address and display commercial plates.
(D) A legal resident of a Residential Parking Permit Area for use by a bona fide visitor. Such a visitor permit shall have all the rights and privileges of a regular permit. Visitor permits shall be available for purchase on a daily or weekly basis. The issuance of daily visitor permits shall be limited to twenty permits that may be purchased by a residential address during any permit year.
(E) A full-time student who is a legal resident of the Residential Parking Permit Area who presents a valid current full-time class schedule issued by an Educational Institution located within the City.
(e) Additional Residential Parking Permits.
(1) Health Care Worker Permits. The Director of Transportation or his or her designee is authorized to issue no more than one transferable Parking Permit, for use by up to three vehicles, to residents of a Residential Parking Permit Area for use of Persons who, on a regular basis, provide health care or other related services essential to the well-being of the resident applicant, upon the certification by a licensed physician that such services are required. The Parking Permit issued to a resident for use by such Persons shall count towards the number of Residential Parking Permits that may be issued to a single address pursuant to subsection (c)(1).
(2) Fire Station Permits. Upon the request of the Fire Chief, the Director of Transportation or his or her designee shall issue to the officer in charge of a fire station within a residential Parking area with more than one living unit, not more than 10 transferable Parking Permits and to the officer in charge of a fire station within a residential Parking area with more than one living unit, not more than five transferable Parking Permits for the exclusive use of uniformed members assigned to the station on a temporary basis because of staffing shortages. The Fire Chief shall adopt rules and regulations for the distribution of permits, consistent with this Code.
(3) Educational Institution Permits.
(A) Upon written request, the Director of Transportation shall issue transferable Parking permits to the Transportation Broker of an Educational Institution with certificated employees or Persons regularly employed as classroom teachers and located within a Residential Parking Permit Area. The transferable Parking permits shall be valid during the days and times of parking enforcement in the Residential Parking Permit Area and for the use of persons employed as teachers at such Educational Institution who reside outside of the Residential Parking Permit Area.
(B) The Director of Transportation is authorized to issue a maximum of 15 annual permits per Educational Institution. The total number of permits issued to an Educational Institution under this Section 905 shall not exceed the number of unrestricted on-street Parking available between an extension of each property line of said Institution to the middle of the Street upon which the Institution directly abuts, as determined by survey of the City Traffic Engineer. Regardless of parking availability on surrounding Streets, a qualifying Educational Institution shall be entitled to at least five permits.
(C) Upon written request from the Educational Institution documenting the need for more than 15 permits, the Director of Transportation may issue up to an additional five permits if the total number may not exceed the limitation in subsection 905(e)(3)(B) above, and if Parking occupancy in the Residential Parking Permit Area surrounding the Educational Institution is low enough to accommodate the additional permits.
(D) Each Parking permit issued pursuant to this Section 905(e)(3) shall be valid for one year and may be renewed annually. In distributing permits for a particular Educational Institution, the Transportation Broker shall give consideration to those teachers who are regularly carpooling to work.
(E) In addition to permits issued under subsection 905(e)(3)(A), the Director of Transportation may issue City-wide permits for teachers and school administrators employed by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) whose duties require them to travel to more than one school site and who have been approved by the Superintendent of the SFUSD, or his or her designee. For purposes of this Section, “school administrators” shall be defined as those administrators who provide on-site, direct support to schools that have been identified as low-performing by SFUSD, the State of California, or the federal government. The permit shall exempt the holder from Residential Parking Permit Area regulations on weekdays between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. when performing official functions for the SFUSD, and shall be valid for one year.
(F) During the time a declaration of a local emergency in San Francisco is in effect, the Director of Transportation may issue permits in excess of the limitations of subsections (e)(3)(B) and (C) above, but not to exceed a total of 300 additional permits, in order to respond to the emergency. Any additional permits issued under this subsection (e)(3)(F) shall be valid until the end of the academic year for which they were issued or until the end of the emergency and shall not be renewable.
(4) Foreign Consulate Permits. One Residential Parking Permit may be issued upon application to foreign consulates located within a Residential Parking Permit Area, and up to a maximum of two additional Parking permits per Consulate for the exclusive use of vehicles registered to the Consulate with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(5) Childcare Permits. The Director of Transportation or his or her designee is authorized to issue a a
1 maximum of one transferable Parking Permit, for use on up to three vehicles, to residents of a Residential Parking Permit Area for use of Persons who, on a regular basis, provide childcare services essential to the well-being of a child 12 years old or under who resides with the resident. No single address shall be permitted to be issued or possess more than one Parking Permit for use by such Persons at any one time. The Parking Permit
issued to a resident for use by such Persons shall count towards the number of Residential Parking Permits that may be issued to a single address pursuant to subsection (c)(1).
(6) Family Child Care Homes. The Director of Transportation or his or her designee is authorized to issue a maximum of one transferable Parking Permit, for use on up to three vehicles, to a resident licensed by the California Health and Human Services Agency, in accordance with Title 22, Division 12, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations, to operate a family child care home for use by a child care provider working at the home who resides outside the Residential Permit Parking Area. The Parking Permit issued to the resident shall count towards the number of Residential Parking Permits that may be issued to a single address pursuant to subsection (c)(1).
(f) Designating, Rescinding, or Modifying Residential Parking Permit Areas. The SFMTA Board of Directors may, after a public hearing, designate, rescind, or modify a Residential Parking Permit Area in which vehicles possessing a valid Residential Parking Permit are exempt from specified Parking restrictions, including time restrictions, for Parking and the days and times of enforcement.
(1) The SFMTA, on its own initiative, may recommend that the SFMTA Board of Directors approve the designation, rescission, or modification of a Residential Parking Permit Area.
(2) Upon receipt of a petition on a form prescribed by the SFMTA by residents of at least 250 residential units, or residents living in 50% of the residential units, in the Residential Area proposed to be designated, established, or rescinded, the SFMTA shall direct surveys or studies as necessary to determine whether the Residential Area should be designated, rescinded, or modified.
(g) Criteria for Designating, Rescinding, or Modifying a Residential Parking Permit Area. In determining whether to designate, rescind, or modify a Residential Parking Permit Area, the SFMTA Board of Directors shall take into account factors which include, but are not limited, to the following:
(1) A Residential Parking Permit Area contains a minimum of one mile of street frontage;
(2) The extent of the desire and need of the residents for Residential Parking Permits and their willingness to bear the resulting administrative costs even if the SFMTA does so on its own initiative;
(3) The extent to which legal on-street Parking Spaces are occupied during the period proposed for Parking restrictions;
(4) The extent to which vehicles Parking in the area during the times of the proposed Parking restrictions are not registered to residents of the proposed or affected Residential Parking Permit Area;
(5) The extent to which off-street Parking is available; and
(6) Whether other regulations would improve parking availability.
(SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 08-151, 8/19/2008; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 09-172, 9/15/2009; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 11-016, 2/1/2011; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 11-074, Ad. 6/7/2011, Eff. 7/8/2011; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 12-090, Ad. 6/19/2012, Eff. 7/20/2012; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 14-004
, Ad. 1/7/2014, Eff. 2/7/2014; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 180116-009, Ad. 1/16/2018, Eff. 2/16/2018; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 180220-032, Ad. 2/20/2018, Eff. 3/23/2018; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 180417-064, Ad. 4/17/2018, Eff. 5/18/2018; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 180605-088, Ad. 6/5/2018, Eff. 7/6/2018; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 201006-083, Ad. 10/6/2020, Eff. 11/6/2020; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 220419-036, Ad. 4/19/2022, Eff. 5/20/2022)
CODIFICATION NOTE