Board upholds Planning Department cancellation of permit to legalize ADU at 80744 Fourth Avenue; homeowner urged to seek reasonable modification or CUA

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on June 18 upheld the Planning Department—s cancellation of a building permit that would have legalized an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 80744 Fourth Avenue, ruling the revised plansthat kept an interior stair between the upstairs and downstairs units would produce a "merger" under the Planning Code and thus required a conditional use authorization (CUA) or a reasonable modification for disability accommodation. The board voted 4-0 to uphold the department—s disapproval.

Homeowner Ling Law appealed the Planning Department—s April 17 cancellation. Law told the board the interior stair has existed since the house was built, that both floors have separate kitchens and entrances, and that the stair is a "lifeline" for her 95-year-old, mobility-impaired father who relies on caregivers. "This staircase is really a lifeline," Law said during her presentation and in a short walkthrough video she provided to the board.

Why it matters: the decision addresses two recurring issues in San Francisco housing enforcement: how internal connections between floors affect whether two spaces are treated as independent dwelling units, and how disability-accommodation procedures interact with zoning rules.

Planning department position and legal basis Corey Teague, zoning administrator, described a longstanding zoning-administrator interpretation (dating to 1993) that treating an internal connection between the interiors of two dwelling units as a merger is appropriate because the connection makes it functionally…