SF Permits MCP Server

{ "metadata": { "title": "Reference Tables: Zoning Routing, Permit Forms, and Agency Triggers", "source_type": "Internal system documentation — describes database reference tables powering prediction tools", "date_created": "2026-02-25", "authority": "SF Permits AI internal knowledge", "notes": [ "These reference tables are seeded by scripts/seed_reference_tables.py", "They live in both DuckDB (local dev) and PostgreSQL (production)", "They power the predict_permits, required_documents, and estimate_timeline tools", "Data in these tables is derived from G-20 routing matrix, permit forms taxonomy, and policy knowledge" ] }, "ref_zoning_routing": { "description": "Maps SF zoning codes to agency routing requirements for plan review", "purpose": "When a project address has a known zoning code, this table determines which agencies are required reviewers without having to parse the full G-20 routing matrix", "table_schema": { "zoning_code": "SF Planning Code zoning district code (e.g., RH-1, C-3-O, PDR-1-G)", "zoning_category": "Human-readable category (e.g., 'Single-Family Residential', 'Downtown Core')", "planning_review_required": "Boolean — does Planning Department always review in this zone?", "fire_review_required": "Boolean — does SFFD always review in this zone?", "health_review_required": "Boolean — does DPH always review in this zone?", "historic_district": "Boolean — is this zoning typically in a historic conservation district?", "height_limit": "Text description of typical height limit (informational, not definitive)", "notes": "Free text for caveats or special conditions" }, "key_zoning_codes": { "residential": [ { "code": "RH-1", "category": "Single-Family Residential", "planning_required": false, "fire_required": false, "notes": "Most common single-family zone; ADUs permitted by state law" }, { "code": "RH-2", "category": "Two-Family Residential", "planning_required": false, "fire_required": false, "notes": "Two dwelling units per lot; duplex standard" }, { "code": "RH-3", "category": "Three-Family Residential", "planning_required": false, "fire_required": false, "notes": "Up to 3 units; common in inner neighborhoods" }, { "code": "RM-1", "category": "Low-Density Multi-Family Residential", "planning_required": false, "fire_required": true, "notes": "Up to approximately 1 unit per 800 sq ft of lot area" }, { "code": "RM-4", "category": "High-Density Multi-Family Residential", "planning_required": true, "fire_required": true, "notes": "Highest residential density; large apartment buildings" }, { "code": "RC-4", "category": "High-Density Residential-Commercial Combined", "planning_required": true, "fire_required": true, "notes": "Mixed residential and commercial; downtown-adjacent areas" } ], "commercial": [ { "code": "NC-1", "category": "Neighborhood Commercial Cluster", "planning_required": true, "fire_required": false, "notes": "Small clusters of neighborhood-serving retail" }, { "code": "NC-2", "category": "Small-Scale Neighborhood Commercial", "planning_required": true, "fire_required": false, "notes": "Main corridor retail; formula retail controls apply" }, { "code": "C-3-O", "category": "Downtown Commercial-Office", "planning_required": true, "fire_required": true, "historic_district": true, "notes": "Downtown core; Section 309 review; Article 11 conservation district" }, { "code": "PDR-1-G", "category": "Production, Distribution, Repair — General", "planning_required": true, "fire_required": false, "notes": "Industrial/maker space; SoMa; restrictions on residential conversion" } ] }, "usage_in_predict_permits": "When predict_permits receives an address with known zoning, it first checks ref_zoning_routing to build the initial agency list before applying G-20 routing rules" }, "ref_permit_forms": { "description": "Maps project types to the correct DBI permit form and review path", "purpose": "Quick lookup for which Form to use for common project types — supplements the more detailed permit-forms-taxonomy.json with normalized project_type keys for programmatic access", "table_schema": { "id": "Unique integer identifier", "project_type": "Normalized project type key (e.g., 