§ 780.3. NORTH BEACH SPECIAL USE DISTRICT.

(a) Purposes. In order to (1) preserve and maintain the mix and variety of neighborhood- serving retail sales and personal services of a type that supplies commodities or offers personal services to residents of North Beach and nearby neighborhoods; (2) preserve and maintain the District’s small-scale, fine grain storefronts; (3) protect and encourage upper-story Residential Uses; (4) preserve and enhance the architectural and cultural heritage of North Beach; and (5) preserve the contributions of Legacy Businesses to the history and identity of North Beach, there shall be a North Beach Special Use District applicable to the North Beach Neighborhood Commercial District, as designated on the Sectional Map SU01 of the Zoning Map of the City and County of San Francisco.

(b) Definitions. The following definitions shall apply only to the North Beach Special Use District:

(1) Specialty Food Manufacturing. A Commercial Use that includes the manufacturing and processing of foods on the premises for retail and/or wholesale sales and also provides a customer service counter for sale of such manufactured or processed food directly to the consumer. It may have seating as a minor and incidental use that occupies less than 15% of the Occupied Floor Area of the establishment. It includes, but is not limited to, bakeries, coffee roasters, confectionaries, chocolatiers, makers of homemade ice cream and handmade gelato or sorbet. It shall not provide any alcohol sales for consumption on or off the premises.

(2) Legacy Business. A business as defined under Administrative Code Section 2A.242 and included in the Legacy Business registry.

(3) Historic Buildings. “Historic buildings” shall include Planning Code Article 10 Landmarks and buildings located within Article 10 Historic Districts, buildings and districts identified by surveys adopted by the City, buildings listed or potentially eligible for individual listing on the National or California Registers, and buildings located within listed or potentially eligible National Register or California Register historic districts. The Planning Department shall also consult materials available through the California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS) and Inventory to determine eligibility.

(c) Controls. The following provisions shall apply within such District:

(1) Restaurants, Limited Restaurants, and Bars. Restaurant, Limited Restaurant, and Bar uses may be permitted as a Conditional Use on the First Story through the procedures set forth in Section 303 only if the Zoning Administrator first determines that the proposed new Restaurant, Limited Restaurant, or Bar would occupy a space that is currently or was last legally occupied by one of the uses described below; provided that its last use has not been discontinued or abandoned pursuant to Sections 186.1(d) or 178(d) of this Code and that the proposed new use will not enlarge the space; and provided further that no Conditional Use shall be required if the use remains the same as the prior authorized use, with no enlargement or intensification of use:

(A) A Bar may occupy a space that is currently or last legally occupied by a Bar;

(B) A Restaurant may occupy a space that is currently or was last legally occupied by a Restaurant or Bar; and

(C) A Limited Restaurant may occupy a space that is currently or was last legally occupied by a Limited Restaurant, Restaurant or Bar.

(D) Except as provided herein, no other use shall be allowed to convert to a Limited Restaurant, Restaurant or Bar.

(2) Alcohol Licenses. A Restaurant may provide on-site beer, wine, and/or liquor sales for drinking on the premises (with ABC license types 02, 23, 41, 47, 49, 59 or 75) as a Conditional Use on the First Story if, in addition to the criteria set forth in Section 303, the Planning Commission finds, based on information submitted to the Department by the applicant, that the Restaurant is and will continue to operate as a Bona-Fide Eating Place as defined in Section 102. Should a Restaurant fail to operate as a Bona-Fide Eating Place for any length of time, the Conditional Use authorization shall be subject to immediate revocation per Planning Code Section 303(f). To verify that the Restaurant is continuing to operate as a Bona-Fide Eating Place, records of the Restaurant’s gross receipts, showing that a minimum of 51% of its gross receipts within the last year preceding the Department’s request is from food sales prepared and sold to guests on the premises, shall be provided to the Department upon request. All records and information shall be submitted to the Department under penalty of perjury.

(3) Storefronts. To preserve and maintain the District’s small-scale, fine grain storefronts, (A) the consolidation or merger of existing retail or commercial spaces or storefronts is prohibited, and (B) Specialty Groceries shall not exceed a Non-Residential Use Size of 1,000 square feet.

