Tile/Painted Staircase
Staircases offer a unique way to showcase the creativity of a community. They also, quite literally, connect communities that may otherwise not interact due to the hilly nature of their local streets.
Tiled staircases are a hallmark of San Francisco, adding whimsy and unexpected joy to our neighborhoods. Creating a tiled staircase takes time, as well as long term investment in maintenance. Before starting the steps below, it is important to engage with your community, solicit designs, and reach out to artist and tile layers. Once you have a design in mind, you and your community can take the following steps:
Obtain property owner permission for the project.
- Typically, stairways appropriate for this type of project are on property belonging to the Department of Public Works. Other times, the property is owned by SF Rec & Park, SF Unified School District, or private property.
- Sometimes these staircases need some extra work and repair before any tiles can be placed. The property owner can take this on, or it may need to be incorporated into the larger project.
- Providing a detailed plan of the final project will help expedite the approval process through the property owner
If the tiled stairs are funded through public funding or on public property, then they must go through SF Arts Commision (SFAC) approval.
All land in San Francisco is owned by somebody. To alter a space, even as small as a median, requires someone’s permission. Land in the City is an aggregate of multiple owners at the federal, state, and local level. Understanding who owns the site you’d like to see improved will direct the steps you’ll take to turn your vision into a reality.
Start with the Office of the Assessor’s Recorder Property Search map tool. It’s a comprehensive, online map database listing detailed parcel information, such as property owner name. You can research the database by address, parcel number, or simply clicking on the map.
How to find property owner address information. locate on sidebar
The SF Property Information Map map does NOT list private property owner details, such as property owner mailing address. To obtain this information, you’ll need to make an online request to the Assessor’s Office via their Data Request form. Note that it may be a corporation, LLC, etc., rather than an actual person.
Now you know the owner, but are there already plans for the site?
Find out if there’s already plans for the site by contacting the property owner for the site from the information you obtained in the Assessor’s property search tool. You’ll need to know this information up front to avoid the pitfall of wanting to improve a site already scheduled for activity, such as a new private housing development or plans by the City to renovate the site with new plantings and benches.
Here are links to property owners you may come across in your search. Contact them directly for specifics about your site.
