Start with the archive year and the exact Letter of Determination, then read the status word. Match the property text, record number when one is displayed, issue date and any reissued or withdrawn label. Then obtain the underlying letter before deciding what the archive entry means. A Letter of Determination is a formal Planning Code interpretation; it is not a development approval or building permit.
Build the archive identity before reading the label
San Francisco Planning’s Letters of Determination archive groups records by year. Recent tables display property, record number and date issued. Some older tables lack a record-number column, so leave a missing number blank in your notes rather than reconstructing it from a nearby entry.
Use one worksheet row for each document or archive entry:
| Archive item | What to preserve |
|---|---|
| Archive row | Year, property text, issue date, and record number only when displayed. |
| Original letter | Exact title, issue addressed, date, issuer, and references to other documents. |
| Reissued entry | Later letter and any explicit link to the earlier record; record the link only when it is stated. |
| Withdrawn entry | Displayed label and date, plus the missing notice or letter needed to explain it. |
The worksheet keeps an archive display separate from the document it points to. The year list runs from 2010 through 2026; ask the Planning Counter about letters outside it.
Trace reissued and withdrawn entries as a document lineage
The archive contains specific entries marked reissued and withdrawn. Those labels are clues about document relationships. Record the label exactly, identify the letter it appears beside, and look for the underlying original and later document before summarizing the sequence.
A reissued entry may supply a later document to compare with the earlier letter. A withdrawn entry identifies a status shown by the archive. Neither label, standing alone, explains why the action occurred or establishes the present effect of a different letter.
Resolve a fictional missing-letter gap
Consider a fictional file memo that cites a determination from one year and says it remains controlling. The archive shows an entry with the same subject, then a later reissued entry. The folder contains only the earlier PDF.
The useful next step is to compare documents rather than pick whichever date supports the memo. Preserve both archive identities, obtain the later letter and compare the issue addressed, property text, record number if displayed and any reference to the earlier document. If the later letter is silent about the earlier one, leave their relationship unresolved.
Now suppose the earlier archive row is marked withdrawn and the file contains no withdrawal document. Save the row and its date as a retrieval clue, but ask for the letter or notice that explains the entry. The label points to the missing record, and current Planning treatment comes from Planning rather than an old memo.
Request the existing San Francisco letter rather than a new interpretation
The City’s Letter of Determination resource describes a route for obtaining a new formal, appealable interpretation. That application route is different from locating a copy of an existing determination. The page also directs current land-use or zoning-information questions, including a Rebuild Letter, to the Zoning Verification Letter route.
For a missing existing copy or an unclear archive relationship, give the Planning Counter the year, property text, record number when displayed, issue date, title or subject, status label and the document that cites the missing item. The documented questions contact is 628.652.7300 or pic@sfgov.org. Ask which office holds the named record and what copy route applies.
Older archive instructions also describe reaching zoning information through the City’s property map.
Keep interpretation, permit and completion records separate
A Letter of Determination can answer a Planning Code interpretation question for the proposal it addresses. Later permit, inspection and occupancy results sit in other records. If a file mixes identifiers, the permit-number lookup guide explains why the issuing agency and record type should stay attached to each number.
If the file also claims that permitted work reached completion, check that permit’s record through the separate final-inspection status guide.
An archive miss doesn’t prove that no determination was issued. Preserve the missing question and request the specific record that would answer it.
San Francisco Planning Letters of Determination pages checked October 6, 2026.