2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 BOARD OF APPEALS
CITY & COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
AGENDA FOR REGULAR MEETING - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2004
5:00 P.M., CITY HALL, ROOM 416, ONE DR. CARLTON B. GOODLETT PLACE
(1) PUBLIC COMMENT:
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At this time, members of the public may address the Board on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Board except agenda items. With respect to agenda items, your opportunity to address the Board will be afforded when the item is reached in the meeting with one exception. When the agenda item has already been reviewed in a public hearing at which members of the public were allowed to testify and the Board has closed the public hearing, your opportunity to address the Board must be exercised during the Public Comment portion of the calendar. Each member of the public may address the Board for up to three minutes. If it is demonstrated that comments by the public will exceed 15 minutes, the President may continue Public Comment to another time during the meeting.
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(2) COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS & QUESTIONS:
(3) ADDENDUM ITEMS:
(3A) REHEARING REQUEST:
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Subject property at 641 – 27th Avenue. Appeal No(s). 03-197, All City Construction Co. vs. DBI. Letter from Joel Yodowitz, attorney for All City Construction Co., appellant(s), requesting rehearing of Appeal No(s). 03-197, decided May 12, 2004. At that time, upon motion by Commissioner Chin, the Board voted 2-3 to overrule DBI’s notice of decision with a finding that a demolition took place which exceeded the scope of the permit, but which did not constitute an unlawful demolition, with additional findings as stated into the record by Commissioner Chin. Four votes being required to overturn a departmental action, the motion failed, and the decision by DBI was upheld. Note: Companion case, 03-199, Woo vs. DBI, was decided concurrently with 03-197. Howard & Susie Woo, the appellants in 03-199 and the subject property owners, however, did not file a request for rehearing. Departmental Action: Notice of Decision by Frank Chiu, Director of the Dept. of Building Inspection, dated Dec. 3, 2003, that an unlawful residential demolition has taken place at the subject property under Building Code §§ 103.3, 103.3.1 & 103.3.2, that BPA No. 2002/09/09/5995 is hereby revoked, and that a 5 year moratorium on the issuance of building permits is hereby imposed pursuant to Building Code § 103.3.1.
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(3B) REHEARING REQUEST:
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Subject property at 357 Howth Street. Appeal No(s). 04-078, Ard & Mosher vs. DBI, PDA. Letter from Rebecca Mosher, co-appellant(s), requesting rehearing of Appeal No(s). 04-078, decided on September 29, 2004. At that time, upon motion by Vice President Sugaya, the Board voted 4-0-1 (Commissioner Chin absent) to uphold the subject permit with the following condition(s): a) that the fence be included in the plans; and b) that the Dept. of Building Inspection conduct a site visit in order to verify that the construction of the current addition does not exceed the plan dimensions (10 feet).
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(4) APPEAL NO. 04-035
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CRYSTAL LEI, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION,
Respondent
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337 – 28th Avenue.
Appealing the suspension on April 23, 2004, of Building Permit Application No(s). 2003/04/15/2287, 2003/07/15/9528, & 2003/05/27/5515. Reason(s) for suspension: the scope of work and building information described on the building permit applications and approved plans does not reflect the actual condition and legal use of the building.
PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON 8/18/2004.
FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION TODAY.
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(5) APPEAL NO. 04-049
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JUAN YANES
dba “CHARLES TOWING & MECHANICS”, Appellant(s)
vs.
ZONING ADMINISTRATOR, Respondent
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1251 Thomas Avenue.
Appealing a Police Permit Zoning Referral (P51 Tow Car Firm) dated May 13, 2004, addressed to Juan Yanes, that the proposed use, tow car operator, requires Conditional Use Authorization (CU) in the Restricted Light Industrial (RLI) zoning district per Planning Code § 249.15(b)(2), and that such a use must be conducted within an area completely enclosed by a wall or concealing fence not less than 6 feet high.
PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON 9/29/2004.
FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION TODAY.
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(6) APPEAL NO. 04-030
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MARVIN LAU, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. DISAPPROVAL
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714 – 22nd Street.
Appealing the denial on April 15, 2004, of a Permit to Alter a Building (on 3-unit residential building: install 12 vinyl windows in kind into existing frames; no structural changes; windows face front and are visible from the street; if applicable, bedroom windows shall comply with § 310.4 for rescue).
APPLICATION NO. 2004/04/15/1367.
Note: On June 9, 2004, the Board voted to uphold the denial of the subject permit. On July 21, 2004, the Board voted to grant the appellant’s rehearing request.
FOR REHEARING TODAY.
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(7) APPEAL NO. 03-087
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BILL & LUBA GOWER, Appellant(s)
vs.
ZONING ADMINISTRATOR, Respondent
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2250 Jackson Street.
Appealing a determination dated May 20, 2003, addressed to Gary Bell, that the legal use of the subject property is a 5-unit apartment building based on available prior building permits and land use records.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(8) APPEAL NO. 04-081
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LANE LOUIE, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS
BUREAU OF STREET USE & MAPPING, Respondent
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950 Grant Avenue.
Protesting the issuance on July 2, 2004, to Elaine Chiu dba “Grand Palace”, Sidewalk Display Merchandise Permit.
PERMIT NO. 04D-265.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(9) APPEAL NO. 04-037
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ANTHONY DUMONT, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
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155 Westwood Drive.
Appealing a Notice of Decision by Dept. of Building Inspection Director Frank Chiu, dated April 19, 2004, revoking Building Permit Application No(s). 2003/05/19/4954, 2003/08/05/1263, and 2003/08/21/2731. Reason(s) for revocation: construction at the subject property exceeded the scope of the first two permits; and the third permit was issued in error due to false information supplied by the permit applicant.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(10) APPEAL NO. 04-070
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RUSSIAN HILL
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPARTMENT APROVAL
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1170-1180 Green Street.
Protesting the issuance on June 17, 2004, to Jeffrey Horowitz, Permit to Alter a Building (on 6-unit apartment building: expansion of building by addition of partial 3rd floor, renovation of 2nd floor, and conversion of some crawl space to automobile parking).
APPLICATION NO. 9925728S.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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ITEMS (11A) & (11B) SHALL BE HEARD TOGETHER:
(11A) APPEAL NO. 04-094
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OTTO WIEGAND, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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4001 Mission Street.
Protesting the issuance on July 16, 2004, to 4001 Mission Street Associates LLC, Permit to Erect a Building (4-story, 3-unit condominium building).
APPLICATION NO. 2002/09/20/7097S.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(11B) APPEAL NO. 04-096
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SHAWN LEONARD, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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4001 Mission Street.
Protesting the issuance on July 16, 2004, to 4001 Mission Street Associates LLC, Permit to Erect a Building (4-story, 3-unit condominium building).
APPLICATION NO. 2002/09/20/7097S.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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ITEMS (12A) & (12B) SHALL BE HEARD TOGETHER:
(12A) APPEAL NO. 04-097
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BRENDAN LALOR, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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8 Murray Street.
Protesting the issuance on July 29, 2004, to 4001 Mission Street Associates LLC, Permit to Erect a Building (4-story, 3-unit condominium building).
APPLICATION NO. 2002/09/20/7104S.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(12B) APPEAL NO. 04-102
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OTTO WIEGAND, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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8 Murray Street.
Protesting the issuance on July 29, 2004, to 4001 Mission Street Associates LLC, Permit to Erect a Building (4-story, 3-unit condominium building).
APPLICATION NO. 2002/09/20/7104S.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(13) APPEAL NO. 04-105
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MITCHELL SCHOENBRUN, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
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1401-1409 Castro Street.
Protesting the issuance on August 2, 2004, to Isa Muhawieh, Permit to Alter a Building (on apartment building with commercial: storage room into laundry room at ground floor).
