San Francisco City Hall will reopen its doors next month to the public for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started, city officials said Wednesday.
Starting on June 7, City Hall will reopen for general public access and for in-person counter services like marriage license applications, birth and death certificates, document records, business registrations, and for payment of property taxes and businesses taxes and fees.
In anticipation of the reopening, the San Francisco County Clerk will begin accepting online appointments for in-person marriage ceremonies starting on Wednesday, with ceremonies to resume on June 7. Due to capacity restrictions, no more than six guests will be allowed for in-person marriage ceremonies, city officials said.
“Bringing the public back into City Hall is a significant step in our reopening process,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “City Hall is the heart of our civic life, where people can come to take care of their basic needs or take part in the most important moment of their life. It’s where we gather to mourn, to celebrate, and to share in the most important moments of our city. I’m so excited to see people back in this building, especially on that first day when we see weddings return.”
City Administrator Carmen Chu credited the reopening of City Hall after nearly 15 months of closure to widespread vaccine distribution.
“We’re excited to welcome back the weddings and people into City Hall, but more importantly, we are excited to ensure that those who haven’t been able to connect with us online or by phone have another avenue to access critical services,” Chu said.
With the building set to reopen, Board of Supervisors president Shamann Walton announced that the full board will begin to reconvene for in-person legislative meetings starting on June 15. Although supervisors will be gathering for their meetings, the general public will still have to participate remotely, unless the city’s health officials make updates to city health orders on indoor public gatherings.
“For far too long, this pandemic has kept us away from each other, removed the personal interactions to serve our constituents, and prevented us from working together as a board in a more connected manner,” Walton said. “We are excited to safely bring the Board of Supervisors meetings back to the chamber and this is the first step in moving towards reopening City Hall to provide access to the public.”
In addition, the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors will reopen for the public on June 8, open Monday to Friday thereafter from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Individual district supervisor offices will also open on June 8, but by appointment only.
City Hall visitors will be required to wear face coverings and maintain 6 feet of distance from people outside of their household. Also, some offices within the building may put in place additional capacity limits.