San Francisco Resets the Bar with New Online Approvals Database

The online documentation of the San Francisco Planning Department's approval process received a huge upgrade.

1 minute read

March 10, 2015, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"The San Francisco-based startup Buildingeye just went live with the initial version of a map that shows all the projects in the Planning approval process going back to 2009," reports Lamar Anderson.

Anderson adds: "[The Planning Department] also enlisted Buildingeye to create a separate map specifically for CEQA, and there's another one planned for the Department of Building Inspection. (The CEQA map even lets users set up email alerts for particular addresses, because of a recent law mandating an electronic notification system for CEQA.)"

Compared to the system's predecessors and systems that aim to accomplish some of the same goals in other cities around the country, the system is easy to use and seems, at least, to be a much more honest effort to enable community engagement rather than discourage it. In case you need more help, there's even a visual step-by-step guide for how to use the system. Anderson's post also spends a little more time explaining how the system works.

Monday, March 9, 2015 in Curbed SF

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 11, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Yellow single-seat Japanese electric vehicle drivign down road.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs

The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

June 6, 2025 - PC Magazine

Rendering of autonomous cargo train moving across bridge across river in wooded area between Texas and Mexico.

Trump Approves Futuristic Automated Texas-Mexico Cargo Corridor

The project could remove tens of thousands of commercial trucks from roadways.

June 17 - FreightWaves

Rendering of white three-story single-stair building in Austin, Texas with staircase in the middle.

Austin's First Single Stair Apartment Building is Officially Underway

Eliminating the requirement for two staircases in multi-story residential buildings lets developers use smaller lots and more flexible designs to create denser housing.

June 17 - Building Design & Construction

MARTA bus with Atlanta skyline in background

Atlanta Bus System Redesign Will Nearly Triple Access

MARTA's Next Gen Bus Network will retool over 100 bus routes, expand frequent service.

June 17 - Mass Transit