§ 825. DTR - DOWNTOWN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS.

(a) Description. Downtown Residential (DTR) Districts are transit-oriented, high-density mixed-use residential neighborhoods in and around downtown. These areas are generally transitioning from a variety of commercial and industrial to residential uses. The intent of this district is to enable a mix of new day and nighttime activities, with an emphasis on encouraging new housing within walking distance or a short transit-ride of downtown, supported by a mix of retail, and neighborhood services to meet the needs of residents and the larger downtown community.

High-density residential uses, including residential towers in select locations, are allowed and encouraged within the limits set by height and bulk controls. Given the district's proximity to downtown, a range of commercial uses is permitted on the lower stories, with active pedestrian-oriented retail, service, and entertainment uses on the ground floor. Along special streets, pedestrian-oriented uses are required on the first floor. Ground floor entries to individual dwelling units are encouraged on streets that will become primarily residential.

There is generally no pattern of mid-block open space or of rear yards. While lot coverage is limited for all levels with residential uses, traditional rear yard open spaces are not required except in the limited instances where there is an existing pattern of them. Specific height and bulk controls establish appropriate heights for both towers and mid-rise development, and ensure adequate spacing between towers and preserve light and air to streets and open spaces. Setbacks are required where necessary to buffer ground floor residential uses or to ensure sunlight access to streets and open spaces. To support the intensification of land uses in these districts, detailed traffic, streetscape and open space improvements will take place over time.

Downtown Residential Districts include all of the individual DTR districts governed this Code except the Transbay Downtown Residential District (TB-DTR), as set forth in Section 828, is governed by the Transbay Redevelopment Plan and its Development Controls and Design Guidelines.

(b) Building and Development Standards. In addition to or in-lieu of the requirements and standards elsewhere in this Code, the following building and development standards are applicable in the Downtown Residential Districts.

(1) Street-Facing Use Requirements. Pedestrian-oriented commercial, residential, institutional uses, and community services are required ground floor uses on all street facing frontages per the standards of Section 145.1 and 145.4, except for the minimum frontage required for fire doors, parking and loading access, and other utilities.

(2) Lot Coverage. The requirements of Section 134 shall not apply in DTR Districts. Except as more specifically limited in the Section governing an individual DTR district, lot coverage is limited to 80 percent at all residential levels except on levels in which all residential units face onto a public right-of-way or mid-block pedestrian path meeting the minimum standards of this Section. The unbuilt portion of the lot shall be open to the sky except for those obstructions permitted in yards pursuant to Section 136(c). Exceptions to the 20 percent open area requirement may be granted, pursuant to the provisions of Section 309.1, for conversions of existing non-residential structures where it is determined that provision of 20 percent open area would require partial demolition of the existing non-residential structure.

(3) Dwelling Unit Exposure. The requirements of Section 140 shall apply, Reductions in this requirement may be granted though the procedures of Section 309.1.

(4) Lighting. Pedestrian-scaled lighting shall be provided as an integral element of all building facades and shall be designed and located to accentuate the uses facing the street. Pedestrian-scaled lighting shall be incorporated into all facades and landscaped setback areas in the form of wall sconces, entry illumination and low-level lighting set into edging features. Lighting should be designed to accentuate ground floor retail and residential entries. Incandescent or color-corrected lighting sources must be used.

(5) Off-Street Parking and Loading. Restrictions on the design and location of off-street parking and loading and access to off-street parking and loading are necessary to reduce their negative impacts on neighborhood quality and the pedestrian environment. Unless specified otherwise in an individual DTR district, the following off-street parking and loading controls shall apply:

(A) Required Below-Grade. All off-street parking in DTR districts shall be built below street grade. The design of parking on sloping sites must be reviewed through the procedures of Section 309.1, according to the following standards.

(i) For sloping sites with a grade change of at least ten feet laterally along the street, no less than 50 percent of the perimeter of all floors with off-street parking shall be below the level of said sloping street; and

(ii) For sites that slope upwards from a street, no less than 50 percent of the perimeter of all floors with off-street parking shall be below the average grade of the site; and

(iii) Any above-grade parking shall be set back from the street facing facades and wrapped with active uses, as defined by Section 145.1, for a depth of no less than 25 feet at the ground floor and 15 feet on floors above.

