Okay, good afternoon, everyone.

This meeting will come to order.

Welcome to the March 17th, 2025 regular meeting of the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

See Happy St.

Patrick's Day, everyone.

I am Supervisor Mirna Melgar, Chair of the Committee, joined by Vice Chair, Supervisor Cheyenne Chen, and Supervisor Bilal Mahmoud.

The committee clerk today is John Carroll, and I would also like to thank Kalina Mendoza from SFGov TV for staffing this meeting and bringing it to our constituents.

Mr.

Clerk, do you have any announcements?

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

Please ensure that you silenced your cell phones and other electronic devices you've brought with you into the chamber today.

If you have any documents to be included as any of today's files, you should submit them to me.

Public comment will be taken on each item on today's agenda.

When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please line up to speak along your right hand side of this room.

Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways.

First, you may send your written public comment to me at J-O-H-N period C A R R O L L at SFGO V dot O R G.

Or you may send your written comments via U.S.

Postal Service to our office in City Hall.

The address is 1, Dr.

Carlton B.

Goodlett Place, Room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102.

If you submit public comment in writing, I'll forward your comments to the members of this panel and also include your comments as part of the official file on which you are commenting.

Items on today's agenda are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors Agenda of March 25th, 2025, unless otherwise stated.

Thank you so much.

Mr.

Clerk, please call item number one.

Agenda item number one is an ordinance amending the planning code to limit restrictions on window replacement projects in certain buildings.

It affirms the planning department's secret determination and makes appropriate findings throughout the ordinance.

And this item is on our agenda as a potential committee report, and it may be sent to the board for consideration tomorrow, March 28th.

Sorry, March 18th, 2025.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Clerk.

Uh colleagues, today I am excited to present this legislation to reform how we govern the replacement of windows in homes across our city.

Over the past several months, my office has heard from dozens of San Franciscans struggling with unnecessary red tape and excessive costs just to replace their windows.

At the same time as we meet our climate action goals and comply with the Bay Area Air Quality Management Agency to electrify our homes and to also make them more efficient.

The current planning department standards often force homeowners to pay tens of thousands of dollars for custom wood windows or undergo a burdensome process to prove their home is not a historic resource.

When, you know, it's often just single family homes in the middle of the block in uh the sunset or in district seven.

Uh it means that tenants are left in drafty rooms, and it means that homeowners are put out tens of thousands of dollars for routine maintenance, not just for the windows, but for the process to uh change them.

Over the past uh decade, nearly 20,000 window replacement permits have been filed.

With these reforms, we can save San Franciscans millions of dollars while supporting sustainable living.

Our city is not a museum, it is a growing, evolving community that should reflect the needs of the people who live there.

And I think this is also a legitimate policy discussion over what we'd prioritize uh with our public policy.

I want to thank the planning commission for their positive recommendation of this legislation, as well as the very helpful recommendations that they provided, all of which I am adopting and uh have prepared an amendment, which I will introduce.

Uh I uh welcome the amendments and have shared the language with you and with the clerk.

Um, I also want to thank my colleagues, supervisors in Guardio, Sauter, Cheryl, and Mahmoud for their early co-sponsorship.

Um I also want to thank uh Mr.

Aaron Starr for uh the collaboration and the helpful guidance uh in this process.

Um and now I will turn it over to um Michelle from the planning department who uh will make the presentation.

Thank you, Supervisor.

Good afternoon, supervisors.

Michelle Taylor Planning Department staff.

This item appeared in front of the planning commission on February 27th, during which time the commission voted six to one recommending approval with modifications.

The modifications are as follows.

One, modify 136.2a to clarify and narrow the language to state that the department will not regulate frame and sash materials for replacement windows.

Two, adding two exceptions to 136.2 under step subsections D and E.

New Subsection D would add specific language meant to avoid conflicts with other sections of the planning code.

B, add new subsection E would would be added to create flexibility for cultural districts who may in the future want to draft objective design standards for housing projects subject to the housing accountability act.

And three, under 136.2 B1 and 2.

We recommend replacing the historic building language in the ordinance with the historic building definition found in planning code section 102.

This recommendation is meant to ensure consistency with how the planning code defines a historic building.