Board adopts amended list of delinquent code‑enforcement charges after owner payments and staff reviews

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on May 20 held a public hearing on the Department of Building Inspection's (DBI) report of delinquent charges for outstanding code‑enforcement fees and voted to adopt the report as amended.

DBI presentation and outreach DBI Senior Housing Inspector Matt Luton told the board this is the department’s routine annual request to impose special assessment liens for outstanding building‑code enforcement charges. DBI said it had provided noticed owners on two occasions and held in‑house hearings to allow owners to address outstanding fees before the board hearing.

Removal of certain properties from the list During the public hearing the board heard from long‑time DBI staffer Alan Davidson, who said several property owners had paid or otherwise resolved cases shortly before the meeting. Inspector Davidson asked that specific line items be removed from the report. Clerk and DBI staff confirmed at the dais that at least two line items (identified in the clerk’s roll call as lines 30 and 31 in the circulated report) were removed and that additional items had been cleared during office discussions. An attorney, Emily Brough, appeared for an owner of a property listed (1465 Oakdale Avenue) and asked the board to strike or stay the assessment because the same violations were the subject of a pending superior‑court enforcement action and negotiations between the owner and city staff were ongoing.

Board action After the clerk confirmed the deletions and DBI staff attested to outreach and case status, the board adopted the resolution to confirm the report of delinquent charges as amended. The roll call recorded unanimous approval of the amended list.

Why it matters Confirmation of the report enables DBI to place special assessment liens on properties where owners have not paid inspection and enforcement costs, which is a standard mechanism to recover city costs. The board’s willingness to remove properties from the list after owners paid or when matters were in active negotiation demonstrates the department’s and board’s responsiveness to case‑level resolution prior to formal lien placement.

Next steps DBI will proceed with lien placement for items remaining on the adopted report; owners who resolved accounts will not be subject to the assessments removed at the hearing. The board directed DBI to continue outreach and to coordinate with city counsel for cases that are the subject of parallel court enforcement actions.

Ending The resolution adopting the amended report passed unanimously; DBI and the clerk said the list had been updated to reflect payments and staff reviews taken shortly before the hearing.