San Francisco Land Use and Transportation Committee Meeting: July 13, 2026
San Francisco Land Use and Transportation Committee Meeting: July 13, 2026
The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on July 13, 2026, at 10:15 AM (scheduled) but the transcript begins with "Good afternoon," indicating the meeting likely occurred later in the day. Chaired by Supervisor Mirna Melgar, joined by Vice Chair Cheyenne Chen and Supervisor Bilal Mahmud, the committee considered three ordinances and a hearing on transit accessibility for families. The three ordinances were all approved unanimously and forwarded to the full Board. The hearing was continued to the call of the chair.
Consent Calendar
- Hotel Uses in Residential Districts (Item 1): An ordinance to increase the cap on guest rooms for hotel uses as conditional uses in several residential districts from 5 to 10 rooms. Supervisor Melgar inquired about a total cap on the number of such hotels; the sponsor responded that the conditional use process provides neighborhood oversight. The committee voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance to the full Board.
- Banner Fee Waivers for Nonprofits (Item 2): An ordinance to waive banner and inspection fees for certain nonprofit organizations in neighborhood commercial districts citywide. The sponsor noted the fiscal impact is minimal ($375 per 20-banner permit). The committee voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance.
- DBI Audit Amnesty Fee Waivers (Item 3): An ordinance to waive additional fees (DPW and fire department) for property owners impacted by the DBI corruption scandal, complementing previous legislation. The committee voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Chrissa Cavoris (SF Bicycle Coalition): Expressed support for expanding bike access on Muni, including cargo bikes, and for better bike infrastructure connecting to transit hubs. Urged the city to focus on protected bike lanes and expanded bike share for families.
- Christine (Chinatown Transportation Research and Improvement Committee): Stressed the importance of dependable elevator and escalator operation for seniors and families, and requested increased language assistance at transit stations.
- Norma (Tenderloin resident): Voiced safety concerns about dogs on buses, particularly for moms with strollers, and asked what Muni is doing about the issue.
- Brian Kwan (outer Richmond father): Appreciated the hearing and noted that having a stroller forces him to think about accessible routes and elevator locations. Observed missing boarding islands that make it difficult to board with a stroller.
Discussion Items
- Hearing on Transit Accessibility for Families (Item 4): Supervisor Sauter presented the "Stroller Act" hearing to discuss how to make public transit more welcoming for families. Presentations were given by:
- SFMTA Director Julie Kirschbaum: Highlighted affordability programs (free Muni for youth, low-income discounts, Clipper Start), school partnerships (25% of SFUSD students use transit, 55% of high schoolers ride Muni regularly), safety measures (transit ambassadors, security), and stroller policy (no limit on strollers, designated stroller areas, collapsible requirement but not collapsed). Noted challenges with elevator/escalator reliability, especially at Powell Street/Hallidie Plaza.
- BART General Manager Bob Powers: Emphasized coordination among 27 operators, highlighted ridership surge (June highest monthly), crime down 40% year-over-year, new fare gates, elevator reliability at 95%, and station improvements. Noted elevator attendants at downtown stations and restroom attendants. Discussed activation of plazas at 16th and 24th streets.
- MTC Director Rebecca Long and Project Manager Gordon Hansen: Presented on Clipper Next Gen (tap-and-ride, transfer discount saving $7 million since December, Clipper Start 50% discount, Clipper Youth online enrollment) and the regional wayfinding project (standardized colors, symbols, pilot at El Cerrito, Santa Rosa, Powell Street). Reported that 90% of respondents found the new maps easy to navigate.
- Supervisor Questions: Several supervisors raised concerns about specific stations:
- Balboa Park: confusing wayfinding, uneven sidewalks, single elevator, lack of elevator to Geneva side. BART GM committed to walk the station with SFMTA and improve signage.
- Powell Street/Hallidie Plaza: escalator failures, need for permanent ramp. SFMTA noted a $9 million ramp project (construction summer 2027 to spring 2028).
- 16th and 24th Street plazas: Chair Melgar pressed for permanent solutions to address safety and cleanliness, not just monthly pop-ups. BART GM acknowledged ongoing discussions with OEWD for more comprehensive activation.
- Elevator signage: Supervisor Chen called for standardized elevator floor labels and better signage when elevators are out of service.
- Family-friendly design: Chair Melgar asked MTC to involve parents in wayfinding design to reduce cognitive load for families with strollers. MTC agreed to consider family focus groups.
