SEC. 249.35. FRINGE FINANCIAL SERVICE RESTRICTED USE DISTRICT.

(a) Findings. There are an unusually large number of establishments providing fringe financial services, including check cashing and payday lending, in the neighborhoods included in the Mission Alcoholic Beverage Special Use District, the North of Market Residential Special Use District, the Divisadero Street Alcohol Restricted Use District, the Third Street Alcohol Restricted Use District, and the Haight Street Alcohol Restricted Use Subdistrict. The unchecked proliferation of these businesses has the potential to displace other financial service providers, including charter banks, which offer a much broader range of financial services, as well as other desired commercial development in the City, which provides a broad range of neighborhood commercial goods and services.

(b) Establishment of the Fringe Financial Service Restricted Use District. In order to preserve the residential character and the neighborhood-serving commercial uses of the following defined areas, a noncontiguous Fringe Financial Service Restricted Use District (Fringe Financial Service RUD) is hereby established for the following properties: (1) Properties in NC-1 and NCT-3 Districts, in the Broadway (Sec. 714), Castro Street (Sec. 715), Inner Clement Street (Sec. 716), Outer Clement Street (Sec. 717), Cole Valley (Sec. 742), Excelsior Outer Mission Street (Sec. 720), Fillmore Street (Sec. 747), Upper Fillmore Street (Sec. 718), Haight Street (Sec. 719), Lakeside Village (Sec. 727), North Beach (Sec. 722), Pacific Avenue (Sec. 726), Polk Street (Sec. 723), Sacramento Street (Sec. 724), Inner Sunset (Sec. 730), 24th Street – Noe Valley (Sec. 728), Union Street (Sec. 725), and West Portal Avenue (Sec. 729) Neighborhood Commercial Districts, and in the Divisadero Street (Sec. 759), Hayes-Gough (Sec. 761), Mission Street (Sec. 754), 24th Street – Mission (Sec. 763), Upper Market Street (Sec. 764), and Valencia Street (Sec. 762) Neighborhood Commercial Transit Districts;

(2) Properties in the Mission Alcoholic Beverage Special Use District, as described in Section 249.60 of this Code and as designated on Sectional Maps SU07 and SU08 of the Zoning Map of the City and County of San Francisco;

(3) Properties in the North of Market Residential Special Use District, as described in Section 249.5 of this Code and as designated on Sectional Maps SU01 and SU02 of the Zoning Map of the City and County of San Francisco;

(4) Properties in the Haight Street (Section 781.9) and Third Street (Section 782) Alcohol Restricted Use Districts; and

(5) Properties in the Chinatown Community Business (CCB) (Section 810), South Park (SPD) (Section 814), and Rincon Hill (RH-DTR) (Section 827) Districts.

(c) Restrictions.

(1) No new fringe financial services shall be permitted as a principal or accessory use in the Fringe Financial Service RUD.

(2) The controls of this Section 249.35 shall also apply within a ¼ mile of the Fringe Financial Service RUD.

(3) Outside of the Fringe Financial Service RUD and its ¼ mile buffer, fringe financial services shall be subject to the zoning controls set forth elsewhere in this Code, provided that, in addition, no new fringe financial service shall be permitted as a principal or accessory use within ¼ mile of an existing fringe financial service.

(d) Exemptions. The restrictions set forth in subsection (c) above shall not be interpreted to prohibit the following:

(1) A nonprofit fringe financial service; or

(2) Any other financial service use that is not a fringe financial service. Accordingly, any applicant for a financial service use shall provide the Planning Department with a true copy of the license issued to it by the State of California, demonstrating that such financial service operates under a license of a type distinct from that issued to a "check casher" as defined in California Civil Code section 1789.31, as amended from time to time; or to a "licensee" as defined in California Financial Code section 23001(d), as amended from time to time.

(e) Continuation of Existing Prohibited Fringe Financial Service Uses. Any fringe financial service subject to the restrictions set forth in this Section 249.35 may continue in accordance with Planning Code Section 180 through 186.2, subject to the following provisions:

(1) A fringe financial service lawfully existing as licensed by the State of California prior to the effective date of this legislation, or subsequent legislation prohibiting that type of fringe financial service, so long as otherwise lawful, may continue to operate only under the following conditions:

(A) Except as provided in Subsection 249.35(e)(2) below, the premises shall retain the same type of fringe financial service license within a license classification; and

(B) Except as provided in Subsection 249.35(e)(2) below, the fringe financial service shall be operated continuously, without substantial changes in mode or character of operation.

(2) A break in continuous operation shall not be interpreted to include the following, provided that, except as indicated below, the location of the establishment does not change, the square footage used does not increase, and the type of state license does not change:

(A) A change in ownership of a fringe financial service provider or a lawful transfer of a state license;

(B) Temporary closure for restoration or repair of an existing fringe financial service on the same lot after total or partial destruction or damage due to fire, riot, insurrection, toxic accident, or act of God; or

(C) Temporary closure of an existing fringe financial service provider for reasons other than total or partial destruction or damage due to fire, riot, insurrection, toxic accident, or act of God for not more than thirty (30) days for repair, renovation, or remodeling.

(f) Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to this Section 249.35.

(1) "Fringe Financial Service" as defined in Section 102 of this Code.

(2) A "nonprofit fringe financial service" shall mean a Fringe Financial Service that is exempted from payment of income tax under Section 23701(d) of the California Revenue and Taxation Code and Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States. Any such nonprofit Fringe Financial Service shall provide the Planning Department with a true copy(ies) of its income tax documentation demonstrating its exemption from payment of income tax under State and Federal Law.

(g) The Planning Department shall maintain information regarding the location of existing Fringe Financial Services located outside the Fringe Financial Service Restricted Use District, which information shall be presumed accurate. An applicant for a new Fringe Financial Service use may submit information to the Department to demonstrate that an existing fringe financial service use has closed or is otherwise not located within a one-quarter mile of the location of the proposed new Fringe Financial Service use.

(Added by Ord. 269-07, File No. 070671, App. 11/26/2007; amended by Ord. 75-08, File No. 071531, App. 5/9/2008; Ord. 261-13 , File No. 130084, App. 11/27/2013, Eff. 12/27/2013; Ord. 227-14 , File No. 120796, App. 11/13/2014, Eff. 12/13/2014; Ord. 228-14 , File No. 120814, App. 11/13/2014, Eff. 12/13/2014; Ord. 22-15, File No. 141253, App.

2/20/2015, Eff. 3/22/2015; Ord. 63-20, File No. 200077, App. 4/24/2020, Eff. 5/25/2020)

AMENDMENT HISTORY

Divisions (a) and (b)(3) amended; former division (b)(6) deleted; Ord. 261-13 , Eff. 12/27/2013. Divisions (b)(1) through (5) amended; Ord. 227-14 , Eff. 12/13/2014. Divisions (b)(1) through (5) amended; Ord. 228-14 , Eff. 12/13/2014. New division (b)(1) added and former divisions (b)(1)-(3) redesignated as (b)(2)-(4); current division (b)(4) amended; former divisions (b)(4) and (b)(5) deleted; division (f)(1) amended; Ord. 22-15, Eff. 3/22/2015. Divisions (b)(1) and (b)(4) amended; division (b)(5) added; Ord. 63-20, Eff. 5/25/2020.