Title
Ordinance Amending Title 20 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to allow for residential entitlements to be extended for up to two years.
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WHEREAS, the City of South San Francisco ("City") regulates the expiration and extension of planning entitlements through zoning regulations under South San Francisco Municipal Code Title 20, specifically Section 20.450.011 (Common Procedures, Expiration and Extension); and
WHEREAS, planning entitlements are currently valid for two years after project approval, and are considered expired if an applicant has not received a building permit within two years; and
WHEREAS, the South San Francisco Municipal Code Section 20.450.011 allows for a one-year entitlement extension, with findings and a determination made by the Chief Planner, for a total of a three-year entitlement period; and
WHEREAS, under current market conditions, it is challenging for large, complex projects to obtain building permits within the three-year entitlement timeframe; and
WHEREAS, a Development Agreement is a useful and appropriate tool for commercial projects to use to extend an entitlement timeframe, but is typically not feasible for residential projects; and
WHEREAS, the City of South San Francisco wishes to make residential development more feasible, in order to achieve the City's goals of providing a range of housing types and affordability levels and removing barriers to residential development; and
WHEREAS, extending the entitlement timeframe by up to one year for residential development (for a total of four years) will help to increase feasibility, but allowing additional time to obtain financing, and prepare construction drawings; and
WHEREAS, the Zoning Ordinance amendments to extend the entitlement timeframe by up to two years apply for residential projects apply to recently approved residential projects with non-expired entitlements that have not yet been issued building permits, residential projects in the entitlemen...
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