BIC recommends expanding May small‑business awning fee waiver to include business signs, urges general‑fund reimbursement

The San Francisco Building Inspection Commission unanimously recommended that the Board of Supervisors expand an existing May small‑business awning fee waiver to include business signs and to make the waiver retroactive to May 2023.

Carl Necita, DBI legislative affairs manager, told the commission the earlier ordinance codifying an annual May awning fee waiver was passed and signed; the new duplicate ordinance before the Board would add a fee waiver for business signs for a limited two‑year period (retroactive to May 2023 and covering May 2024). DBI staff reported that in May 2023 the department issued 33 permits and collected $22,000 in fees — roughly $583 per permit — data the department used to characterize the program’s fiscal scale.

The sponsor’s office, represented by Tita Bell, legislative aide to the supervisor sponsoring the amendment, said the expansion is intended to help small businesses beautify storefronts and encourage investment in commercial corridors. Bell said the program runs annually in May as part of Small Business Month, and that the legislation includes a refund process for eligible applicants who paid fees in May 2023.

Commission members asked several procedural questions about the program’s retroactivity and duration; staff confirmed the expansion is limited to May of 2023 and May of 2024 and that the refund process is described in the legislation. The Code Advisory Committee had recommended an amendment requiring that waived fees be reimbursed from the city’s general fund, and commissioners accepted that amendment as a friendly modification to the motion.

With the CAC amendment included, the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval to the Board of Supervisors.

Next steps: The commission’s recommendation will be transmitted to the Board of Supervisors, which will consider the ordinance and any sponsor or budget‑office changes. DBI staff said the mayor’s signature is expected for related fee waivers and amnesty measures that have already passed the Board in recent weeks.