The Facts

Supervisor Alan Wong is launching a citywide “dumb laws” contest to identify San Francisco rules and permit requirements that residents and small businesses think are unnecessary or outdated, according to Carlos E. Castañeda at CBS Bay Area. People can send examples through an online form. Submissions are due March 30, 2026, with winners announced in April.

The Context

San Francisco’s rulebook is huge: the City Attorney’s office has said the Municipal Code plus Board resolutions total nearly 16 million words. A contest can help surface what’s most painful day-to-day—but it only matters if City Hall turns submissions into actual code changes.

The GrowSF Take

If you want ideas to submit, here are a few “dumb law” categories we think deserve scrutiny:

• The city’s formula retail controls that force extra hoops for businesses with 11+ locations—rules GrowSF has argued can worsen storefront vacancy.
• Planning Code requirements for ground-floor commercial uses that can leave space stranded when the retail market is weak (a key driver in our retail vacancy research).
• Rules that punish normal behavior, like past restrictions on parking in residential driveways/front setbacks—now the subject of a reform ordinance, File 250887.

Now the follow-through: Wong and the Board should publish a short repeal package, vote on it, and track implementation—so this becomes less red tape, not just more noise.