San Francisco Planning Commission Hearing — Thursday, September 17, 2026

The San Francisco Planning Commission convened on Thursday, September 17, 2026, with a meeting timestamp of 20:15 UTC. The Commission handled a continuance, a consent calendar approval, adoption of draft minutes, and several land-use items including new enforcement penalty guidelines, an office development authorization, two conditional use authorizations, and a discretionary review request. Most votes taken were unanimous 5–0.

Continuance Calendar

• 871 De Haro Street (Discretionary Review): Proposed for continuance to December 17, 2026. No public comment was offered on the continuance, and the Commission voted 5–0 to continue the item.

Consent Calendar

• 800 Irving Street (Case 2026-006728-CUA, d.b.a. BMO Bank N.A.): Request for a Conditional Use Authorization to establish a Formula Retail Financial Service. No commissioner, staff member, or member of the public requested removal from the consent calendar. The Commission voted 5–0 to approve the item on consent, with no separate discussion.

Draft Minutes, Commission Comments & Director's Reports

• Draft minutes for September 3, 2026, were presented for adoption; no public comments were made on the minutes.
• Director's announcements included recognition of Planning Department staff for a recent award cycle.
• Review of past events: No report was given from the Board of Appeals. The Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of Supervisor Dorsey's legislation to modify sign controls in mixed-use districts, and the Rules Committee unanimously advanced Malia Chavez to the full Board.

Public Comments & Testimony

• One general public commenter urged that Department of Building Inspection (DBI) inspectors be placed under Planning enforcement once the planned merger is finalized.
• A commenter described a case as "an example of lax building and planning code enforcement in San Francisco" and criticized enforcement overall.

Discussion Items

• Item 7 — Enforcement Penalty Guidelines: Staff presented new criteria for the Zoning Administrator's assessment of a one-time enforcement penalty for violations involving the misrepresentation of material tenant information on development applications. The Board of Supervisors created this as a new "third bucket" of penalty criteria, alongside earlier criteria addressing unauthorized unit removals and unauthorized additions of four or more units; the Historic Preservation Commission adopted parallel preservation penalty criteria. Staff emphasized that the criteria are not automatic sentencing guidelines, do not compel a specific penalty if triggered, and are not retroactive. The criteria apply to Planning Department applications and are less relevant to DBI applications. During deliberation, a commissioner asked whether tenant-harassment records from a reputable non-court, non-Rent-Board source could be considered; staff confirmed the criterion was left open-ended to allow that. The Commission adopted the resolution 5–0.
• Item 8 — 345 Spear Street / 2 Harrison Street (Office Development Authorization): The request sought 33,385 gross square feet of office allocation from the annual office development limit small-cap program at the individually designated Hills Brothers Coffee Building (San Francisco Landmark No. 157). The site consists of a full city block with Hills Plaza, a 17-story mixed-use residential tower built in 1990 under Planning Commission Motion 10501, and the six-story Hills Brothers building, built 1924–1926 and designed by George Kellum. The project relies on Planning Code Section 202.11D2A, which principally permits conversion of vacant ground-floor uses to office in historic buildings; the legislation came before the Commission on October 23, 2025. Earlier this year, an approval was granted for a 21,213-gross-square-foot change of use of vacant ground-floor retail at the location, and the two uses count cumulatively. The current request represents approximately 5% of the existing small-cap office space. One letter of opposition from a neighbor opposed privatization of the ground floor and preferred that publicly accessible retail spaces return. Sponsor Amy Lee (Ries) spoke in support, emphasizing preservation of the historic landmark, the value of retaining a major San Francisco employer, and a commitment to allowing nonprofits and the general public to access the community ground-floor space. A commissioner noted this is the first project to utilize the new code section. The Commission approved the project 5–0 with a friendly amendment adding a finding that the sponsor is committed to public access to the ground floor.
• Item 9 — 2089 Ingalls Street (Conditional Use Authorization): The project requested a CUA under Planning Code Sections 210.3 and 303 to expand an industrial agriculture use for cannabis cultivation in an existing industrial building in the PDR-2 zoning district in the Hunters Point neighborhood. In 2022, the Commission granted a CUA for approximately 1,875 square feet in Suite 4 of the subject building. The sponsor met twice with the Community Advisory Committee to provide more information about security and hiring. The Department received no public comment on the project. Staff and the project sponsor presented the item for the Commission's consideration.
• Item 10 — 1043–1045 Clayton Street (Conditional Use Authorization): The request was a CUA to demolish a two-unit residential building spanning lots 131, 132, and 133 of block 1279. In March 2023, two additional approvals were granted for lots 21 and 130, each allowing an additional two-unit building; the prior CUA validity period ended in March 2024, so the project returned as a combined application. A public speaker stated that the community "does not oppose the project itself" but raised concerns about withdrawal of the prior agreement without discussion. Another speaker said DBI counted any notch as a light well. One resident said some neighbors' concerns about trees, slope, and demolition were legitimate, but stressed that San Francisco needs more housing. Commissioners asked the project sponsor for the breakdown of the proposed housing units.
• Item 11 — 103 Banks Street (Discretionary Review, Case 2025-010904-DRP): A public-initiated discretionary review of Planning Application 2025-010904 PRJ was filed by a neighbor across the street, who claimed the proposed peaked roof makes the building taller than the neighbor to the north and the downhill neighbor. The Department received one letter of opposition and no letters in support of the project. The project sponsor was present. A motion was made and seconded to not take discretionary review and to approve the project as proposed.

Key Outcomes

• Continued 871 De Haro Street to December 17, 2026 (5–0).
• Approved 800 Irving Street (BMO Bank N.A.) on the consent calendar (5–0).
• Considered adoption of the September 3, 2026 draft minutes.
• Adopted the Enforcement Penalty Guidelines resolution (5–0).
• Approved 345 Spear Street / 2 Harrison Street with conditions as amended, including a ground-floor public-access finding (5–0).
• Heard the 2089 Ingalls Street cannabis cultivation CUA; no public comments were received.
• Took up the 103 Banks Street discretionary review; a motion to not take DR and approve the project as proposed was made and seconded.
• Note: The provided agenda excerpt was incomplete; the 1043–1045 Clayton Street item was discussed in the hearing but does not appear in the agenda snippet.