(B) Parking and Loading Access.

(i) Width of openings. Any single development is limited to a total of two facade openings of no more than 11 feet wide each or one opening of no more than 22 feet wide for access to off-street parking and one facade opening of no more than 15 feet wide for access to off-street loading. Shared openings for parking and loading are encouraged. The maximum permitted width of a shared parking and loading garage opening is 27 feet.

(ii) Sidewalk narrowings or porte cocheres to accommodate passenger loading and unloading are not permitted. For the purpose of this section, a "porte cochere" is defined as an off-street driveway, either covered or uncovered, for the purpose of passenger loading or unloading, situated between the ground floor facade of the building and the sidewalk.

(c) Use. A use is the specified purpose for which a property or building is used, occupied, maintained, or leased. Uses in Downtown Residential Districts are either permitted, conditional, accessory, temporary or are not permitted. If there are two or more uses in a structure, any use not classified in Section 825(c)(1)(C) below as accessory will be considered separately as an independent permitted, conditional, temporary or not permitted use.

(1) Permitted Uses.

(A) Principal Uses. All uses are permitted as Principal Uses as of right in a Downtown Residential district unless otherwise indicated as a Conditional Use or Not Permitted in this Section 825 of this Code or any other Section governing an individual DTR District. Additional requirements and conditions may be placed on particular uses as provided pursuant to Section 803.5 and other applicable provisions of this Code.

(B) Conditional Uses. Conditional uses are permitted in a Downtown Residential District, when authorized by the Planning Commission; whether a use is conditional in a given district is indicated in the Section of this Code governing the individual DTR District. Conditional Uses are subject to the applicable provisions set forth in Sections 178, 179, 303, and 803.5 of this Code.

(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, a change in use or demolition of a movie theater use, as set forth in Section 890.64, shall require conditional use authorization. This Section shall not authorize a change in use if the new use or uses are otherwise prohibited.

(C) Accessory Uses. Subject to the limitations set forth below, in Section 151.1, and elsewhere in this Code, an accessory use is a related minor use which is either necessary to the operation or enjoyment of a lawful principal use or Conditional Use, or is appropriate, incidental and subordinate to any such use, and shall be permitted as an accessory use in a Downtown Residential District. In order to accommodate a principal use which is carried out by one business in multiple locations within the same general area, such accessory use need not be located in the same structure or lot as its principal use provided that (1) the accessory use is located within 1,000 feet of the principal use; (2) the multiple locations existed on the effective date of this amendment; and (3) the existence of the multiple locations is acknowledged in writing by the Zoning Administrator within 60 days after the effective date of this amendment. Any use, which does not qualify as an accessory use, shall be classified as a principal use. No use will be considered accessory to a principal use, which involves or requires any of the following:

(i) The use of more than one-third of the total occupied floor area which is occupied by both the accessory use and principal use to which it is accessory, combined, except in the case of accessory off-street parking or loading which shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 151.1, 156 and 303 of this Code;

(ii) Nighttime entertainment, massage establishment, or movie theater;

(iii) Any sign not conforming to the limitations of Section 607.2(f)(3).

(D) Temporary Uses. Temporary uses not otherwise permitted are permitted in Downtown Residential Districts to the extent authorized by Sections 205 through 205.4 of this Code.

(E) Prohibited Uses.

(i) Uses which are specifically listed as Not Permitted (NP) in any Section governing an individual DTR District are not permitted. The use provisions of an individual DTR District shall apply in case of conflict with use limitations in Section 825. Signs not specifically permitted in Article 6 are not permitted.

(ii) No use, even though listed as a permitted use or otherwise allowed, shall be permitted in a Downtown Residential District which, by reason of its nature or manner of operation, creates conditions that are hazardous, noxious, or offensive through the emission of odor, fumes, smoke, cinders, dust, gas, vibration, glare, refuse, water-carried waste, or excessive noise.

