Planning Commission extends remote hearings for 30 days, discusses accessibility

The San Francisco Planning Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 2 to extend its resolution authorizing remote hearings for another 30 days.

Commission President Koppel opened the meeting by reviewing remote participation procedures and then introduced the resolution that enables remote sessions through December. Sue Hester, a member of the public, asked the commission to calendar a dedicated discussion before any further extensions so staff and commissioners could explain how and when the commission might safely resume in‑person hearings. Georgia Shudish, a regular public commenter, also urged restoring the standard public‑comment time and highlighted challenges that phone‑only participation creates for residents.

Commissioners discussed the extension in the context of public access and equity. Commissioner Imperial supported the extension given the emergence of the Omicron variant and noted digital‑access and language‑access barriers for low‑income communities. Several commissioners said they would prefer to return to in‑person meetings when the mayor and city administrator determine it is safe, but they supported a short extension now to maintain operations.

The motion to extend the remote hearings passed 7–0. Commissioners asked staff to continue improving language‑access instructions and to consider an agendized discussion, so the public and department staff can discuss safe resumption of in‑person hearings.