'kitchen_remodel', 'adu', 'new_construction')", "permit_form": "DBI form number (e.g., 'Form 3/8', 'Form 1/2', 'Form 6')", "review_path": "Either 'otc' or 'in_house'", "notes": "Caveats, edge cases, or conditions that change the form/path selection" }, "common_mappings": [ { "project_type": "kitchen_remodel", "permit_form": "Form 3/8", "review_path": "otc", "notes": "With plans if layout changes; no-plan OTC if in-kind" }, { "project_type": "bathroom_remodel", "permit_form": "Form 3/8", "review_path": "otc", "notes": "With plans if layout changes; no-plan OTC if in-kind" }, { "project_type": "residential_interior_remodel", "permit_form": "Form 3/8", "review_path": "otc", "notes": "OTC with plans if changing floor plan; in-house if structural" }, { "project_type": "new_construction", "permit_form": "Form 1/2", "review_path": "in_house", "notes": "Always in-house; Form 1 for new building, Form 2 for addition" }, { "project_type": "adu", "permit_form": "Form 1/2", "review_path": "in_house", "notes": "All ADU types require in-house review per DBI policy" }, { "project_type": "restaurant", "permit_form": "Form 1/2", "review_path": "in_house", "notes": "Change of use to restaurant always requires in-house; DPH, SFFD routing" }, { "project_type": "demolition", "permit_form": "Form 6", "review_path": "in_house", "notes": "Form 6 is the demolition permit form; Planning review required" }, { "project_type": "commercial_ti", "permit_form": "Form 3/8", "review_path": "otc", "notes": "Single-story non-structural TI can be OTC; structural or multi-story is in-house" }, { "project_type": "sign_permit", "permit_form": "Form 3/8", "review_path": "otc", "notes": "OTC with plans; Planning routing if in certain districts" }, { "project_type": "seismic_retrofit", "permit_form": "Form 3/8", "review_path": "otc", "notes": "Brace and bolt (S-09 compliant) is OTC; mandatory soft-story may be in-house" } ], "form_reference": { "Form_1": "New Building — large new construction", "Form_2": "Grading, Excavation, Fill, Revetment — also used for additions", "Form_3": "Alterations, Repair, Demolition — most residential and commercial alterations", "Form_4": "Boiler — boiler and pressure vessel work", "Form_5": "Electrical — electrical permit application", "Form_6": "Demolition", "Form_7": "Mechanical — HVAC, plumbing mechanical", "Form_8": "No Plans Required — OTC without plans (simple repairs, in-kind replacement)" }, "usage_in_tools": "The predict_permits and required_documents tools use ref_permit_forms to quickly determine form and path before doing more detailed knowledge base lookups" }, "ref_agency_triggers": { "description": "Maps project keywords and conditions to the agencies that must review the permit", "purpose": "When a project description contains certain keywords or scope elements, this table identifies which additional agencies must be added to the review routing", "table_schema": { "id": "Unique integer identifier", "trigger_keyword": "The word or phrase in the project description that triggers agency routing (e.g., 'restaurant', 'sprinkler', 'historic')", "agency": "The agency name to add to routing (e.g., 'Planning', 'SFFD (Fire)', 'DPH (Public Health)')", "reason": "Human-readable explanation of why this agency is triggered", "adds_weeks": "Estimated additional weeks added to review timeline by this agency routing (integer)" }, "key_triggers": { "planning_triggers": [ { "keyword": "change of use", "agency": "Planning", "reason": "Change of use requires planning zoning compliance review", "adds_weeks": 4 }, { "keyword": "new construction", "agency": "Planning", "reason": "All new construction requires planning review", "adds_weeks": 6 }, { "keyword": "demolition", "agency": "Planning", "reason": "Demolition requires planning review for residential unit loss (Section 317)", "adds_weeks": 4 }, { "keyword": "adu", "agency": "Planning", "reason": "ADU projects require planning zoning compliance", "adds_weeks": 2 }, { "keyword": "historic", "agency": "Planning", "reason": "Historic resource review required — potential COA from HPC", "adds_weeks": 8 } ], "fire_triggers": [ { "keyword": "sprinkler", "agency": "SFFD (Fire)", "reason": "Fire