When SF introduced Shared Spaces in the early months of the COVID pandemic, there were few restrictions. The parklet program was an emergency lifeline for businesses who could not bring customers indoors. Even when the city made the program permanent over the summer, the requirements were far from stringent. (See the bottom of page 25 in the July legislation.)
But it was never a secret that parklets would eventually see more regulation. And now those rules are here: San Francisco issued its Shared Spaces Manual before Thanksgiving, detailing requirements for all kinds of parklets, and businesses would have until next July to comply. (UPDATE: Shortly after this story was published, Mayor London Breed said that she wants an ordinance to “postpone the deadline” for businesses that need parklet upgrades to March 2023.)
Despite what high-profile internet commentators have to say, the city’s manual offers clear guidance and an abundance of diagrams, and almost all business owners will have many months to determine what they need to change, if anything, about their shared spaces.
The new rules will certainly have an impact; some owners are upset, if not at the rules themselves, then at the city’s poor communication, including contradictory notices from different departments and threats of fines. The executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, Laurie Thomas, told the SF Chronicle she estimated that up to 90 percent of commercial parklets will need to be altered, rebuilt, or removed entirely.
In defense of the new rulebook, Breed wrote Tuesday that City Hall “allowed for a lot of flexibility during the pandemic … and now we’re working with businesses to notify them of changes that need to be made.” She said that “a small handful” of businesses whose parklets have major safety or accessibility issues would have to make changes in the short term.
However, reports that 90 percent of parklets would have to be torn down or that the rules were impossible to follow were “not even close to the truth,” the mayor wrote. She pledged that the city would try to maintain some flexibility with businesses having trouble: “We will work to find accommodations, if ones can be found.”
San Francisco has approved about 1,500 shared spaces, according to the city’s interactive map. The vast majority of these are either for sidewalk dining (498), parking lane dining (385), or both (403). Whether you’ve already built a parklet or are thinking about it, it’s wise to read the manual. To that end, The Frisc is here to give you a head start: We’ve picked out the most important points for a concise, illustrated explainer.
Mind your buffer zones!
Parklets are compliant when they’re at least 20 feet from approaching intersections (intersections to the left, if you’re standing in the street and facing the parklet); at least eight feet from exit intersections (to the right); and at least five feet from any fire hydrant. They must have “buffer zones” of three feet on either side, and their walls are to be no more than 42 inches high.
A commercial parklet occupying parking spaces parallel to the curb should be no more than seven feet deep and 40 feet wide. Those occupying perpendicular or angled parking spaces should be no more than 14 feet deep and 20 feet wide (page 20). Parklets longer than 20 feet will include a three-foot emergency access gap for every 20 feet of length.
If your parklet abuts a sidewalk that is less than 10 feet wide, it may not have a roof or canopy. Otherwise a roof is fine, as long as it’s not more than 10 feet tall. Parklets with roofs also cannot employ heat lamps, which must be five feet from any flammable materials.
Ask thy neighbor
Parklets may not abut blue curbs, or in most cases red curbs, including at bus stops. To build a parklet that extends into a neighboring building’s frontage, you will need written consent from that building’s owner — again, most of the time (page 21). All parking lane parklets must include a gutter that runs under the length of the structure to allow stormwater to flow through (page 23). In addition, the parklet deck must be flat and have space for folks in wheelchairs to enter and sit at a table.
There are different rules for sidewalk seating (page 13) and Shared Spaces in roads (page 34), but most commercial parklet operators use the parking lane. To ensure longevity for your parking lane parklet, make sure it’s accessible to people with disabilities, doesn’t impede emergency access to your or any neighboring building, and meets all the size requirements. Finally, be sure to submit your forms on time.
As with any emergency program transitioning into a permanent feature of our streets, shared spaces will need to cooperate with other uses. This will be especially important as Muni continues to restore service on routes that have been suspended during the pandemic, and as life on San Francisco’s roadways generally returns to normal.
This emergency parklet experiment was ambitious, smart, and expeditious. The first attempt to lay down some rules — mostly safety related — won’t be perfect, obviously. (The communication problems need to be ironed out too. Officials seem to have received the message.) But if SF wants to find a new normal that incorporates the realization of great new ideas, good-faith attempts like this should be greeted as a solid first step — and not with a Twitter freakout.
Max Harrison-Caldwell is a staff writer for The Frisc.