Committee forwards updated San Francisco Fire Code including mid‑rise sprinkler retrofit with extended timeline

The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted Dec. 5 to forward to the full Board a comprehensive update of the San Francisco Fire Code that incorporates the 2022 California Fire Code plus local amendments. The ordinance repeals the existing local code and adopts state code provisions along with San Francisco‑specific changes; the operative date in the item is Jan. 1, 2023.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin highlighted an incorporated sprinkler‑retrofit provision for certain mid‑rise buildings — an approach Peskin previously sponsored — and offered due‑process amendments that lengthen the implementation timeline. Fire Department staff (Ken Coffin and others) reviewed highlights: adoption of 2022 California code text, UL certification requirements for emergency radio systems, new permit categories (including for mobile food vendors), rules on penthouse roof‑entry doors, and temporary wireless detection/notification for buildings under construction.

Several building‑industry callers urged postponement or additional study, citing tenant relocation risks, hazardous‑material (lead/asbestos) abatement, limited contractor capacity, and sizable retrofit costs (one caller estimated costs north of $10 million for an 11‑story building). The San Francisco Apartment Association asked for alignment with seismic retrofit programs and for financial incentives or relief. Supervisor Peskin and others acknowledged the costs but emphasized life‑safety benefits and maintained existing relocation‑assistance and pass‑through dynamics; the committee amended the implementation timing to a 12‑year total period in appendix M.

The committee voted to forward the ordinance as amended with a positive recommendation.