Editor's note:

Prior ordinance history: Ords. 176-91, 41-92, 124-92, 174-92 and 319-92.

SEC. 350. FEES, GENERAL.

Fees shall be imposed in order to compensate the Planning Department for the cost of processing permit applications for the establishment, abolition or modification of a setback line, for signs, demolition, reclassification of property, conditional use authorization, variance, or coastal zone permit; reviewing permit applications filed in and issued by other City departments, institutional master plans, General Plan amendments and referrals, projects which require review under Section 295 of this Code (park shadow ordinance) and permits requiring additional review by nature of their location within the C-3 District (Section 309(b)) or exceptions from the Planning Code (Section 309(a)), permits required under the Office Development Limitation Program (Sections 320-325), review of redevelopment plans, transferable development rights applications, projects requiring special review pursuant to Section 306.7; providing transportation review associated with project applications, providing policy and code review and interpretation, Zoning Administrator written determinations pursuant to Section 307(a), research, document retrieval and technical reports, Planning Commission and Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board agendas, andnotification of project applications. Fees shall be charged and collected as indicated for each class of application, permit, filing request or activity listed in Sections 351 through 357 below.

(a) Estimated construction costs are as defined by the San Francisco Building Code.

(b) All fees are payable at time of filing application or request, except where noted otherwise. However, the Director of Planning may authorize phased collection of the fee for a project whose work is projected to span more than one fiscal year.

(c) Time and Materials. The Planning Department shall charge the applicant for any time and materials cost incurred in excess of the fee paid. The total additional charge shall not exceed two times the initial fee paid without providing an estimate of cost, except as provided below:

(1) Where initial fee is based upon two hours or less of staff time, the total additional charges shall not exceed four times the initial fee without providing an estimate of costs.

(2) Applications with verified violations of this Code shall be charged time and materials in excess of fee for renotification, investigation and research relating to processing applications, where the applicant has failed to respond fully, and within the time requested, to a notice of incomplete application citing the code violations with direction for their correction, not to exceed five times the amount of the initial fee.

(3) Where a different limitation on time and material charges is set forth elsewhere in this Article, that limitation shall prevail.

(4) The Planning Department may also charge for any time and material costs incurred by other departments or agencies of the City and County of San Francisco.

(d) Refunds. When an application is withdrawn by the applicant prior to a public hearing, or deemed canceled by the Planning Department due to inactivity on the part of the applicant then the applicant shall be entitled to a refund of the fee paid to the Department less the time and materials expended minus a $200 processing fee.

(e) Deferred or Reduced Fee.

(1) Any fraternal, charitable, benevolent or any other nonprofit organization, which organization is exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue laws of the United States and the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California as a bona fide fraternal, charitable, benevolent or other nonprofit organization, shall pay fees for applications specified in Section 352(a), (g), (h), and (i) based on time and materials only, up to the full fee, and may defer payment of the fee until (1) before final Planning Department approval of the building permit, preparatory to issuance of the building permit, before the building permit is released to the applicant, or (2) within one year of the date of action on the application, whichever comes first; provided that the application is for the development of residential units all of which are affordable to low and moderate income households, as defined in the Guidelines of the United States Housing and Urban Development Department, for a period of 20 years, which exemption shall apply notwithstanding the inclusion in the development of other nonprofit ancillary or accessory uses.

(2) An exemption from paying the full fees specified under Section 352(b) may be granted when the requestor's income is not enough to pay for the fee without affecting their abilities to pay for the necessities of life, provided that the person seeking the exemption demonstrates to the Zoning Administrator that they are substantially affected by the proposed project. (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 212-94, App. 6/2/94; Ord. 180-95, App. 6/2/95; Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

SEC. 351. MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES.

(a) Agendas for Planning Commission: $19 annual subscription to cover costs of mailing. Planning Commission Secretary may authorize exemptions in those instances where costs would impose financial hardship.

(b) Agendas for Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board: $10 annual subscription to cover costs of mailing.

(c) Document Retrieval: Actual estimated costs for retrieval and return of files stored off- site per schedule prepared by Director of Planning. No charge is allowed for labor costs incurred in document retrieval, only out-of-pocket expenses paid by the Department.

