Work with Planning Department on their citywide effort to revise Residential Design Guidelines for easier understanding and a smoother process for property owners.

 

The Planning Department currently has several efforts underway to assist the public with information on design guidelines:

 

• Urban Design Guidelines – The San Francisco Planning Department has long been a leader in the field of urban design. One of their goals is to make San Francisco a more livable place through people-oriented design. The Urban Design Guidelines, which will help achieve this goal, will be completed within a year. The public outreach process will be established in Fall 2015.

• Secretary of the Interior Standards – The Planning Department is working on drafting a local interpretation of these standards, which serve as guidelines for how to work with historic buildings. Public outreach on this effort will likely begin spring/summer 2015.

• Residential Design Guidelines: Process has been initiated with a series of internal meetings. The update effort may possibly begin in summer 2016.

• Neighborhood Commercial Design Guidelines: In Fall 2014, our office worked with the Planning Department to develop a survey on design and land use in the Sunset. The survey was designed to get public input from residents and visitors to the Sunset on building design and different types of development in commercial areas. Through this survey, our office was able to find out the types of businesses people frequent most, the types of stores or services that are missing from the Sunset, and the features and qualities people enjoy in the business corridors.

  • To view the survey results, visit http://www.sfbos.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=53075

  • General survey results:

    • Visual preference: 55% of English respondents preferred a retail or restaurant space on the ground floor, while 62.5% of Chinese respondents prefer residential use with a ground floor lobby. Respondents generally preferred transparent ground floors, balconies, and outdoor seating.

    • New unit design: Both English and Chinese respondents generally prefer newer and older four story buildings with retail on the ground floor. A majority were also open to the idea of more units in a building as long as the overall size of the building did not change.

    • Favorite street/building in the Sunset: People generally stated that the commercial corridors were their favorite including Irving, Judah, Noriega and Taraval (in order of preference).

    • Design features: When asked what design features made a street or building their favorite, respondents said restaurants, the ocean, interesting shops, businesses, and locally owned businesses.

                 The feedback generated from this survey will inform the Planning Department’s upcoming work                  on Neighborhood Commercial Design Guidelines for the entire city. We will work closely with                        Planning Department staff as they begin to create these guidelines.