Permit GraphShortlistSan Francisco building permits since 2000

How long do roof deck permits take in San Francisco's Castro/Upper Market neighborhood?

In the Castro/Upper Market neighborhood of San Francisco, of the 8 roof deck permits filed from October 2025 through September 2026 that have been issued, half were issued within 1 day, down from 30 days a year earlier. Only 3 of the permits filed from October 2023 through September 2024 have reached final sign-off, too few for a reliable figure.

From the city’s permit records, by the quarter each permit was filed. Data as of 8 October 2026. How to cite this · How this is calculated

How long until a permit is issued, and until final sign-off?

How long roof deck permits take in San Francisco'sCastro/Upper Market neighborhoodMedian days from filing to permit issuedMedian days from issue to final sign-offToo recent to judge01002003004005002017201820192020202120222023202420252026DaysSource: San Francisco Department of Building Inspection permit data via DataSF, analysis by Permit Graph(permitgraph.org), CC BY 4.0.permitgraph.org/neighborhoods/castro-upper-market/roof-deck · Data as of 8 October 2026By the quarter the permit was filed. A median counts only permits that finished the stage, so recent quarterslook faster than they will end up. Gaps: fewer than 5 permits.

This chart as an image (SVG), with its title, source and date, free to embed under CC BY 4.0.

At a glance

StagePermits filedPermits countedMedian daysCounted a year earlierMedian a year earlier
Filed to permit issuedOctober 2025 through September 20268 issued112 issued30
Permit issued to final sign-offOctober 2023 through September 20243 finishedunder 57 finished622

“Counted” is the permits the median was taken over: those filed in the window that have been issued, or that have reached final sign-off. The first stage covers the last four complete quarters, since most permits are issued within the year. The second covers the last four quarters that ended two or more years ago, so that most of their permits have had time to finish. Citywide, the median was 32 days to issue and 250 days from issue to final over the same quarters.

Every quarter since 2000

Quarter filedFiledIssuedMedian days to issueSlowest 10%Reached finalMedian days issue to finalSlowest 10%Never finaledSettled
2026-Q42000too recent
2026-Q35410too recent
2026-Q26410too recent
2025-Q41000too recent
2025-Q32100too recent
2025-Q2555718730too recent
2025-Q13330too recent
2024-Q43310too recent
2024-Q35200yes
2024-Q23310yes
2024-Q12100yes
2023-Q42220yes
2023-Q32110yes
2023-Q21000yes
2023-Q14330yes
2022-Q46627459130yes
2022-Q32101yes
2022-Q22110yes
2022-Q11110yes
2021-Q41110yes
2021-Q31101yes
2021-Q15430yes
2020-Q46423yes
2020-Q34421yes
2020-Q21110yes
2020-Q11000yes
2019-Q43220yes
2019-Q34330yes
2019-Q23320yes
2019-Q14421yes
2018-Q46632665140yes
2018-Q33330yes
2018-Q23320yes
2018-Q17748886152971,0102yes
2017-Q46414yes
2017-Q32220yes
2017-Q24330yes
2017-Q11000yes
2016-Q44330yes
2016-Q35211yes
2016-Q2653538051896640yes
2016-Q13220yes
2015-Q487021262245290yes
2015-Q33311yes
2015-Q26516821752391,1611yes
2015-Q1664637265478840yes
2014-Q48725192133yes
2014-Q34421yes
2014-Q24321yes
2014-Q13321yes
2013-Q45422yes
2013-Q3552238340yes
2013-Q22210yes
2013-Q16613245853944841yes
2012-Q42110yes
2012-Q3763675662185040yes
2012-Q21110yes
2012-Q12110yes
2011-Q34440yes
2011-Q11110yes
2010-Q41110yes
2010-Q32110yes
2010-Q24431yes
2010-Q13330yes
2009-Q4657328652825141yes
2009-Q32210yes
2009-Q23320yes
2009-Q14440yes
2008-Q42220yes
2008-Q32110yes
2008-Q2651331040yes
2008-Q15526580612yes
2007-Q41100yes
2007-Q34431yes
2007-Q21110yes
2007-Q11110yes
2006-Q42220yes
2006-Q23321yes
2006-Q1555029840yes
2005-Q41100yes
2005-Q33311yes
2005-Q12220yes
2004-Q41000yes
2004-Q32110yes
2004-Q22220yes
2004-Q13330yes
2003-Q44412yes
2003-Q3668434041yes
2003-Q22211yes
2003-Q12202yes
2002-Q41000yes
2002-Q33211yes
2002-Q22211yes
2002-Q11000yes
2001-Q42220yes
2001-Q33310yes
2001-Q12210yes
2000-Q42210yes
2000-Q32200yes
2000-Q22210yes

A blank median means fewer than 5 permits behind it: issued permits for the first stage, and for the second, finished permits whose final is dated after their issue (a permit never issued has no span). “Slowest 10%” is the 90th percentile: one permit in ten took at least this long. Download the table as CSV or JSON; both carry the source, license and data date.

What the numbers leave out

40 of the 322 roof deck permits filed since 2000 (12%) have no final sign-off 3 years after they were issued or, if never issued, filed. A median over finished permits understates the real wait: the permits that never finish are not in it. Inspection records are not yet included: “final sign-off” is the city’s own completion date on the permit.

Project types in San Francisco's Castro/Upper Market neighborhood

Shown apart, with their own page here: bathroom remodel (4,510 filed, 3,216 finished; contractors); kitchen remodel (3,859 filed, 2,761 finished; contractors); stairs (2,478 filed, 1,664 finished; contractors); deck (1,649 filed, 1,111 finished; contractors); roof deck (322 filed, 187 finished; contractors). Other types: 22,946 permits. All permits in San Francisco's Castro/Upper Market neighborhood

Nearby neighborhoods

Haight Ashbury, Twin Peaks, Noe Valley; all of San Francisco; every neighborhood compared.

How this is calculated

Approved means the city issued the permit: the permit’s issue date. The first stage counts days from the filing date to the issue date, over permits issued on or after they were filed. Final sign-off means the city’s own status for the permit is “complete”, with its completion date; this site does not yet read inspection records, so the inspection date is not a separate stage. The second stage counts days from the issue date to the completion date, over permits that have reached it.

Permits are grouped by the quarter they were filed. A quarter’s median counts only its permits that have finished the stage, so recent quarters look faster than they will end up: their slow permits have not finished yet. Quarters that ended two or more years ago are marked settled; the rest are shaded in the chart. The headline’s first stage uses the last four complete quarters; its second uses the last four settled quarters.

The median is the middle permit: half took less, half more. The slowest 10% is the 90th percentile. A median needs at least 5 permits behind it, or it is left out. A project type is shown apart within a neighborhood only when it has 30 or more finished permits there; the rest are “other types”.

Never finaled means no final sign-off three years after the permit was issued (or filed, if never issued), and not expired, cancelled, withdrawn, revoked, disapproved, denied or suspended (the site’s “expired or cancelled” outcome). About a quarter of permits citywide end this way; often the work was done and nobody called for the final inspection. These permits are in the counts and not in the medians.

A permit’s neighborhood is the Analysis Neighborhood the city writes on the permit record (the official set of 41). Permits with none are counted citywide only; the page says how many. “Nearby” neighborhoods are the three nearest by the center of their permits. The site reloads the city’s data every night; permits filed since 1 January 2000 are included. The placement of a permit, its dates and its status are the city’s; the grouping and the words are this site’s. How to read these records.