(d) Information, Analysis, Report Preparation and Presentation, Research Services, Data Requests, Site Inspections: The costs of report preparation may be amortized by factoring full-cost recovery into the pricing of such information and reports: $65 for first hour of staff time, plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(e) Monitoring Projects:

(1) Monitoring Conditions of Approval and Mitigation Measures Established Pursuant to an Environmental Document or a Public Hearing by the Planning Commission or Zoning Administrator for All Approved Applications in Chapter 31 of the Administrative Code or Sections 352(a) and (i), 353(a) and (b) and 355: $71 for first hour of staff time plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c). This fee shall supersede project monitoring fees under prior Section 352(g)(1) unless required as a condition of approval by the Planning Commission. For monitoring required subsequent to the time of permit issuance or where no permit is required, the fee will be charged and collected by the Department.

(f) Project Review for Policy and Code Review and Interpretation for Prospective Projects for which an Application has not been Filed, and Site-Specific Design Guidelines and Code-Complying Massing Recommendations: $100 for first two hours of staff time, plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(g) Project Notifications for an Individual or Organization Requesting Notification of Project Applications:

(1) First Address or First Assessor's Block: $25 per annum.

(2) Additional Addresses: $10 for addresses in each new Assessor's Block thereafter, per annum.

(h) Zoning Administrator Written Determinations Pursuant to Section 307(a): $100 minimum for first hour of staff time, plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(i) Reactivating an application that the Zoning Administrator has deemed withdrawn due to inactivity and the passage of time, subject to the approval of the Zoning Administrator and within six months of the date the application was deemed withdrawn: $1,000 plus time and materials to cover any additional staff costs, total charge not to exceed twice the initial fee paid for the original application without providing an estimate of cost. (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 212-94, App. 6/2/94; Ord. 180-95, App. 6/2/95; Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

SEC. 352. COMMISSION AND ZONING ADMINISTRATOR HEARING APPLICATIONS.

(a) Conditional Use (Section 303), Planned Unit Development (Section 304), Variance (Section 305), Downtown (C-3) District Review (Section 309) and Coastal Zone Permit (Section 330) Applications Commission Hearing Fee Schedule:

(1) Applications with Verified Violations of this Code: Time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(2) Where an applicant requests two or more approvals involving a conditional use, planned unit development, variance, Downtown (C-3) District Section 309 review, certificate of appropriateness, permit to alter a significant or contributory building both within and outside of Conservation Districts, or a coastal zone permit review, the amount of the second and each subsequent initial fees shall be reduced to 50 percent plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c). This subsection shall not apply to Section 309(a) exceptions (Section 353(a)).

(3) Minor project modifications requiring a public hearing to amend conditions of approval of a previously authorized project, not requiring a substantial reevaluation of the prior authorization: $800 plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(4) The applicant shall be charged for any time and materials beyond the initial fee paid in Section 352(a), as set forth in Section 350(c).

(5) An applicant proposing significant revisions to a project for which an application is on file with the Planning Department shall be charged time and materials to cover the full costs in excess of the fee paid, not to exceed three times the original fee without providing an estimate of cost.

(6) For agencies or departments of the City and County of San Francisco, the initial fee for applications shall be based upon the construction cost as set forth above; provided, however, that the initial fee shall not exceed the initial fee established for projects with a construction cost of $5,000,000. For those projects with a construction cost of $5,000,000 or more, the agency or department shall be charged for any time and materials beyond the initial fee paid, not to exceed three times the amount of the initial fee.

(b) Discretionary Review Request: $125 for the first two hours of staff time as set forth in Section 350(c).

(c) Institutional Master Plan (Section 304.5).

(1) Full Institutional Master Plan or Substantial Revision: $6,500 for first 100 hours of staff time as set forth in Section 350(c).

(2) Abbreviated Institutional Master Plan: $650 for first 10 hours of staff time as set forth in Section 350(c).

(d) Land Use Amendments and Related Plans and Diagrams of the San Francisco General Plan: Fee based on the Department's estimated actual costs for time and materials required to review and implement the requested amendment, according to a budget prepared by the Director of Planning, in consultation with the sponsor of the request.

(e) General Plan Referrals: $214 for first three hours of staff time plus time and materials for each subsequent hour of staff time, as set forth in Section 350(c). Total charge not to exceed $1,500, without providing an estimate of cost.

(f) Redevelopment Plan Review: The Director of Planning shall prepare a budget to cover actual time and materials expected to be incurred, in consultation with the Redevelopment Agency. A sum equal to ½ the expected cost will be submitted to the Department, prior to the commencement of the review. The remainder of the costs will be due at the time the initial payment is depleted.

(g) Reclassify Property or Impose Interim Zoning Controls: $3,000.

(1) The applicant shall be charged for any time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(2) Applications with Verified Violations of this Code: Time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(h) Setback Line, Establish, Modify or Abolish: $1,500.

