San Francisco — Administrative Code

Last reviewed: July 6, 2026

Overview

San Francisco’s Administrative Code sets the City’s cross-cutting development procedures: how multi-agency programs are coordinated, how development impact fees and surcharges are handled, how unpaid charges become liens, and how major projects can vest rules through Development Agreements. These provisions work alongside the San Francisco Planning Code, San Francisco Fire Code, and California Building Standards Code, and tie into City processes like Permits & Forms and San Francisco Design Standards.

Most Citywide fee collection, surcharges, interagency coordination, and Development Agreement procedures live in the Administrative Code; zoning use and dimensional rules live in the Planning Code.

What the Administrative Code establishes for development

Development Agreements (Chapter 56)

• Purpose and scope. Chapter 56 authorizes San Francisco to enter into binding Development Agreements to provide certainty for large projects while securing public benefits, and sets who may sign, what must be included, and how approvals occur. Key sections include application and initial hearing in § 56.4, required contents in § 56.7, and periodic review in § 56.17 .
• Public notice and hearing. Notice must follow Planning Code reclassification notice procedures, and agencies providing major services (e.g., water, transit, schools) must be mailed notice at least 10 days before the hearing (§ 56.8); the Planning Commission conducts the hearing under the rules used for reclassifications (§ 56.9) .
• Board approval and plan consistency. The Board of Supervisors approves Development Agreements by ordinance; the Commission must find consistency with the General Plan, applicable area/specific plans, and Priority Policies under Planning Code § 101.1 before Board action (§ 56.14(e)-(f)) .
• Amendments and termination. Material modifications generally follow the same noticed procedure as initial approval; certain minor modifications can proceed if the Director notices the Board and Commission and no review is requested within 14 days (§ 56.15(d)) .
• Transparency. The Planning Director must publish a Development Agreement Negotiation Report and keep exchanged documents available 20 days before the first public hearing (§ 56.10) .
• Fees. Chapter 56 authorizes a Development Agreement fee (§ 56.20). Specific amounts are established outside Chapter 56; see “Not found in retrieved materials” where applicable .

Practical tie-ins:

• Projects under Development Agreements are referenced in Planning Code fee timing and reduction provisions; e.g., eligibility and exclusions for fee deferral/reduction reference Administrative Code Chapter 56 and the Citywide Affordable Housing Fund in § 10.100-49 .

Citywide lien procedure for unpaid City charges (Article XX of Chapter 10)

• When used. If a City ordinance authorizes a lien to enforce unpaid City charges, Article XX’s standardized steps apply unless another valid procedure controls (§ 10.230) .
• Required notices. Departments must issue a written payment request; after 30 days, a certified “notice of proposed lien” provides a 45-day payment window and notice of the right to a Board of Supervisors hearing (§ 10.230A) .
• Hearing and recordation. The Board hears the report (§ 10.233), creation of the lien occurs upon recordation (§ 10.234), and the Clerk records the lien with added administrative charges and interest (§ 10.235) .
• Tax roll collection. Confirmed lien amounts are added to the next property tax bill and collected like ad valorem taxes; the Tax Collector allocates proceeds as provided, and a $9 release-of-lien recording fee applies when paid (§ 10.236–§ 10.237) .
• Where this shows up for projects. Multiple codes (e.g., Building Code and Planning Code) direct late development-impact obligations into Article XX lien proceedings, and notices mirror Article XX language; examples include Building Code fee enforcement and Planning Code development fee liens referencing § 10.237 for the release-of-lien fee .

Planning- and development-related City surcharges and fees

• City Planning fees. The Administrative Code lists “§ 8.28 City Planning Fees” (details not included in retrieved materials here). Use the Planning Department Fee Schedule for current amounts; annual CPI adjustments are published by the Controller under separate authority. Not found in retrieved materials for § 8.28 specifics .
• 1660 Mission Street Surcharge. § 10-F.1 imposes a surcharge on selected Planning, Building, Public Works, Fire, and Administrative Code fee categories; the Mayor sets the rate annually in § 10-F.2 .
• Board of Appeals surcharge. § 10G.1 adds a flat surcharge (e.g., $44 on listed Planning Code and Building Code permit categories) to fund the Board of Appeals’ permit-review function; rates adjust per § 10G.2 .
• Affordable housing funds and fee destinations. The Code establishes the Citywide Affordable Housing Fund in § 10.100-49, which receives several Planning Code fees (Jobs-Housing Linkage, Inclusionary, etc.) and governs use of those monies; Planning Code provisions state that certain fee deferrals do not apply to fees deposited into this Fund .

Interagency programs that affect site approvals in the right-of-way or downtown

• Shared Spaces Program (Chapter 94A). Establishes the City’s Shared Spaces Program and identifies interagency coordination and permitting under § 94A.4–§ 94A.5. Not found in retrieved materials for the detailed text; rely on departmental guidance and San Francisco Permits & Forms for submittal specifics .
• Greater Downtown Activation Program (Chapter 94D). Public Works is the lead permit issuer and must coordinate with SFMTA/ISCOTT for any street closures and with the Fire Department for Outdoor Assembly permits (Fire Code § 105.5.62). The Chapter centralizes disability-access review and allows consolidation of Fire permits where applicable (§ 94D.2) .
• Street Plazas (Chapter 94). The Plaza Program charges time-and-materials administrative fees, collected at application completeness and trued-up/refunded against actual costs (§ 94.6); Plaza regulations themselves are in Public Works Code § 792 (§ 94.5) .
• Utility Conditions Permit (UCP) for telecom/video/wireless in public right‑of‑way. Public Works requires a UCP and charges an application fee to cover processing and City Attorney costs; terms are limited to the City’s authority under applicable law (§ 11.9) .