sprinkler system requires SFFD plan review and inspection", "adds_weeks": 3 }, { "keyword": "fire alarm", "agency": "SFFD (Fire)", "reason": "Fire alarm system requires SFFD review", "adds_weeks": 3 }, { "keyword": "restaurant", "agency": "SFFD (Fire)", "reason": "Commercial kitchen requires SFFD fire code compliance review", "adds_weeks": 3 }, { "keyword": "high rise", "agency": "SFFD (Fire)", "reason": "High-rise buildings (75+ ft) require full SFFD review", "adds_weeks": 6 }, { "keyword": "assembly", "agency": "SFFD (Fire)", "reason": "Assembly occupancy (A group) requires SFFD review", "adds_weeks": 4 } ], "health_triggers": [ { "keyword": "restaurant", "agency": "DPH (Public Health)", "reason": "Food service establishment requires DPH plan review and environmental health permit", "adds_weeks": 4 }, { "keyword": "food service", "agency": "DPH (Public Health)", "reason": "Any food preparation or service area triggers DPH review", "adds_weeks": 4 }, { "keyword": "childcare", "agency": "DPH (Public Health)", "reason": "Childcare facilities require DPH licensing and plan review", "adds_weeks": 4 }, { "keyword": "medical", "agency": "DPH (Public Health)", "reason": "Medical offices and clinics require DPH review for hazardous waste and infection control", "adds_weeks": 3 } ], "structural_triggers": [ { "keyword": "foundation", "agency": "DBI (Building)", "reason": "Foundation work requires structural engineering review at DBI", "adds_weeks": 4 }, { "keyword": "seismic", "agency": "DBI (Building)", "reason": "Seismic upgrade requires structural plan review", "adds_weeks": 3 }, { "keyword": "shoring", "agency": "DBI (Building)", "reason": "Shoring and excavation support require special structural review", "adds_weeks": 4 } ] }, "usage_in_predict_permits": "The predict_permits tool scans the project description for trigger keywords, looks them up in ref_agency_triggers, and builds the agency routing list and timeline estimate", "overlap_with_g20": "ref_agency_triggers provides quick keyword lookup; the G-20-routing.json provides the authoritative routing matrix for all 154 project type entries. They are complementary — G-20 is definitive, ref_agency_triggers is a fast heuristic" }, "how_tables_power_prediction_tools": { "predict_permits_workflow": [ "1. Parse project description to extract scope keywords (context_parser.py)", "2. Match keywords against ref_agency_triggers to build initial agency list", "3. Look up address zoning in ref_zoning_routing if address provided", "4. Cross-reference with G-20-routing.json for authoritative agency requirements", "5. Look up project_type in ref_permit_forms to determine form and OTC/in-house path", "6. Apply knowledge base concepts from semantic-index.json for additional requirements", "7. Return structured prediction with permits, routing, requirements, confidence" ], "required_documents_workflow": [ "1. Receive permit_forms and review_path from predict_permits output", "2. Use permit form to determine base document list from completeness-checklist.json", "3. Use agency_routing list to add agency-specific requirements", "4. Apply project_type triggers for specialized document needs (EPR, Title 24, etc.)", "5. Return categorized checklist of required documents" ], "estimate_timeline_workflow": [ "1. Determine permit_type from ref_permit_forms lookup", "2. Sum adds_weeks values from all triggered agencies in ref_agency_triggers", "3. Add base processing time from historical timeline statistics", "4. Apply neighborhood-specific velocity adjustments from station_velocity data", "5. Return percentile estimates (p25/p50/p75/p90)" ] }, "data_maintenance": { "seeding": "scripts/seed_reference_tables.py — populates all 3 tables from hardcoded Python constants", "frequency": "Tables are seeded once at deployment; updates require re-running seed script via /cron/seed-references endpoint", "idempotency": "Seed script uses UPSERT (INSERT OR REPLACE in DuckDB, INSERT ... ON CONFLICT in PostgreSQL) — safe to re-run", "source_of_truth": "These tables are derived from knowledge files, not the other way around. If policy changes, update the knowledge JSON first, then update the seed constants" } }