City Attorney Dennis Herrera is suing the San Francisco Academy of Art for what the City describes as “widespread, longstanding, and blatant disregard for the San Francisco Planning Code”. The complaint charges the Academy with having “cavalierly changed the use of over 22 buildings in San Francisco in violation of the Planning Code” by “acquir[ing] buildings that are zoned and permitted for use as apartments and other residential purposes, only to convert them unlawfully to student dorms, depriving San Francisco of critical housing stock, especially affordable housing”.
One possible upside of dormitory use for one of the City’s largest property owners is the exemption under the Rent Ordinance for otherwise covered rental units operated as dormitories by an “institution of higher education”.