Land Use Committee continues Tenderloin Neon Special Sign District after staff amendments

The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Sept. 12 took up an ordinance to create a Tenderloin Neon Special Sign District that would make it easier to install and restore neon signage in a defined area of the Tenderloin.

Veronica Flores, planning department staff, told the committee the proposal implements recommendations from a community-driven Tenderloin Community Action Plan and the Planning Commission (which unanimously recommended modifications). Flores said the amendments circulated to committee members clarify that signs on residential hotels are considered identifying signs, change the term "blade signs" to "projecting signs," remove provisions more restrictive than existing sign rules and allow legally nonconforming neon signs to be removed for restoration and then returned to the property.

Community presenters and callers strongly supported the change. Katie Connery, executive director of the Tenderloin Museum, said the Tenderloin Neon A–Z initiative and a partnership with the city's Office of Economic and Workforce Development would rely on the ordinance to restore historic neon and to create pathways for artists and small businesses. "One of the easiest ways is focusing on lighting improvements," Connery said, adding neon can increase nighttime activity and "make the neighborhood safer." Woody Labounty of San Francisco Heritage and other advocates described the neighborhood's collection of historic neon as a distinctive feature and urged provisions that permit off-site restoration of historic signs.

Planning staff and the city attorney advised the committee that the line-by-line amendments circulated were substantive and would require an automatic continuance so the changes can be finalized. The committee then voted to continue the item to the committee's Sept. 19 meeting to allow staff to incorporate recommendations and return with revised language. The continued motion passed with Supervisor Erin Peskin, Vice Chair Dean Preston and Chair Mirna Melgar voting "aye." No member voted against the continuance.

What happens next: planning staff will finalize the substantive amendments and recirculate the ordinance language; the committee will reconvene on Sept. 19 to consider the revised proposal and any remaining public comment.

Provenance: Committee discussion and planning presentation beginning with the clerk's item introduction (Item 2) and Planning Department remarks; public testimony from in-person speakers (Tenderloin Museum, San Francisco Heritage, tenants and neighborhood advocates) and remote callers supported the proposal and emphasized restoration and off-site repair of historic neon. The committee's motion to continue appears in the record and passed during the Sept. 12 meeting.