Exception. Existing retail or commercial spaces or storefronts may be consolidated or merged with an existing Public Facility for San Francisco Police Department functions or auxiliary space associated with such use. Any increase or decrease in square footage resulting from such consolidation or merger is Principally Permitted and does not require a Conditional Use authorization under subsection (c)(9) below. This exception to the storefront merger prohibition shall be in effect for three years from its effective date unless further extended by ordinance. Unless so extended, the City Attorney shall cause this paragraph stating the foregoing exception to be removed from this Code, along with the sentence referencing it in subsection (c)(9).

(4) Loss of Residential Units. To prevent the loss of existing Residential Units within the district, the removal, demolition, merger, or conversion of Residential Units above the First Story are prohibited.

(5) Specialty Food Manufacturing. Within the North Beach SUD a Specialty Food Manufacturing use, as defined in subsection (b)(1), may only be permitted with a Conditional Use authorization on the Ground Floor or below.

(6) Legacy Business. Unless otherwise prohibited by this Section 780.3, Section 722, or any other section of this Code, any new Non-Residential Use proposed where the immediately prior Commercial Use was a Legacy Business shall require Conditional Use authorization pursuant to Section 303 of this Code.

(7) Architectural and Cultural Heritage of North Beach. Section 101.1 of the Planning Code includes the priority policy that historic buildings be preserved. The architectural and cultural character and features of existing historic buildings shall be preserved and enhanced. The Historic Preservation Commission or its staff shall review any proposed alterations to historic buildings, as defined in subsection 780.3(b)(3), and must determine that such alterations comply with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties before the City approves any permits to alter such buildings.

(8) Additional Controls: The following additional controls shall apply in the North Beach Special Use District. (1) A Planned Unit Development shall not be permitted; (2) Large-Scale Urban Agriculture uses shall not be permitted; (3) Hours of Operation shall not be permitted from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.; (4) Unless otherwise prohibited or limited by this Section 780.3, Section 722, or any other section of this Code, active commercial uses, as defined in Planning Code Section 145.4(c), shall be required at the Ground Floor; and (5) A Health Service use, as defined in Section 102 of this Code, shall be prohibited on the ground floor. On the second floor and above, a Health Service use shall require Conditional Use authorization pursuant to Section 303 of this Code.

(9) Conditional Use Authorizations. In addition to the findings required under Section 303 of this Code, for any use or project within the District that is subject to Conditional Use authorization under this Section 780.3, Section 722, or any other section of this Code, the Planning Commission shall find that the proposed project supports the purposes of the North Beach SUD set forth in this Section 780.3. For the duration of the Exception stated in subsection (c)(3), a Conditional Use authorization is not required for use of consolidated or merged space for a Public Facility for San Francisco Police Department functions or auxiliary space associated with such use.

(Added by Ord. 245-08, File No. 080696; amended by Ord. , File No. 120084, App. 4/23/2012, Eff. 5/23/2012; Ord. , File No. 130062, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013; Ord. , File No. 150681, App. 8/6/2015, Eff. 9/5/2015; Ord. , File No. 170203, App. 6/30/2017, Eff. 7/30/2017; Ord. , File No. 170419, App. 10/5/2017, Eff. 11/4/2017; Ord. , File No. 171108, App. 3/16/2018, Eff. 4/16/2018; Ord. , File No. 181211, App. 9/11/2019, Eff. 10/12/2019; Ord. , File No. 200077, App. 4/24/2020, Eff. 5/25/2020; Ord. , File No. 200114, App. 7/31/2020, Eff. 8/31/2020)

AMENDMENT HISTORY

[Former] divisions (a) and (b) amended; Ord. , Eff. 5/23/2012. [Former] division (a) amended; Ord. , Eff. 4/27/2013. [Former] division (c) added; Ord. , Eff. 9/5/2015. Undesignated introductory paragraph designated as divisions (a) and (c) and amended; division (b) added; former division (a) redesignated as division (c)(1) and amended; former divisions (b)-(c)(5) deleted; divisions (c)(1)(A)-(D) and (c)(2)-(5) added; Ord. , Eff. 7/30/2017. Divisions (a) and (b) amended; division (b)(1) designated; divisions (b)(2), (b)(3), and (c)(6)-(9) added; Ord. , Eff. 11/4/2017. Divisions (c)(1) and (c)(2) amended; Ord. , Eff. 4/16/2018. Division (c)(2) amended; Ord. , Eff. 10/12/2019. Divisions (c)(1), (c)(2), and (c)(5) amended; Ord. , Eff. 5/25/2020. Exception added to division (c)(3); division (c)(9) amended; Ord. , Eff. 8/31/2020.