Planning Commission Adopts New Garage Policies
The San Francisco Planning Commission has adopted new policies regarding standards for review of permit applications for adding garages in existing residential structures. In the past, all such permit applications were approved over-the-counter by the planning staff. The zoning administrator has issued two bulletins describing the policies. These bulletins, summarized below, are intended to formalize the review process for adding garages in existing buildings—historic and otherwise.
 
Procedures and Criteria for Adding Garages (Zoning Administrator Bulletin 2006, 1a)
All applications are reviewed first at the Planning Information Counter. An initial determination is made by the staff as to whether the subject structure is a potential “historic resource.” For the purposes of this bulletin, a potential historic resource is a structure which was either (a) previously evaluated and included on the specific registers or surveys, or (b) constructed in or before 1913 and which, based on available information and staff review, appears to be of historic or architectural merit. Any application to add a new garage in a structure considered to be such a resource must be reviewed by one of the department’s preservation specialists and is subject to the supplemental review process set forth in Zoning Administrator Bulletin 2006.1b.
 
For all other structures, the planning staff at the Planning Information Counter will determine compliance with the Planning Code, the General Plan, the Residential design Guidelines and other specific criteria. Should the proposed project meet all of these criteria, the application may be approved over-the-counter.