- Fare issues: Supervisor Mahmud noted that youth and senior discounts are not available via tap-and-ride, and there is no family pass or tourist day pass. MTC and BART indicated these features may come as Clipper 2 matures.
Key Outcomes
- Items 1-3: All three ordinances were unanimously recommended to the Board of Supervisors (votes: 3-0).
- Item 4 (Hearing): The hearing was continued to the call of the chair (motion passed 3-0).
- Specific commitments:
- BART GM Powers committed to walking Balboa Park Station with SFMTA to address wayfinding and accessibility issues.
- BART will improve signage for elevator outages and consider adding a second elevator at Balboa Park.
- SFMTA will launch a stroller education campaign to inform riders about designated stroller spaces.
- MTC agreed to include families in future wayfinding design focus groups.
- All agencies committed to ongoing coordination on fare integration, especially for youth and tourists.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon everyone. This meeting will come to order. Welcome to the July 13th, 2026 regular meeting of the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Mirna Melgar, chair of this committee, joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Cheyenne Chen and Supervisor Bilal Mahmud. The committee clerk today is uh John Carroll, and I also want to give a special thanks and shout out to Kalina Mendoza from SFgov TV for staffing us during this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Please ensure that you've silenced your cell phones and other electronic devices that you've brought with you into the chamber today. If you have any documents to be included as part of any of today's files, you can submit them directly 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 email your comments to me at J O H N period C A R R O L L at SFGOV.org. Or you may send your written comments via U.S. Postal Service to our office in City Hall. The clerk's office is room 244 and City Hall's address is one. Dr. Carlton B. Goodlit Place, San Francisco, California 94102. If you submit public comment in writing, I will forward your comments to the members of this committee, and I will also include your comments as part of the official file on which you are commenting. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors Agenda of July 21st, 2026, unless otherwise stated. Okay, thank you so much. Um Mr. Clerk, let's go to item number one, please. Agenda item number one is an ordinance amending the planning code to increase the number of guest rooms for hotel uses permitted as a conditional use in RH2, residential house two family, RH3, residential house three family, RM1, residential mixed low density, RM2, residential mixed moderate density, RM3, residential mixed medium density, RM4, residential mixed high density, RTO1, residential transit oriented neighborhood, and RTOM residential transit oriented mission districts, from five or fewer rooms to ten or fewer rooms. Specified that the planning commission shall consider the effects on an existing home's quality and viability as an independent dwelling unit where a conditional use application seeks to establish a hotel within a single family home, affirming the planning department's secret determination and making findings of consistency with the general plan and the eight priority policies of planning code section one and one point one and making findings of public necessity, convenience, and welfare pursuant to planning code section 302. Okay, thank you. Good afternoon, Chair Melgar, uh Supervisor Chen and Supervisor Mahmood. Um this is the same item from uh two weeks ago at the last line use and transportation meeting. I was forwarded to this meeting because of the substantive amendments. Um I can speak to it again if you would like. Um it's uh our legislation to help out bed and breakfasts um in residential districts by increasing the uh cap on the number of rooms they can have from five to ten. Um pending your questions, um that'll be it for my remarks. Okay, I I did have one question, um, and that is do you did you consider when you were uh working with the planning department on this on putting uh controls over the total number of fees uh that could go in a within a residential area? Or is that existing? Uh there's no total cap on the number. I believe from uh our view as well as the planning department's review when we were uh speaking them through the process um the sort of gate on having too many of these, and you know, for example, you know, maybe trying to take away housing, um, is the fact that these all have to be approved conditionally as conditional use authorizations. Um so every single uh one of these, if if they want to have um, you know, anywhere from five and ten rooms will have to be approved as a conditional use authorization by the planning commission. Okay, so if there was any neighborhood concern uh over this use, it would happen at the access number of of you know uh application that gets approved through the natural process. Absolutely, they would get notified and would be able to speak to their concerns. Okay, thank you so much. Um, I don't see anyone else on the roster with questions or comments, so let's go to public comment on this item, please. Thank you, madam chair, land use and transportation. We'll now hear public comment related to agenda item number one, hotel uses in RHRM and RTO districts. If you have public comment for this item, please come forward to the lector. And madam chair, it appears we have no speakers. Okay. Public comment at this item is now closed. Uh colleagues, I'd like to make a motion that we send this item forward to the full board with a positive recommendation.
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