§ 713. WAIVERS.

(a) Waivers from the requirements of this Chapter are available under the following circumstances:

(1) Emergency. A City department may grant itself a waiver from any requirement of this Chapter, except the requirements of Section 706(a), when it is necessary to respond to an emergency which endangers public health or safety. In such case, the City department shall report to the Director on a form provided by the Director regarding the emergency that prevented compliance with this Chapter within five business days. City departments desiring an emergency waiver from the requirements of Section 706(a) shall confer with the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

(2) Cost Prohibitive. If the sponsoring City department determines that compliance with this Chapter is cost prohibitive, a City department may request a waiver from any provision of this Chapter that is not otherwise required by the San Francisco Building Inspection Commission Codes, the Port of San Francisco Building Standards Code, or other state or local requirement. Waivers may be requested on a form provided by the Director and submitted to the Task Force. The Task Force shall provide the Director with a recommendation with respect to the waiver request. Where a project is located on property owned or managed by the Port of San Francisco, the Task Force shall provide the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco with a recommendation with respect to the waiver request. The Director (or, where a project is located on property owned or controlled by the Port of San Francisco, the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco) may grant a waiver upon a finding that the requesting City department project team has:

(A) Demonstrated which specific requirements are cost prohibitive as weighed against the potential economic, environmental and health benefits posed by a particular requirement; and

(B) If applicable for Section 705, or equivalent provisions in the Port of San Francisco Green Building Standards Code, developed a reasonable plan to maximize the number of LEED points attainable.

(3) Alternate Compliance. A City department may request a waiver from LEED Gold certification if utilizing an independently verified green building rating system or standard that is determined by the Task Force to be at least as stringent as LEED, or to be a more appropriate standard for a specific project. Such waiver requests shall provide justification and details for alternate compliance. Waivers for alternate compliance may be requested on a form provided by the Director and submitted to the Task Force. The Task Force shall provide the Director with a recommendation with respect to the waiver request. Where a project is located on property owned or managed by the Port of San Francisco, the Task Force shall provide the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco with a recommendation with respect to the waiver request. The Director (or, where a project is located on property owned or managed by the Port of San Francisco, the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco) may grant a waiver upon finding that the requester has provided adequate justification.

(4) Other. If, due to specific circumstances, compliance would defeat the intent of this Chapter or create an unreasonable burden on the municipal construction project or City department, the City department may request a waiver from that requirement on a form provided by the Director. The Task Force shall provide the Director with a recommendation with respect to the waiver request. Where a project is located on property owned or managed by the Port of San Francisco, the Task Force shall provide the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco with a recommendation with respect to the waiver request. The Director (or, in the case of projects located on property owned or managed by the Port of San Francisco, the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco) may grant a waiver upon a finding that the requesting City department has:

(A) Documented the circumstances and burdens at issue; and

(B) If applicable for Section 705, or equivalent provision in the Port of San Francisco Green Building Standards Code, developed a reasonable plan to maximize the number of LEED points attainable.

(b) After the end of the 50% Design Development Phase, the Director or the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco will only accept waiver requests for consideration if the project design team can demonstrate extenuating circumstances, including but not limited to the following:

(1) Unforeseen site conditions; or

(2) Unavailability of specified system or products.

(c) The Director shall respond to a request for a waiver within 35 days.

(d) The Director (or, where a project is located on property owned or managed by the Port of San Francisco, the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco) may not waive the requirements of Sections 706(a), 707, and 708, except in the case of emergencies as provided in subsection (a)(1) of this Section 713. Granting of a waiver for any requirement of this Chapter, or the Port of San Francisco Green Building Standards Code does not waive any requirement of the San Francisco Building Inspection Commission Codes, the Port of San Francisco Building Standards Code, or the California Building Standards Code (CCR Title 24, Part 6 and Part 11) as applicable.

(e) The Director (or, when a project is located on property owned or managed by the Port of San Francisco, the Port of San Francisco representative to the Task Force) shall regularly report to the Task Force on waivers requested, granted and denied. The Director in consultation with the Task Force shall report to the Commission on the Environment regularly on waivers requested, granted and denied.

(Added as Sec. 708 by Ord. 88-04, File No. 030679, App. 5/27/2004; renumbered and amended by Ord. , File No. 110854, App. 10/11/2011, Eff. 11/10/2011; amended by Ord. , File No. 140226, App. 5/28/2014, Eff. 6/27/2014; Ord. , File No. 161287, App. 3/17/2017, Eff. 4/16/2017)