Fiscal Year
2024-25
Data & Statistics
NOTE: This year’s annual report presents SF Planning’s case and building permit volume trends differently than in previous years. It offers a clearer view of the Department’s entitlement work, separately reports ministerial housing projects, and establishes a new reporting baseline that distinguishes new project applications from alteration-only building permits ahead of recent fee legislation.
Planning Cases & Building Permits
4,849
Planning Cases Filed
FY 2024-25
14.9% change from prior fiscal year
8,836
Building Permit Applications Filed and Reviewed
FY 2023-24
-6.9% change from prior fiscal year
Case & Permit Volume Trends: FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25
Planning Cases: FY 2024-25
| Planning Case Type | Total |
|---|---|
| CEQA Categorical Exemptions | 238 |
| Conditional Use Authorizations | 133 |
| Condominium Referrals | 49 |
| Discretionary Reviews | 33 |
| Enforcement | 321 |
| Historic Resource Review | 182 |
| Ministerial Projects | 309 |
| Permit Referrals from Other City Agencies | 784 |
| Short Term Rentals | 1,240 |
| Temporary Use Permits | 41 |
| Transportation Demand Management | 19 |
| Variances | 102 |
| Zoning Administrator - Verification | 336 |
| All other cases | 1,062 |
Overall Application Volume and Significant Development Projects
SF Planning monitors application volume both as a raw number that reflects overall Department workload and as qualified number that reflects major development activity in the City. While the former includes every project submitted including, for example, minor tenant improvements and single-family home additions, the latter includes only projects that (a) create at least 10 new homes and/or (b) build or change the use of at least 10,000 square feet. From a workload perspective, overall long-term application volumes show continued stabilization around a new, somewhat more modest equilibrium following the highs of the tech boom and the lows of the Great Recession and pandemic. As a measurement of significant development activity, following a precipitous decline from a mid-tech boom peak, application volumes demonstrate two consecutive years of post-pandemic rebound.
Project Submittals & Approvals Map
8,833
Planning Cases & Permits FILED
FY 2024-25
1,381
Planning Cases & Permits APPROVED
FY 2024-25
Case & Permit Volume Trends
| Application/Fee Type | FY 2020-21 | FY 2021-22 | FY 2022-23 | FY 2023-24 | FY 2024-25 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appeals | 55 | 67 | 60 | 66 | 29 | -56% |
| Condominium Referrals (REF) | 73 | 77 | 84 | 33 | 49 | 48% |
| Certificate of Appropriateness | 73 | 82 | 64 | 50 | 69 | 38% |
| Coastal Zone Permit | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 400% |
| Conditional Use Authorization | 179 | 175 | 188 | 130 | 133 | 2% |
| Citywide Planning | 16 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 11 | - |
| Designations | 15 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 1 | -86% |
| Downtown Exceptions (309.1, 309.2, 309.3, 309.4) | 4 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 5 | - |
| Discretionary Review - Mandatory | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | -40% |
| Discretionary Review - Public Initiated | 91 | 72 | 55 | 43 | 30 | -30% |
| EIR | 8 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 36% |
| Categorical Exemptions | 336 | 263 | 229 | 171 | 238 | 39% |
| General Plan Exemptions | 199 | 213 | 234 | 227 | 195 | -14% |
| Enforcement | 312 | 361 | 386 | 345 | 321 | -7% |
| Eastern Neighborhood Exception (329) | 8 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -100% |
| Federal Section 106 / Subdivision (REF) | 23 | 35 | 22 | 15 | 23 | 53% |
| Records Requests | 296 | 472 | 345 | 301 | 285 | -5% |
| Temporary Use Permits | 29 | 34 | 46 | 59 | 41 | -31% |
| General Plan Referral | 46 | 54 | 42 | 46 | 34 | -26% |
| Historic Resource Review | 0 | 0 | 0 | 148 | 182 | 23% |
| Institutional Master Plan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 100% |
| Legacy Business Registry (LBR) | 46 | 32 | 52 | 45 | 51 | 13% |
| Lot Line Adjustments (REF) | 16 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 13 | -7% |
| Zoning Map Amendment (LEG) | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 13 | -7% |
| Mitigation Monitoring | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 500% |
| Miscellaneous Permit (REF) | 1,166 | 1,034 | 685 | 756 | 784 | 4% |
| Mills Act | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| Office Allocation (321) | 13 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 33% |
| Planning Code Amendment (LEG) | 20 | 26 | 30 | 39 | 49 | 26% |
| Phase | 10 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 450% |
| Project Review Meetings | 275 | 228 | 279 | 163 | 174 | 7% |
| Permit to Alter (Major, Minor) | 40 | 37 | 40 | 20 | 18 | -10% |
| Shadow Study (295) | 20 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 50% |
| Short Term Rentals | 600 | 846 | 764 | 974 | 1,240 | 27% |
| Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) - Statement of Eligibility | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Transportation Demand Management (TDM) | 39 | 38 | 21 | 19 | 19 | - |
| Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) - Certificate of Transfer | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) - Notice of Use | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Variance | 117 | 139 | 129 | 121 | 102 | -16% |
| Zoning Administrator (ZA) - Letter of Determination | 55 | 49 | 28 | 24 | 25 | 4% |
| Zoning Administrator (ZA) - Verification | 219 | 301 | 199 | 329 | 336 | 2% |
| Ministerial Projects | - | - | - | - | 309 | - |
| Building Permits (New Construction) | 155 | 120 | 133 | 8 | 36 | -56% |
| Building Permits (Alteration) | 7,211 | 8,552 | 9,203 | 8,770 | 8,226 | -6% |
| Building Permits (Other) | 562 | 488 | 441 | 643 | 574 | -11% |
| TOTAL | 12,348 | 13,893 | 13,877 | 13,631 | 13,685 | 0.4% |
Source: Permit Project and Tracking System for Planning Cases and DBI's Permit Tracking System for Building Permits
Bldg. Permits: DBI Permit Tracking System data by fiscal year may vary slightly due to permit issuance timing.
MIS: includes referrals from other agencies, such as the Police and Fire Departments, and Alcoholic Beverage Control, among others.