APPLICATION NO. 2004/08/02/0401.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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ITEMS (14A) & (14B) SHALL BE HEARD TOGETHER:
(14A) APPEAL NO. 04-106
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DEE & JUDY LEMMON, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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1283 Portola Drive.
Protesting the issuance on August 2, 2004, to Yu Hua Chen (New Subject Property Owner Edmund Ko), Permit to Erect a Building (2-story single family house with 1,434sf of ground floor area).
APPLICATION NO. 2002/07/17/1685S.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(14B) APPEAL NO. 04-107
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JOHN & JACQUELINE KING, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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1283 Portola Drive.
Protesting the issuance on August 2, 2004, to Yu Hua Chen (New Subject Property Owner Edmund Ko), Permit to Erect a Building (2-story single family house with 1,434sf of ground floor area).
APPLICATION NO. 2002/07/17/1685S.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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ITEMS (15A ), (15B) & (15C) SHALL BE HEARD TOGETHER:
(15A) APPEAL NO. 04-108
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JEFFREY LIVINGSTON, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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129 Westwood Drive.
Protesting the issuance on August 3, 2004, to John Zhou, Permit to Alter a Building (on single-family house: change existing 2nd floor study room and bedroom to storage per plan; under Building Permit Application No(s). 2004/06/02/5323).
APPLICATION NO. 2004/08/03/0421.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(15B) APPEAL NO. 04-109
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JEFFREY LIVINGSTON, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
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129 Westwood Drive.
Protesting the issuance on August 3, 2004, to John Zhou, Permit to Alter a Building (on single-family house: repair, roofing, reroofing; replace interior lath and plaster with GYPBD; repair windows; under Building Permit Application No(s). 2004/06/02/5323).
APPLICATION NO. 2004/07/01/7873.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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(15C) APPEAL NO. 04-124
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JEFFREY LIVINGSTON, Appellant(s)
vs.
DEPT. OF BUILDING INSPECTION, Respondent
PLANNING DEPT. APPROVAL
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129 Westwood Drive.
Protesting the issuance on June 2, 2004, to John Zhou, Permit to Alter a Building (on single-family house: add exercise room, family room, laundry and full bath at basement; relocate bathroom fixtures and walls; excavate basement floor and reinforce walls per plans).
APPLICATION NO. 2004/06/02/5323.
JURISDICTION GRANTED 9/8/2004.
FOR HEARING TODAY.
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ADJOURNMENT.
Note: Each item on this agenda may include the following documents: 1) Appellant's Preliminary Statement of Appeal and Brief; 2) Permit holder's, Respondent’s or Other Parties’ Brief; 3) Appellant’s Reply; 4) Department decision, order, permit, determination, resolution, or Notice of Violation; and 5) Correspondence. These items are available for review at the Board's office, 1660 Mission Street, Room 3036, front counter. Please call 415-575-6880 if you have any questions concerning this agenda.
Date posted: October 22nd, 2004
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS
KATHLEEN HARRINGTON PRESIDENT
HISASHI B. SUGAYA VICE PRESIDENT
FRANK FUNG COMMISSIONER
RANDALL KNOX COMMISSIONER
SABRINA N. SAUNDERS COMMISSIONER
CLAUDINE WOEBER - OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 415-506-0430; THE PRESIDING OFFICER WILL CALL A RECESS AT 6:30 P.M. & WHENEVER NECESSARY FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF THE COURT REPORTER.
PROCEDURE AT HEARINGS
The order of presentation of an appeal shall be as follows: In the case of appeal of denials, revocations and suspensions the representatives of the department, board, commission or person from whose order the appeal is taken shall speak first and shall be allowed seven minutes for their presentation and three minutes for rebuttal.
The appellant whose permit has been denied, revoked or suspended shall be allowed seven minutes for oral argument and three minutes for rebuttal.
