Planning Commission approves variance to rebuild enclosed rear stair at 1153 Guerrero Street despite neighbor objections

The San Francisco Planning Commission voted unanimously 7-0 on May 8 to deny a discretionary review request and grant a variance to rebuild an enclosed rear stair and porch at 1153 Guerrero Street with standard conditions.

The matter came to the commission after neighbors and an adjacent property owner raised safety and historic-preservation concerns and challenged whether the proposed work was a repair or a replacement subject to current code. Trent Greenan, staff architect, told commissioners the structure dates to 1885 and that replacement — not repair — triggered a variance because the work exceeded ordinary repair thresholds. Greenan said staff "generally support the proposed reconstruction of the rear stairs and porch to meet current structural and egress requirements."

Neighbors, led by Paul Orr (the…