San Francisco
Zoning districts
66 districts, grouped by category.
Commercial
13Community Commercial District
Downtown Commercial District
C-3-G
- Max height
- 6 ft
C-3-O
- Max height
- 6 ft
C-3-R
- Max height
- 6 ft
C-3-S
- Max height
- 6 ft
Chinatown Community Business District
Chinatown Residential Neighborhood Commercial District
Chinatown Visitor Retail District
Neighborhood Commercial District
- Front setback
- 10 ft
Neighborhood Commercial Shopping Center District
NCT District
RCD District
Mixed use
12Chinatown Mixed Use Office District
Chinatown Residential Neighborhood Commercial District
Eastern Neighborhoods Mixed Use
HP Height and Bulk District
- Max height
- 370 ft
- Permitted uses
- 7
MUG District
MUO District
MUR District
Residential Commercial District
RED-MX Districts
Urban Mixed Use
Western Mixed Use General District
Waterfront Mixed Use Office
Other
19Bulk District CP
Central SoMa Special Use District
- Max height
- 25 ft
Central SoMa Special Use District
Bulk District EP
Fourth and Harrison Streets Special Height Exception
- Max height
- 85 ft
Bulk District IB
Bulk District PM
Potrero HOPE SF Special Use District
Bulk District PY
RED Districts
Residential Transit Oriented Commercial District
- Front setback
- 10 ft
S-2 Bulk District
- Max height
- 90 ft
SALI District
- Max height
- 40 ft
- Permitted uses
- 1
SB-DTR Districts
SPD District
Sunnydale HOPE SF Special Use District
Bulk District TB
Bulk District TI
Vassar and Harrison Streets Special Height Exception
- Max height
- 130 ft
Residential
15Downtown Residential
North of Market Residential Special Use District
Bulk District R-2
Bulk District R-3
Bulk District R-4
Residential House District
- Front setback
- 10 ft
Single-Family Residential District
- Max height
- 35 ft
Two-Family Residential District
- Max height
- 40 ft
Rincon Hill Downtown Residential Mixed Use District
Residential Mixed District
- Front setback
- 10 ft
Residential Mixed District 1
Residential Mixed District 2
RSD District
Residential Transit Oriented District
- Front setback
- 10 ft
Residential Transit Oriented Mixed District
Industrial
2General provisions
163 rules that bind every district rather than one — sign regulations, parking, floodplain and the rest of the code’s citywide chapters.
All new buildings constructed in Industrial Districts and PDR Districts... shall provide ground floor spaces with a minimum floor-to-floor height of 17 feet.
An 'active use' shall mean any principal, conditional, or accessory use that by its nature does not require non-transparent walls facing a public street or involves the storage of goods or vehicles.
An 'active use' shall mean any principal, conditional, or accessory use that by its nature does not require non-transparent walls facing a public street or involves the storage of goods or vehicles.
An 'active use' shall mean any principal, conditional, or accessory use that by its nature does not require non-transparent walls facing a public street or involves the storage of goods or vehicles.
An 'active use' shall mean any principal, conditional, or accessory use that by its nature does not require non-transparent walls facing a public street or involves the storage of goods or vehicles.
The portion of the frontage with active uses must be fenestrated with transparent windows and doorways for no less than 60% of the area of the ground level façade
Ground floor Non-Residential Uses in all C-3, NCT, DTR, Chinatown Mixed Use, SPD, RED-MX, WMUG, MUG, MUR, WMUO, CMUO and MUO Districts shall have a minimum floor-to-floor height of 14 feet, as measured from grade.
Outdoor Activity Areas in NC Districts shall be regulated below, except in the Outer Clement Street Neighborhood Commercial District, where Outdoor Activity Areas shall be a Principally Permitted Use if they existed prior to 1985.
In the Chinatown Mixed Use Districts, including the Chinatown Community Business District, the Chinatown Visitor Retail District and the Chinatown Residential Neighborhood Commercial Districts, the street frontage of a building shall not exceed 50 feet in width.
Active commercial uses which are permitted by the specific district in which they are located are required on the ground floor of all street frontages listed in subsection (b) above.
New buildings and additions to existing buildings in C-3 and Eastern Neighborhoods Mixed Use Districts where the building height exceeds 50 feet shall be shaped to reduce substantial shadow impacts.
In the C-3 Districts, Van Ness Special Use District... this Section 148 shall apply to new buildings taller than 85 feet.
In the C-3 Districts, Van Ness Special Use District, Folsom and Main Residential/Commercial Special Use District... this Section 148 shall apply to new buildings taller than 85 feet.
In the C-3 Districts, Van Ness Special Use District, Folsom and Main Residential/Commercial Special Use District, Downtown Residential (DTR) Districts, and Central SoMa Special Use District, this Section 148 shall apply to new buildings taller than 85 feet.
Each square foot of Living Roof shall count as 0.5 square foot towards the Minimum Better Roof Area requirements.
Dwelling (in all Districts unless specified otherwise below): P up to 2.0 parking spaces on Lots with one Dwelling Unit; P up to 3.0 parking spaces on Lots with two Dwelling Units; P up to 1.0 parking space for each Dwelling Unit for Lots with three or more Dwelling Units; NP above preceding ratio.
Group Housing of any kind: P up to 1.0 parking space for each three bedrooms or for each six beds, whichever results in the greater number of parking spaces, plus 1.0 parking space for the manager’s Dwelling Unit if any. NP above preceding ratios.
Dwelling, in the Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District: P up to 0.5 parking space for each Dwelling Unit; NP above preceding ratio.
Dwelling, in the Pacific Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District: P up to 0.5 parking space for each Dwelling Unit; C above 0.5 and up to 1.0 parking space for each Dwelling Unit; NP above preceding ratios.
Dwelling Units in the Van Ness & Market Residential Special Use District: P up to 0.25 parking space for each Dwelling Unit; NP above 0.25 parking space for each Dwelling Unit.
Source documents
The chapters of the adopted code that were retrieved, read and extracted from. Everything above traces back to one of these.