SF to Delay Sprinkler Mandate for High-Rise Condos
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to delay a controversial mandate requiring sprinklers in older high-rise condominium buildings. The proposed requirement, which carried a cost of up to $300,000 per building, faced strong opposition from residents. The delay will provide time to review the fire-safety rule's financial impact.
- The ordinance, passed in 2022, applies to approximately 126 residential buildings constructed before 1975 that are 12 stories or higher and lack certain fire-resistant stairwells, affecting about 9,800 units. - Mayor Daniel Lurie introduced legislation in December 2025 to delay the mandate, with Supervisors Danny Sauter and Stephen Sherrill co-sponsoring the bill. The proposed delay would push the deadline for obtaining construction permits from 2027 to 2032. - Many of the affected residents are elderly and on fixed incomes, living in neighborhoods such as Nob Hill, Russian Hill, the Marina, and Telegraph Hill. They face potential monthly assessments of around $2,500 to cover the retrofitting costs. - The original ordinance was sponsored by Supervisors Connie Chan, Rafael Mandelman, Myrna Melgar, and Shamann Walton, and was introduced by Aaron Peskin, reportedly without a formal cost study or consultation with affected residents. - Opponents of the mandate argue it has already driven down property values in the affected buildings, making it difficult for owners to sell. - Proponents, like the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, argue that the cost estimates are inflated and that the retrofits are crucial for life safety, pointing to the potential for quick installation with minimal displacement. - Other cities have faced similar challenges; San Diego repealed its sprinkler retrofit mandate, and Maryland's State Fire Marshal is no longer enforcing a similar statewide requirement. - A 2020 three-alarm fire at the Gateway apartment complex, a non-sprinklered high-rise built in 1967, intensified the debate and spurred Supervisor Aaron Peskin to push for retrofit legislation.
