The passed Ordinance

The Board of Supervisors reviewed both proposals over the first half of 2008, and passed the Mayor’s ordinance on July 22, 2008 with strict safeguards insisted on by Peskin that promoted renovation and deterred demolition (SF Board., Ord. 180). The “renovate-don’t-demolish” policy required additional permit approval for buildings slated for demolition as well as additional LEED points (Longinotti, p20). The policy, designed to protect historical as well as non-historical buildings, could hinder a building project by increasing the points needed for permitting and could conceivably prevent projects from being built (ibid). Additionally, the Ordinance contained a “commissioning” process to verify that a building meets its requirements. Along with commissioning, the ordinance required indefinite maintenance, something that the LEED certification requirement had not addressed and could be problematic when determining who should bear the cost of compliance (ibid, p 21).