In the case of protest appeals, the protestor shall speak first and shall be allowed seven minutes to present oral argument and three minutes for rebuttal, and the permit holder shall be allowed seven minutes to present oral argument and three minutes for rebuttal. The Board may request a departmental response at its own discretion.
Other persons desiring to speak before the Board on an appeal may speak once for up to three minutes, unless the presiding officer further limits time uniformly.
SPECIAL NOTES
Mailed notices of public hearings on appeals are sent to all parties at least five days prior to the date of hearing. In the event that a matter is continued to a specific date by the presiding officer and announced to the parties in the hearing room, no additional mailed notice will be sent. Please call the Board office at 575-6880 for scheduling or other information during regular business hours, or visit our website at www.sfgov.org/boa
Briefs are limited to twelve pages, excluding exhibits, which should be tabbed for easy reference. The complete Rules of the Board are available for review at the Board office.
Material submitted by the public for Board review prior to a scheduled hearing before the Board, should be addressed to the Board President, and be received at the Board office, 1660 Mission Street, Room 3036, no later than 4:00 p.m. the Thursday (six days) prior to the scheduled public hearing. Persons unable to attend the scheduled public hearing may submit written comments regarding a calendared item to the Board office. Comments received before noon on the day of the hearing will be made a part of the official record and will be brought to the attention of the Board at the public hearing. For complete distribution to all Commissioners of the Board, necessary staff and case files, submit an original and ten copies.
Pursuant to Government Code § 65009, if you challenge, in court, the approval of a variance or development permit, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Board of Appeals at, or prior to, the public hearing.
Calendared items are sometimes withdrawn or rescheduled to a later date prior to hearing, or are taken out of order to accommodate special needs. The Board urges all parties to be present in the hearing room from 5:00 p.m. so that everyone has an opportunity to participate in the relevant public hearing when it is called.
PROHIBITION OF SOUND-PRODUCING ELECTRONIC DEVICES
The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers and similar sound-producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager, or other similar sound-producing electronic devices.
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
American sign language interpreters and/or sound enhancement system will be available upon request by contacting Catherine Johnson at 575-6882 at least 48 hours prior to the hearing. Individuals with severe allergies, environmental illness, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities should call the accessibility hotline at 554-8925 to discuss meeting accessibility. In order to assist the City's efforts to accommodate such people, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical-based products. Please help the City to accommodate these individuals. The closest accessible BART station is the Civic Center station located at the intersection of Market, Hyde and Grove Streets. Accessible curbside parking has been designated at points along McAllister Street. Accessible MUNI lines serving City Hall are the 42 Downtown Loop, 9 San Bruno and 71 Haight/Noriega and the F line. Accessible MUNI Metro lines are the J, K, L, M, and N. For more information regarding MUNI accessible services, call (415) 923-6142.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE SUNSHINE ORDINANCE
Government's duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people's business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people's review.
For more information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code) or to report a violation of the ordinance, contact the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force: Donna Hall, Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, City Hall, Room 409, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102-4683, Phone (415) 554-7724, fax (415) 554-7854, and e-mail Donna_Hall@ci.sf.ca.us. Copies of the Sunshine Ordinance can be obtained from the Clerk of the Sunshine Task Force, the San Francisco Public Library, and on the City's website at www.ci.sf.ca.us/sfbos.org/sunshine.
LOBBYING ACTIVITY
Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [SF Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code § 2.100] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at 30 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 3900, San Francisco, CA 94102; telephone (415) 581-2300; fax (415) 581-2317; web site www.sfgov.org/ethics.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY
The Board welcomes suggestions from the public regarding improvement of the efficiency of its operations. Please direct your comments and suggestions to Robert Feldman, Executive Secretary, at 415-575-6880 or fax 415-575-6885. A customer satisfaction survey form is available at the meetings, the office, and on the web site.
TAPES & TRANSCRIPTS OF MEETINGS & HEARINGS
These items are available for review at the Board's office, 1660 Mission St., Rm. 3036, front counter.
