SEC. 249.71. YERBA BUENA CENTER MIXED-USE SPECIAL USE DISTRICT.

(a) General. A special use district entitled the "Yerba Buena Center Mixed-Use Special Use District," consisting of Assessor's Block 3706, Lots 093 and 275, and portions of Assessor's Block 3706, Lot 277, is hereby established for the purposes set forth below. The boundaries of the Yerba Buena Center Mixed-Use Special Use District are designated on Sectional Map No.1 SU of the Zoning Map.

(b) Purpose. The purpose of the special use district is to facilitate the development of a mixed-use project at the corner of Third Street and Mission Street, which will include cultural/museum, residential, and retail/restaurant. Including a museum component within the project will strengthen the district of cultural institutions that are already established in the area, including SFMOMA, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Cartoon Art Museum, the Children's Creativity Museum, and the California Historical Museum.

(c) Use Controls. The following provisions shall apply to the special use district:

(1) Cultural Uses. The special use district shall require the development of at least 35,000 net square feet of cultural, museum, or similar public-serving institutional use with frontage on Jessie Square as part of the project. Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") between the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency of the City and County of San Francisco (the "Successor Agency") and the project sponsor, (A) before any other project use may receive a certificate of occupancy, the "core-and-shell" of the cultural, museum, or similar public-serving institutional use must be constructed; and (B) the project sponsor must contribute to an operating endowment to the museum at the times specified in the Purchase Agreement.

(2) Permitted Uses. The principally permitted uses in the special use district include (A) the cultural use set forth in Section 249.71(c)(1) above; (B) a residential development with approximately 4,800 square feet of retail/restaurant space; and (C) all uses that are principally permitted in the C-3-R District. The uses in the special use district shall include, at a minimum (A) the cultural use set forth in Section 249.71(c)(1) above; (B) no fewer than 145 dwelling units; and (C) ground-floor retail or cultural space in the Aronson Building. All uses which are conditionally permitted with conditional use authorization in the C-3-R District are conditionally permitted with conditional use authorization in the special use district to the extent such uses are not otherwise designated as principally permitted uses pursuant to this Section 249.71(c)(2).

dwelling units; and (C) ground-floor retail or cultural space in the Aronson Building. All uses which are conditionally permitted with conditional use authorization in the C-3-R District are conditionally permitted with conditional use authorization in the special use district to the extent such uses are not otherwise designated as principally permitted uses pursuant to this Section 249.71(c)(2).

(3) Inclusionary Affordable Housing Program. Development within the special use district shall be subject to the Inclusionary Affordable Housing Program, as set forth in Sections 415 through 415.9, through the payment of an in-lieu fee, which is currently equal to 20% of the total number of residential units in the principal project. Additional affordable housing requirements are expected to be imposed through negotiations with the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency above and beyond the requirements of Sections 415 through 415.9.

(4) Floor Area Ratio. The floor area ratio limits set forth in Sections 123 and 124 for C-3-R Districts shall not apply within the special use district.

(5) Dwelling Unit Exposure. The dwelling unit exposure requirements of Section 140 shall not apply within the special use district.

(6) Rooftop Screening. Section 260(b)(1)(F) shall apply within the special use district, except that the rooftop form created by any additional building volume shall not exceed 30 feet in height, measured as provided in Section 260(a), and shall not exceed a total volume, including the volume of the features being enclosed, equal to three-fourths of the horizontal area of all upper tower roof areas of the building measured before the addition of any exempt features times 30.

(7) Bulk. The bulk limits for new construction in the special use district at heights above 160 feet shall be as set forth in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Bulk Limits for New Construction At Heights Above 160 Feet

Max Floor Plate

13,000 gsf

(8) Protected Street Frontages.

(A) Section 155(r)(4)(A)-(B) shall not apply within the special use district.

(B) For the purposes of Section 155(r)(4)(C), the project does not have alternative frontage to Third Street and Mission Street, and therefore curb cuts accessing off-street parking or loading off Third Street and Mission Street may be permitted as an exception pursuant to Section 309 and Section 155(r)(4)(C).

(9) Dwelling Unit Density. No conditional use authorization pursuant to Section 303(c) is required for a dwelling unit density which exceeds the density ratios specified in Section 215 for the C-3-R District.

(d) Interpretation. In the event of inconsistency or conflict between any provision of this Section 249.71 and any other provision of the Planning Code, this Section 249.71 shall prevail.

(e) Sunset Provision. This Section 249.71 shall be repealed 5 years after its initial effective date unless the Project has received a first construction document or the Board of Supervisors, on or before that date, extends or re-enacts it. (Added by Ord. 177-13 , File No. 130570, App. 8/2/2013, Eff. 9/1/2013; amended by Ord. 245-25, File No. 250701, App. 12/12/2025, Eff. 1/12/2026, Oper. 1/12/2026)

AMENDMENT HISTORY

Divisions (c)(8)(A)-(B) amended; Ord. 245-25, Eff. 1/12/2026.