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Board grants jurisdiction for appeal over 111 Taylor letter of determination after community raises notice concerns
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Appeals granted a jurisdiction request from Chandra Laborde to appeal a Jan. 2025 zoning letter of determination for 111 Taylor Street (GEO Group occupancy), finding the city likely failed to notify an interested subscriber; the board directed Laborde to file a formal appeal within five days.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on May 7 granted a jurisdiction request from community member Chandra Laborde over a Jan. 2025 zoning letter of determination for 111 Taylor Street, the historic Compton’s Cafeteria site. The board found sufficient evidence that the planning department’s notice procedures likely prevented Laborde from filing a timely appeal.
Laborde told the board she had subscribed in 2024 to the department’s block-book notification (BBN) service for 111 Taylor but did not receive the letter of determination and therefore missed the 30‑day appeal window. She said the new letter reclassified the site’s legal use and allowed the operator — identified in the hearing as GEO Reentry Services (GEO Group) — to avoid a conditional-use hearing. “This quietly allowed a private prison corporation with active federal and ICE contracts to operate in the Tenderloin,” Laborde said.
Zoning Administrator Corey Teague and the planning department explained that BBN signups are a department policy for development permit notices and do not automatically include letters of determination (LODs). Teague said departments have historically sent courtesy notices for certain LODs to property owners and some registered neighborhood organizations, but that LODs are not included in the BBN application’s listed items. Teague told the board he had offered Laborde a path to receive future notices and to consider whether LODs should be added to BBN communications.
David Blackwell, land-use counsel for GEO Reentry Services, argued the department followed its usual practice and that letters of determination are not covered by BBN; he urged the board to deny jurisdiction. UCSF and other city staff also appeared to answer process questions. More than two dozen public commenters urged the board to allow community review, emphasizing the site’s history as Compton’s Cafeteria and the Transgender Cultural District. Susan Stryker, a historian who helped document Compton’s significance, told the board the site has “been listed on the National Register of Historic Places” and that community oversight was needed.
President Trezvino framed the legal standard for the board’s review as Rule 10(a): the board may grant jurisdiction in “extraordinary cases” where the city intentionally or inadvertently caused late filing of an appeal. After extended public comment and departmental testimony, President Trezvino and a majority of commissioners concluded the circumstances met the standard, citing the confusion around BBN coverage and the site’s public significance. On the motion to grant jurisdiction the votes were recorded 4–0 in favor.
The board told Laborde she must file a formal appeal within five days and arrange next steps with board staff.
Ending: The board’s order does not decide the substance of the letter of determination; it only allows Laborde and others to proceed with a full appeal of the Jan. 2025 zoning determination for 111 Taylor Street. The board said it will schedule the appeal and requested any related city agencies attend future hearings if they have jurisdictional or implementation roles.
