SF Permits MCP Server

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City and County of San Francisco Edwin M. Lee, Mayor
Department of Building Inspection Tom C. Hui, S.E., C.B.O., Director
INFORMATION SHEET
NO. DA-09
DATE April 2, 2015
CATEGORY Disabled Access
SUBJECT Multi-Family Dwelling Parking Requirements
SECTIONS
INVOLVED San Francisco Building Code (SFBC) Sections
- 11 09A.1 through 11 09A.6 Accessible Parking Required
San Francisco Planning Code (SFPC) Section
- Article 1.5 Off-Street Parking and Loading
INTENT To resolve a perceived conflict between the parking requirements of the
California Building Code (CBC) Chapter 11 A and the SFPC; and, to clarify
the SFBC requirements for the minimum number of required accessible
parking spaces within newly constructed covered multi-family dwellings.
DISCUSSION Section 11 09A.3 of the CBC requires accessible parking spaces to be
provided at the rate of 2% (two percent) of the covered dwelling units, minimum. For a one hundred-unit
complex, this would require a minimum of two (2) accessible parking spaces for assigned parking.
This code section was written at a time when it was presumed and often required that such housing
complex provides at least one parking space per dwelling unit. The Housing and Community
Development (HCD) staff had clarified that Sections 11 09A.4 and 11 09A.5 are subordinate to
Section 11 09A.3. Article 1.5 of the SFPC severely restricts the amount of parking spaces that may be
installed within such multi-family dwellings potentially resulting in a disproportional amount of accessible
parking spaces being required. If the above one hundred dwelling-unit complex is limited by Article 1.5
and other space and footprint restrictions to no more than 20 parking spaces, observance of
Section 11 09A.3 would still require a minimum of 2 accessible parking spaces for 20 total parking spaces.
This would result to a ratio of 10% accessible parking, which is disproportional and clearly not the intent of
the code.
Close attention to the language of Section 11 09A.1 shows that this section governs parking facililies that
are "provided for multi-family dwellings." Section 167 of Article 1.5 of the SFPC stipulates that all parking
spaces accessory to residential uses in structures of 10 or more dwelling units shall be leased or sold
separately from the rental or purchase fees of the unit. Therefore, in buildings with ten (10) or more units,
the parking spaces are not "provided" for the covered multi-family dwellings. The total amount of
accessible parking spaces required under Section 11 09A.3 would then be 2% of the dwelling units that
have purchased or leased spaces.
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Technical Services Division
1660 Mission Street - San Francisco CA 94103
Office (415) 558-6205 - FAX (415) 558-6401 - www.sfdbLorg

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INFORMATION SHEET DA-09
When parking spaces are purchased or leased and they are used by the residents, Sections 11 09A.4
and 11 09A.5 would still apply as they are then "provided for a resident or a group of residents."
Thus, the required number of accessible parking spaces would be 2% and no less than one (1) of the
actual amount of assigned spaces, and 5% and no less than one (1) of the actual amount of unassigned
spaces that are provided.
For building with less than ten (10) dwellings, one (1) accessible parking space will generally be required.
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Tom C. Hui, S.E., C.B.O. Date
Director
Department of Building Inspection
This Information Sheet is subject to modification at any time. For the most current version, visit our website
at http://www.sfdbLor!l
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