Downtown Historic Design Standards

The purpose of San Francisco’s Downtown Historic Design Standards is to protect and enhance the character of the city’s historic districts and historic buildings by encouraging storefront designs, signage, building maintenance, and other elements that allow tenants to convey their image and products successfully, complement the public realm, and respect the architectural features of the historic buildings and districts.

These Standards are most applicable to projects proposing minor scopes of work at properties within the Downtown Conservation Districts, located within a C-3 Zoning District. However, the general principles discussed in these Standards may apply to other properties throughout the City. These minor scopes are a pre-defined list, including, but not limited to storefront alterations, signage and awnings, limited accessibility upgrades to entries, limited restoration, ordinary maintenance and repair to exterior building facades, security measures (including gates, grilles, cameras, and lighting), and temporary signage or decorative installations.