(i) Temporary Use Fees: $71 for first hour of staff time plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(j) Amendments to Text of the Planning Code: $3,000 plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(k) Zoning Administrator Conversion Determinations Related to Service Station Conversions (Section 228.4): Basic commission hearing fee schedule with no construction cost as set forth in Section 352(a) plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c). (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 212-94, App. 6/2/94; Ord. 180-95, App. 6/2/95; Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

SEC. 353. DOWNTOWN APPLICATIONS.

(a) Exception in C-3 District (Section 309): $5,000 for one or more exceptions to the Planning Code, which shall not be reduced per Section 352(a)(2).

(b) Modifications in C-3 District, Determination of Need (Section 309): Same as Basic commission hearing fee schedule (Sections 352(a), 352(a)(1) et seq.).

(c) Office Development Limitation Projects (Sections 320 through 323): $15,000 per application.

(d) Transfer of Development Rights and Article 11 Designated Buildings: $670.

(1) Significant or Contributory Building, Designation or Change of Boundary: $670.

(2) Conservation District, Designation or Change of Boundary: $670.

(3) Permit to Alter a Significant or Contributory Building within a designated Conservation District, not Deemed Minor by the Zoning Administrator: Same as for Certificate of Appropriateness (Section 356(c)).

(4) Alteration of a Contributory Building located outside a Conservation District from which no TDR has been transferred and no issuance of a permit pursuant to Sections 1111 through 1111.6: $25.

(5) Significant or Contributory Building Demo-lition: $670. This fee shall be in addition to any fee otherwise required for permits to alter or demolish. However, applications to demolish a Contributory Building located outside a Conservation District from which no TDR has been transferred or a Category V Building in a Conservation District from which no TDR has been transferred are subject only to the demolition fee contained in Section 355(b).

(6) Statement of Eligibility: $500.

(7) Certificate of Transfer, Execution: $264.

(8) Certification of Transfer of TDR: $500. (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 180-95, App. 6/2/95; Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

SEC. 354. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.

See Administrative Code, Section 31.46B for fees. (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

SEC. 355. PERMIT APPLICATIONS.

(a) Building permit applications for a new building, change in use or alter the exterior of an existing building, to be collected by Central Permit Bureau; provided, however, that the fees charged for Planning Department approval at the Construction Services Center for the replacement of windows and doors shall be reduced to ½ the fee set forth below.

(1) Applications with Verified Violations of this Code: Time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(2) Back-Check Fee for Permit Revisions: $71 for first hour of staff time plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c), to be collected at time of permit issuance.

(3) Shadow Fee for New Construction or Alteration Exceeding 40 Feet in Height (Section 295): Additional $200 plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(4) Public Notification Fee for Projects Requiring Public Notice Pursuant to Section 311: $40 for first hour of staff time, plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c).

(5) For projects with a construction cost of $5,000,000 or more, the applicant shall be charged the permit fee for a project with a $5,000,000 construction cost.

(b) Demolition Applications, to be Collected by Central Permit Bureau: $400.

(c) Fire, Police and Health Department Permit Applications Review: $45 for first hour of staff time plus time and materials to be collected by the other departments in conjunction with current fee collections, time and materials not to exceed five times the initial fee without providing an estimate of cost.

(d) Sign Applications, to be Collected by Central Permit Bureau: $90. (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 212-94, App. 6/2/94; Ord. 180-95, App. 6/2/95; Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

SEC. 356. PRESERVATION APPLICATIONS. (Article 10).

(a) Landmark: $250.

(b) Amendment, Rescission or Designation of Historical District: $1,000 plus time and materials in excess of fee paid.

(c) Certificate of Appropriateness:

(d) Determination that a building is a compatible rehabilitation or a compatible replacement building, pursuant to Section 309 or 1109: Same as for Conditional Use (Section 352(a)).

(e) Processing and administering an application for an historical properties contract under the California Mills Act, California Government Code Sections 50280—50290: $322 for first four hours of staff time plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(c). (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 212-94, App. 6/2/94; Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

SEC. 357. TRANSPORTATION REVIEW ASSOCIATED WITH PROJECT APPLICATIONS.

Transportation Study: $5,680 plus time and materials as set forth in Section 350(a). (Added by Ord. 153-93, App. 5/25/93; amended by Ord. 212-94, App. 6/2/94; Ord. 180-95, App. 6/2/95; Ord. 358-95, App. 11/15/95; Ord. 308-96, App. 7/25/96; Ord. 168-98, App. 5/21/98)

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