San Francisco County Municipal Code Ch. 6 Structural

Sec. 601. Construction, Existing Apartment Houses and Hotels. Sec. 602. Foundation Ventilation. Sec. 603. Garages. Sec. 604. Structural Maintenance. Sec. 605. Prohibition on Wooden Fixed Utility Ladders.

SEC. 601. CONSTRUCTION, EXISTING APARTMENT HOUSES AND HOTELS. See Chapter 1A of this Code and Chapter 6 of the Building Code, which defines current types of building construction. Wood frame buildings three stories or more in height, constructed, altered or converted for use as an apartment house or hotel after September 1, 1947 shall be constructed of materials providing the entire building with a fire-resistive rating of one hour, as defined by the Building Code in effect at time of construction. Wood frame buildings constructed, altered or converted for use as an apartment house or hotel prior to September 1, 1947 need not be constructed of fire-resistive materials except for the public exit corridors, the soffits of stair and landings, and any new construction added since September 1, 1947, except that in buildings not over two stories in height public exit corridors and stairways may be of unrated materials if each apartment or guest room has direct access to a way of departure from within the unit or room without entering a common corridor. An approved automatic sprinkler system may be substituted for required fire-resistive construction for exit corridors of buildings altered or converted prior to July 26, 1958.

Public exit corridor for this purpose is defined as those corridors which serve more than one apartment or guest room and which are not connected with any other exit corridor or stairway. Interior wood construction of Type III (III-A and III-B) and IV buildings shall conform to the same fire-resistive requirements as for Type V (V- A and V-B) buildings. Type III (III-A and III-B) buildings five or more stories in height shall be of fire-resistive construction if constructed, altered or converted for use as an apartment house or hotel after August 17, 1923. All wood shall be protected against termite damage and decay as provided in the Building Code. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 350-95, App. 11/3/95; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007) SEC. 602. FOUNDATION VENTILATION. The space between the bottom of floor joists and the ground of any building (except space that is occupied by a basement or cellar) shall be provided with a sufficient number of ventilating openings through foundation walls or exterior walls to ensue ample ventilation. The minimum total area of ventilating opening shall be proportioned on the basis of 1½ square feet for each 50 linear feet, or major faction thereof, of exterior wall, so located as to provide adequate cross-ventilation. The air space shall be kept clean and free from any accumulation of rubbish, debris or filth. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007) SEC. 603. GARAGES. (a) No automobile or other motor vehicle shall occupy any portion of an apartment house or hotel except in a garage which meets the requirements of the Building Code and other provisions of the Municipal Code. (b) Use. Private and public storage garages shall be used only for storage of automobiles. EXCEPTION: In buildings defined as a dwelling or apartment house in this Code, or buildings defined as a residential hotel in the Residential Hotel Unit Conversion and Demolition Ordinance (Chapter 41 of the San Francisco Administrative Code), garages may also be used for the storage of bicycles, scooters, and other personal items of the tenants, provided that this storage satisfies the automatic sprinkler system requirements set forth in Section 904 of this Code. (c) Separation. See Section 406.3.2 of the Building Code. When approved, existing separations in existing buildings may be acceptable. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 350-95, App. 11/3/95; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; Ord. 160-14, File No. 140009, App. 7/31/2014, Eff. 8/30/2014; Ord. 232-25, File No. 250975, App. 11/21/2025, Eff. 12/22/2025, Oper. 1/1/2026) SEC. 604. STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE. (a) Affidavit Required. All wood and metal decks, balconies, landings, exit corridors, stairway systems, guardrails, handrails, fire escapes, or any parts thereof in weather-exposed areas of apartment buildings and hotels shall be inspected by (i) a licensed general contractor with a minimum of five years’ experience holding the “A,” “B,” or “C-5” license classifications (or any combination thereof) issued by the Contractors State License Board and a minimum of five years’ experience in constructing multistory wood frame buildings, or (ii) an individual certified as a building inspector or building official from a recognized state, national, or international association, or (iii) a licensed professional architect or licensed professional civil or structural engineer, verifying that the exit system, corridor, balcony, deck or any part thereof is in general safe condition, in adequate working order, and free from hazardous dry rot, fungus, deterioration, decay, or improper alteration. Licensed general contractors or any other individuals hired to complete this inspection shall not be employed by the City and County of San Francisco while performing the inspection. Property owners shall provide proof of compliance with this subsection by submitting an affidavit form (provided by the Department) signed by the responsible inspector to the Housing Inspection Services Division every six years. Properties subject to California Health and Safety Code Section 17973 may delay or advance the submittal deadline for the affidavit required by this subsection to align with the timelines required for Section 17973 inspection reports. This alteration of the affidavit timeline may not allow any property to forgo submitting an affidavit for more than seven years, and may only be utilized once per property. For purposes of this subsection, “weather-exposed areas” means those areas which are not interior building areas. The affidavit process shall commence on January 1, 2004. (Added by Ord. 192-02, App. 9/17/2002; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; amended by Ord. 92-26, File No. 260295, App. 5/15/2026, Eff. 6/15/2026) SEC. 605. PROHIBITION ON WOODEN FIXED UTILITY LADDERS.

Wooden Fixed Utility Ladders shall be prohibited on buildings which contain R-1, R-2, and R-3 Occupancies (hotels and apartment houses), as defined by Chapter 4 of this Code. "Fixed Utility Ladder" shall mean any ladder permanently attached to the exterior of a structure or building, but shall not include ladders required by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health for workplace safety that have been installed with a proper permit, or ladders expressly authorized by the Department of Building Inspection for Building Code or Fire Code compliance purposes. Wooden Fixed Utility Ladders shall be removed or replaced with metal ladders that comply with applicable Building, Fire, and Housing Code requirements. (Added by Ord. 255-08, App. 11/7/2008, Eff. 12/8/2009)