First Source Hiring Administration requirement (Chapter 83)

• For permit-triggering “development projects,” the developer must meet with CityBuild and secure a First Source Hiring Agreement approved by the First Source Hiring Administration (FSHA) before the Planning Commission approves the project or City departments issue permits. Agreements set hiring goals, first-source interviewing windows, and reporting; noncompliance triggers sanctions (§ 83.11) .

How Administrative Code lien, fee, and program rules interact with Planning/Building processes

• Development fees and deferrals are administered by DBI’s Development Fee Collection Unit under the Building Code, but Article XX supplies the City’s backstop to secure unpaid obligations by lien and collect via property tax bills, with a $9 release-of-lien recording fee (§ 10.237). City departments explicitly cite Article XX for unpaid development fees and penalties in their enforcement language .
• Planning Code fee timing and deferrals expressly reference the Citywide Affordable Housing Fund in § 10.100-49, and DA projects under Chapter 56 may be treated distinctly per Planning Code rules. For the current fee timing/deferral mechanics, see Planning Code Article 4 and San Francisco Planning Code .

Key Administrative Provisions for Development (selected)

Checklist

• Determine if the project will use a Development Agreement; if so, plan for noticed hearings and Board ordinance approval under § 56.4, § 56.8–§ 56.9, § 56.14; include draft terms that satisfy § 56.7 content requirements and expect periodic review under § 56.17 .
• Budget for City surcharges added to Planning/Building-related fees under § 10-F.1–§ 10-F.2 and the Board of Appeals surcharge under § 10G.1–§ 10G.2 .
• Secure an FSHA First Source Hiring Agreement if triggered (meet with CityBuild; obtain FSHA approval) before Planning approval or permit issuance under § 83.11 .
• If using Shared Spaces/Plaza/Downtown Activation tools, align submittals to the designated lead department (Public Works) and coordinate required Fire/SFMTA actions under § 94.6 and § 94D.2 .
• Avoid delinquency on any City charge tied to the project; if unpaid, expect Article XX lien steps and tax-roll collection under § 10.230–§ 10.237 with a $9 release-of-lien fee under § 10.237 .

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

San Francisco’s Administrative Code is the City’s playbook for “how things move” across departments: it governs Development Agreements and their hearings; adds City surcharges to certain Planning and Building fees; requires first‑source local hiring agreements on many projects; and, if you don’t pay a City-imposed fee or penalty, it lays out how that debt becomes a lien collected on your property tax bill. Zoning rules, use permissions, and most development standards still live in the San Francisco Planning Code and San Francisco zoning & planning overview.

Source References

• Administrative Code: § 56.1–§ 56.20 (Development Agreements); § 10.230–§ 10.237 (Article XX – Lien Procedure); § 10-F.1–§ 10-F.2 (1660 Mission Surcharge); § 10G.1–§ 10G.2 (Board of Appeals surcharge); § 83.11 (First Source Hiring); § 94.5–§ 94.7 (Street Plazas/Fees); § 94D.2 (Downtown Activation Interagency Coordination); § 11.9 (Utility Conditions Permit in ROW); § 10.100-49 (Citywide Affordable Housing Fund) .
• Planning Code cross-references to Administrative Code: fee timing/deferral and DA callouts (e.g., Planning Code § 403 referencing Chapter 56 and § 10.100-49) .

Retrieved passages

• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 107A.13.) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 107A (section deemed) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 792.) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 107A.13.14.) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 402 (Section 402) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 424.3) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 418.3) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 110A (Section 110A) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (CHAPTER 55) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 10.237 (Article XX) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 101.1.) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 306.3) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 411.9 (Article to) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 107A.13.3 (Article 4) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 74.11.) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 10.100-117) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 413.1) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 107A.13.3 (Chapter 36) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 80.5) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 413.5 (Section redesignated) High relevance show source text
• CPC § 10.100 (Section 10.100-49) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 10.236) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 10.237) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section shall) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (ARTICLE XIX) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (ARTICLE XIX) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 10.237 (Section 10.237) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 110A) High relevance show source text

Cited sections

• Administrative Code: **§ 56.1–§ 56.20 (Development Agreements)**; **§ 10.230–§ 10.237 (Article XX – Lien Procedure)**; **§ 10-F.1–§ 10-F.2 (1660 Mission Surcharge)**; **§ 10G.1–§ 10G.2 (Board of Appeals surcharge)**; **§ 83.11 (First Source Hiring)**; **§ 94.5–§ 94.7 (Street Plazas/Fees)**; **§ 94D.2 (Downtown Activation Interagency Coordination)**; **§ 11.9 (Utility Conditions Permit in ROW)**; **§ 10.100-49 (Citywide Affordable Housing Fund)** . (§ 56.1)
• Planning Code cross-references to Administrative Code: fee timing/deferral and DA callouts (e.g., Planning Code § 403 referencing Chapter 56 and **§ 10.100-49**) . (§ 403)
• SF Admin Code.md
• SF Planning Code.md
• SF Building Inspection Commissions Code.md