(iii) The establishment of a use that sells alcoholic beverages, other than beer and wine, concurrent with motor vehicle fuel is prohibited, and shall be governed by Section 229.

(2) Residential Use Controls. Unless otherwise specified in a Section governing an individual DTR District, the following residential use controls shall apply:

(A) Required Residential to Non-Residential Use Ratio. For newly constructed buildings or additions which exceed 20 percent or more of an existing structure's gross floor area, at least six occupiable square feet of residential use shall be provided for each occupiable square foot of non-residential use, excluding accessory parking, on any lot legally existing. Hotels, inns, or hostels as defined under Section 209.2(d) and (e), time-share or fractional-ownership condominiums, and lawfully existing live/work units shall be considered as non-residential uses for the purpose of this section, and do not satisfy the residential requirement. Exemption from the required use ratio for building additions of less than 20 percent may not be granted for any single lot if such an exemption would increase the total square footage of the building to an amount 20 percent greater than existed on the lot since the adoption of this Section.

(B) For newly constructed buildings or additions, which exceed 20 percent or more of an existing structure's gross floor area, all building area above 85 feet in height shall be devoted to residential use.

(C) Residential Density. There shall be no density limit for residential uses in Downtown Residential Districts. The provisions of Sections 207 through 208 related to residential density shall not apply.

(d) Reduction of Ground Level Wind Currents.

(1) Requirement. New buildings and additions to existing buildings shall be shaped, or other wind-baffling measures shall be adopted, so that the developments will not cause ground-level wind currents to exceed, more than 10 percent of the time year-round, between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., the comfort level of 11 m.p.h. equivalent wind speed in areas of substantial pedestrian use and seven m.p.h. equivalent wind speed in public seating areas. The term "equivalent wind speed" shall mean an hourly mean wind speed adjusted to incorporate the effects of gustiness or turbulence on pedestrians.

(2) When preexisting ambient wind speeds exceed the comfort level, or when a proposed building or addition may cause ambient wind speeds to exceed the comfort level, the building shall be designed to reduce the ambient wind speeds to meet the requirements.

(3) Exception. The Zoning Administrator may allow the building or addition to add to the amount of time the comfort level is exceeded by the least practical amount if (i) it can be shown that a building or addition cannot be shaped and other wind-baffling measures cannot be adopted to meet the foregoing requirements without creating an unattractive and ungainly building form and without unduly restricting the development potential of the building site in question, and (ii) the Zoning Administrator concludes that, because of the limited amount by which the comfort level is exceeded, the addition is insubstantial. The Zoning Administrator shall not grant an exception, and, no building or addition shall be permitted that causes equivalent winds speeds to reach or exceed the hazard level of 26 miles per hour for a single hour of the year.

(4) Procedures. Procedures and methods for implementing this Section shall be specified by the Environmental Review Officer of the Planning Department.

(Added by Ord. 217-05, File No. 050865, App. 8/19/2005; amended by Ord. 94-06, File No. 050182, App. 5/19/2006; Ord. 298-08, File No. 081153, App. 12/19/2008; Ord. 310-10, File No. 101194, App. 12/16/2010; Ord. , File No. 130062, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013; Ord. , File No. 170206, App. 5/19/2017, Eff. 6/18/2017; Ord. , File No. 170203, App. 6/30/2017, Eff. 7/30/2017; Ord. , File No. 180184, App. 12/12/2018, Eff. 1/12/2019)

AMENDMENT HISTORY

Divisions (c) and (d) added; Ord. , Eff. 4/27/2013. Divisions (c), (c)(1)(C), and (c)(1)(C)(i) amended; Ord. , Eff. 6/18/2017. Divisions (c) and (c)(1)(A)-(c)(1)(B)(i) amended; Ord. , Eff. 7/30/2017. Division (c)(1)(B) amended; Ord. , Eff. 1/12/2019.

SEC. 825.1. RESERVED.

(Added by Ord. 217-05, File No. 050865, App. 8/19/2005; Repealed by Ord. 298-08, File No. 081153, App. 12/19/2008)