Adding Garages and Curb Cuts

The ongoing demand for off-street parking in San Francisco has created a serious challenge for its historic resources.

CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES

Below is a list of the character-defining features that, if altered, may trigger additional Planning Department review.

Architecture:

  • Bays
  • Decorative features
  • Front entries

Relationship to adjacent buildings and streetscape:

  • Significant trees
  • Historic fences
  • Historic pattern of development
  • Historic Landscape

Massing & Scale:

  • Height
  • Front Setbacks

RAISING STRUCTURES

Generally, raising a historic resource to insert a garage opening is strongly discouraged when the act may render the building ineligible for the California or National Register. In some instances, raising a structure to insert a garage opening may be approved to avoid the removal of historic fabric as long as the integrity of the building and its original design, proportions, and relationship to adjacent buildings are not compromised.

Adding garage to a historical resource building