City of San Francisco - Green Building Code

July 18, 2024

Summary

San Francisco adopted a mandatory green building code for new construction projects in September 2008, establishing strict guidelines for residential and commercial buildings according to the following schedule:

Building Type	Year	Requirement
Small Residential (four dwellings or fewer)	2009	25 Green Points (does not need to be rated)
	2010 and 2011	Must be GreenPoint Rated and building applications must demonstrate that a minimum of 50 GreenPoints will be earned
	2012	Building applications for new homes must demonstrate that at least 75 GreenPoints will be achieved
Mid-size Residential	2009	25 Green Points (does not need to be rated)
	2010	Must be GreenPoint Rated and building applications must demonstrate that a minimum of 50 GreenPoints will be earned
	2011 and 2012	Building applications for new homes must demonstrate that at least 75 GreenPoints will be achieved
High-rise Residential	2009	New permit applications must include documentation to achieve LEEDcertification (or 50 GreenPoints)
	2010	New permit applications must include documentation to achieve LEED Silver certification (or 75 GreenPoints). A number of specific LEED standards must also be met for landscaping, water use reduction, and construction debris management
	2012	Building applications must also meet LEED standards for the use of on-site renewable energy or the purchase of renewable energy credits
Mid-Size Commercial	2009	New permit applications don't need to meet LEED certification requirements but must meet LEED standards for building commissioning, landscaping, water use, and construction debris management
	2010	New permit applications must meet enhanced commissioning standards and tighter water use requirements
	2012	Building applications must also meet LEED standards for the use of on-site renewable energy or the purchase of renewable energy credits
Large Commercial	November 2008	New permit applications must include documentation to achieve LEED certification
	2009, 2010, 2011	New permit applications must include documentation to achieve LEED Silver certification
	2012	New permit applications must include documentation to achieve LEED Gold certification

Certain buildings will need to meet additional requirements by varying dates. See Ordinance 180-08 for the full implementation schedule. Click here for Administrative Bulletin 093, which provides more information about the implementation of the green building requirements.

Building Benchmarking Requirements

Ordinance 17-11, passed in February 2011, requires owners of commercial buildings over 10,000 square feet to annually measure their building's energy performance and to report the findings to the San Francisco Department of Environment. The ordinance also requires owners of commercial buildings over 10,000 square feet to have an energy audit conducted every five years, and to submit a report on those findings to the Department of Environment. The Department of Environment will make certain aspects of these reports available to the public for every affected building. These requirements took effect in October 2011 for buildings over 50,000 square feet, and will be phased in for smaller buildings through 2013. Ordinance 74-19, passed in April 2019, added new benchmarking measures which require owners of residential buildings over 50,000 square feet to annually measure building's energy performance.

Program Overview

Implementing Sector:	Local
Category:	Regulatory Policy
State:	California
Incentive Type:	Building Energy Code
Web Site:	https://sfenvironment.org/green-building-ordinance-sf-building-code
Administrator:
Start Date:
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies:	Solar - Passive Solar Water Heat Solar Space Heat Solar Photovoltaics Wind (All) Biomass Fuel Cells using Non-Renewable Fuels Daylighting Comprehensive Measures/Whole Building Wind (Small) Hydroelectric (Small) Fuel Cells using Renewable Fuels
Residential Code:	Varies by building type. See table below for complete schedule.
Commercial Code:	Varies by building type. See table below for complete schedule.

Authorities

Name:	San Francisco Building Inspection Commission (BIC) Code 13C.101, et seq.
Date Enacted:	09/04/2008
Effective Date:	11/01/2008

Contact

Name:	Green Building
Organization:	San Francisco Environment Department
Address:	1455 Market Street, Suite 13B San Francisco CA 94103
Phone:	(415) 355-3700
Email:	existingbuildings@sfgov.org

This information is sourced from DSIRE; the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewables and energy efficiency in the United States. Established in 1995, DSIRE is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University.