Unsplash
What are Residential Design Guidelines?
The Residential Design Guidelines (Guidelines) describe the expectations regarding the character of the built environment and are intended to promote design that will protect neighborhood character, enhancing the attractiveness and quality of life in the City. These guidelines are integral to the Department's design review process for residential districts.
The Guidelines address basic principles of urban design that will result in residential development that maintains a cohesive neighborhood identity, preserves historic resources, and enhances the unique setting and character of the City and its residential neighborhoods.
San Francisco, for instance, is known for its neighborhoods and the visual quality of its buildings. From the Victorians of the Western Addition to the stucco-clad Mediterranean-style homes in the Sunset neighborhood and contemporary infill homes found throughout the City, the architecture is diverse, yet many neighborhoods are made up of buildings with common rhythms and cohesive elements of architectural expression. These neighborhoods are in large part what makes San Francisco an attractive place to live, work, and visit. To maintain the visual interest of a neighborhood, the design of new buildings and renovations to existing buildings must be compatible with nearby buildings. A single building out of context with its surroundings can be disruptive to the neighborhood character and, if repeated often enough, to the image of the City as a whole.
What are Urban Design Guidelines?
The Urban Design Guidelines are an implementation document for Urban Design Policy in the General Plan. Sites in the National Register, California Register, Article 10, and Article 11 Historic Districts are exempt.
They apply in Residential districts only for projects with non-residential uses or residential projects with 25 units or more or with a frontage longer than 150’.
Get a feasibility study to ensure your project passes Design Review before paying fees.
Related Articles
Unit definition based on San Francisco Building Code
What are neighborhood notifications and what is the process?
What are the requirements to build ADU in San Francisco?
What can you build on a real estate property under SB-9 San Francisco
What is SB-423 and how homeowners can benefit from SB-423 in San Francisco City?