§ 786. THIRD STREET FORMULA RETAIL RESTRICTED USE DISTRICT.

(a) Findings.

(1) San Francisco is a city of diverse and distinct neighborhoods identified in large part by the character of their commercial corridors.

(2) San Francisco must create a supportive environment for small businesses in order to preserve the unique character of the City and foster a vibrant commercial sector.

(3) One of the eight Priority Policies of the City's General Plan resolves that "existing neighborhood-serving retail uses be preserved and enhanced and future opportunities for resident employment in and ownership of such businesses enhanced."

(4) The Bayview neighborhood is home to a diverse array of businesses including neighborhood commercial and industrial businesses that serve the working class community. The Third Street Corridor has served as the main merchant corridor for this neighborhood and is receiving significant investment of City resources to revitalize, grow and expand local business opportunities.

(5) As development in San Francisco continues, neighborhoods, including residential and commercial areas in the Bayview area, will be subject to change, and new businesses may wish to locate in the Bayview area, particularly along the Third Street Corridor.

(6) The Third Street Corridor presently has a mix of businesses, housing, shops, work places, community serving uses, religious institutions, parks and civic facilities that create an identifiable neighborhood.

(7) An influx of formula retail businesses can put pressure on existing businesses and potentially price out existing and new independent businesses.

(8) Bayview's mix of businesses, uses and architecture contributes to a strong sense of neighborhood community. The Third Street Corridor is generally of small scale, with buildings that have been identified as potential historic resources or have been landmarked as historic places. There is both architectural variety and variety in the types of goods and services offered on the Third Street Corridor. Additionally the majority of businesses on the Third Street Corridor are locally-owned, many for generations, and some have historically served the diverse ethnic communities of the Bayview.

(9) Standardized architecture, color schemes, decor and signage of many formula retail businesses can detract from the distinctive character of the Bayview neighborhood community.

(10) The increase of formula retail businesses in the Third Street Corridor, if not monitored and regulated, will hamper the City's goal of a diverse retail base within distinct neighborhood communities.

(11) In 2004 the Board of Supervisors adopted a redevelopment plan ("Redevelopment Plan") for the Bayview Hunters Point Project Area, which was subsequently amended in 2010. The Redevelopment Plan was the result of years of community based planning efforts with the goal of revitalizing the area to create new parks and open space, retail opportunities, affordable housing and other community benefits. Three of the objectives outlined in the Redevelopment Plan are focused on supporting the commercial activities of the Third Street Corridor. Specifically, Section 1.2.1 lists these objectives as: strengthening the economic base of the Project Area and the community by strengthening retail and other commercial functions within the Project Area, retaining existing residents and existing cultural diversity to the extent feasible, and supporting locally-owned small businesses and local entrepreneurship.

(12) One of the goals of the Redevelopment Plan was to provide structure and limitations to the development of the Bayview to encourage uses that would benefit the neighborhood, create new economic development opportunities and draw more residents and patrons to the Third Street Corridor. By establishing a Conditional Use process, both the City and the community have an opportunity to review and provide comments on any proposed location, expansion or alteration of formula retail uses to ensure that they meet the objectives of the Redevelopment Plan.

(13) The unregulated and unmonitored establishment of additional formula retail uses may unduly limit or eliminate business establishment opportunities for non-traditional or unique businesses, thereby decreasing the diversity of merchandise and merchants along the Third Street corridor.

(14) The public welfare of the Bayview residential, retail and business community is served by the monitoring and regulating of formula retail businesses on Third Street, for these reasons and the reasons set forth in Planning Code Section 303.1.

(b) Boundaries. The Third Street Formula Retail Restricted Use District shall regulate all properties fronting Third Street between Williams Avenue and Paul Street. The following restrictions shall apply within the district.

(c) Conditional Use Authorization Required. A Conditional Use Authorization shall be required for any new formula retail use, as defined in Planning Code Section 303.1, in the Third Street Formula Retail Restricted Use District.

(d) Change in Use. Planning Code Section 303.1 shall apply to any changes in a formula retail use in the Third Street Formula Retail Restricted Use District.

(e) Conditional Use Criteria. With regard to Conditional Use Permit applications for formula retail uses within the Third Street Formula Retail Restricted Use District, the Planning Commission shall consider the criteria set forth in Planning Code Sections 303(c) and 303.1. The procedures and requirements of Planning Code Section 303 shall apply to Formula Retail Uses in the Third Street Formula Retail Restricted Use District, except as explicitly modified in this Section 786.

(Added by Ord. , File No. 130372, App. 11/8/2013, Eff. 12/8/2013; amended by Ord. , File No. 140844, App. 11/26/2014, Eff. 12/26/2014)

(Former Sec. 786 added by Ord. 151-09, File No. 090141, App. 7/10/2009)

AMENDMENT HISTORY

References amended in divisions (a)(14), (c), (d), and (e); Ord. , Eff. 12/26/2014.

Editor's Note:
Former Sec. 786 ("Lower Haight Street Tobacco Paraphernalia Restricted Use District") was repealed by operation of its sunset provision three years after its initial effective date. See Sec. 5 of Ord. 151-09.