§ 404. NEW OR REPLACEMENT MOTOR VEHICLES.

(a) Unless granted a waiver under Section 404(b) or exempt under Section 404(c), City officials may not purchase or authorize the purchase of any motor vehicle unless the purchase complies with each of the following:

(1) The purchase complies with the Transit-First policy required under Section 403(a) and adopted by the department or City official for whose use the vehicle is principally intended;

(2) A Light-Duty Passenger Vehicle requested for purchase or lease is a Zero Emission Vehicle;

(3) A light-duty truck or general passenger van requested for purchase is an approved make and model under the applicable Vehicle Selector List; and,

(4) The motor vehicle requested for purchase meets all applicable safety standards and other requirements for the intended use of the vehicle.

(b) Waivers. The City Administrator may waive the requirements of Section 404(a) where he or she finds that

(1) there is no passenger vehicle or light-duty truck approved by the Vehicle Selector List that meets all applicable safety standards and other requirements for the intended use of the motor vehicle; or

(2) the passenger vehicle or light-duty truck will be used primarily outside of the geographic limits of the City and County of San Francisco in location(s) which lack required fueling or other infrastructure required for a complying motor vehicle; or

(3) the passenger vehicle or light-duty truck would be required to be a Zero Emission Vehicle, but the most common intended use for the vehicle will require it to regularly travel distances of more than 100 miles without being able to use a charging station; or

(4) for Light-Duty Passenger vehicles that are regularly stationed when not in use on City owned property, (A) purchasing a Zero Emission Vehicle would create operational challenges such as lack of charging infrastructure on City-owned property, (B) the department is purchasing a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle in lieu of a Zero Emission Vehicle, and (C) at least 75% of all Light-Duty Passenger vehicles that are regularly stationed when not in use on City owned property are Zero Emission Vehicles;

(5) for Light-Duty Passenger vehicles that are regularly stationed when not in use on non-City owned property, (A) purchasing a Zero Emission Vehicle would be impractical due to operational challenges such as a lack of charging infrastructure, and (B) the department is purchasing a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle in lieu of a Zero Emission Vehicle; or

(6) for Light-Duty Passenger vehicles, adequate funds have not been appropriated in the department’s budget to purchase Zero Emission Vehicles sufficient to meet the requirements of this Chapter 4.

Waivers must be made in a fashion as to ensure that only the minimum number of vehicles not in compliance with Section 404(a) needed by a department remain in the fleet. Departments may submit one single waiver request to cover the annual purchases, waivers do not need to be submitted on an individual purchase basis. If a waiver is requested under subsection 404(b)(4), the waiver must address the present lack of charging infrastructure, and address the feasibility of future improvements to develop such charging infrastructure. As part of his or her annual report to the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor under Section 403(b)(4), the City Administrator shall report on the number of new waivers granted under this subsection (b) for the prior year.

(c) Exemptions. This Section 404 shall not apply in the following circumstances:

(1) To the purchase of Emergency Vehicles where the Public Safety Department concludes, after consultation with the City Administrator, that the purchase of a complying vehicle is not feasible or would otherwise unduly interfere with the Department’s public safety mission.

(2) To the acquisition of buses by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority for public transportation purposes.

(3) To any purchase necessary to respond to an emergency that meets the criteria set in Administrative Code Sections 21.15(a) or 6.60. In such cases, the department shall, to the extent feasible under the circumstances, acquire the noncomplying vehicles only for a term anticipated to meet the emergency need. Any City department invoking this exemption shall promptly notify the City Administrator, in writing, of the purchase and the emergency that prevented compliance with this section.

(4) Wherever the purchase of a passenger vehicle or light-duty truck is exempt from the requirements of this section, City departments and officials shall select a vehicle with as low emissions and high efficiency ratings as practicable.

(Ord. 278-10, File No. 101009, App. 11/18/2010; amended by Ord. , File No. 140950, App. 7/15/2015, Eff. 8/14/2015; Ord. , File No. 170210, App. 6/2/2017, Eff. 7/2/2017)