San Francisco Zoning Decisions: May 2026

In May 2026, San Francisco held 15 public meetings covering zoning matters. 23 zoning decisions had a recorded outcome this month: 19 approved (90% approval rate), 2 denied, 2 deferred. Activity was down 50% compared to April (821 activity items across 17 meetings).

Zoning Decisions This Month

Appeal of Rear Yard Variance at 2840 Lake Street

Denied.

Board denied appeal 26-021 filed by Daryl and Celeste Wu, Taylor and Julia Moore, Susan Kronholm, Catherine Skangos, and Jeff Willis challenging a rear yard variance granted to Fiona and Richard Cui. The variance allows construction of a vertical and horizontal addition to the existing single-family building, including a new third story extending 6 feet 4 inches into the required rear yard. Property is in RH1D zoning district with 40-foot height limit and is a contributor to the Seacliff Historic District.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Emergency Demolition Permit Appeal at 659 Union St.

Denied.

Board denied appeal by North Beach Tenants Committee challenging demolition permit issued to Powell Partners LLC for fire-damaged three-story mixed-use building at 659 Union St. near Washington Square Park. Building suffered fires in 2013 and 2018, destroying previous seismic retrofit. DBI Interim Director David Kane and DPW engineer Ray Louie testified the unreinforced masonry structure poses imminent collapse risk, particularly during seismic events. DPW removed adjacent block from Union St. infrastructure project due to safety concerns.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Bike Parking at St. Ignatius - 2001 37th Avenue

Deferred.

Conditional use authorization for bike parking at St. Ignatius continued by four weeks to allow continued dialogue with concerned neighbors.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Balboa Reservoir Block C and D Major Modification

Approved.

Major modification approval for Avalon Bay Communities' 243-unit residential building on blocks C and D at 11 Frida Kahlo Way. The approximately 250,000 square foot building includes 18.5% studios, 35% one-bedrooms, 44% two-bedrooms, and 2% three-bedrooms. Block C is 6 stories (65 feet), Block D is 5 stories (54.5 feet), connected by a bridge element with 9 units. Includes 24 parking spaces and 138 class 1 bicycle parking spaces.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Conditional Use Authorization at 1868 Lombard St.

Approved.

Consent calendar item for conditional use authorization at 1868 Lombard St. was approved with conditions. Vote was unanimous 6-0.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Consent Calendar - 1569 Slope Boulevard CUA

Approved.

Case 2026-001024CUA for conditional use authorization at 1569 Slope Boulevard was approved as part of consent calendar.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Consent Calendar - 2243 Mission Street CUA

Approved.

Case 2026-002998CUA for conditional use authorization at 2243 Mission Street was approved as part of consent calendar.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Conditional Use Authorization at 5238 Diamond Heights Blvd

Approved.

Conditional use authorization approved on consent calendar without discussion.

See the vote tally and conditions for this decision →

Showing the 8 most significant of 23 recorded zoning decisions. See all San Francisco meetings →

Zoning Changes

• RH1D (compliant rear yard) → RH1D with rear yard variance, Lot depth approximately 85 feet acres at 2840 Lake Street, San Francisco (Fiona and Richard Cui)
• Open space (no residential permitted, no height established) → Residential uses permitted with established height at Block J, Balboa Reservoir Special Use District (Avalon Bay Communities)
• Various → Increased density and height allowances for residential projects at Sites within one-half mile of transit-oriented development stops (City of San Francisco)

Top Keywords This Month

• variance: 110 instances
• zoning: 68 instances
• residential: 39 instances
• land use: 19 instances
• conditional use: 14 instances

What to Watch

• Variance mentions were up 67% from April.

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