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Board upholds lot‑merger approval after public outcry over illegal demolition of Willis Polk house
Summary
The Board of Supervisors upheld the planning commission’s conditional‑use authorization permitting a lot merger at 948–950 Lombard/841 Chestnut despite extensive public testimony that the Willis Polk–designed residence was illegally demolished. The owner settled with the city for a $400,000 penalty earlier this year.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Dec. 5 voted 10‑1 to uphold a planning commission decision allowing a lot merger at 948–950 Lombard Street and 841 Chestnut Street, a step that will permit two dwelling units on a single, newly merged lot despite months of public controversy over the demolition of a Willis Polk–designed residence on the site.
Kathleen Courtney, chair of the Russian Hill Community Association, led an appeal asking the board to overturn the conditional use authorization and to use the hearing as a prompt for reform after what she and multiple preservation groups called an “illegal demolition by serial permitting.” Hundreds of neighborhood residents, preservation advocates and architects testified that approvals by the Department of Building Inspection and planning staff failed to stop incremental permitting that culminated in the loss of the 1908 house.
Planning department staff and the city attorney told the board the demolition had been addressed through enforcement and a negotiated settlement earlier this year. Planning Director John Raham (transcript: Ram) and enforcement staff described a complex permitting history dating to 2002 and said the property owner agreed in May 2017 to pay a $400,000 civil penalty and to accept planning oversight of future work. Staff said the demolition could not be abated using the available administrative remedies and that the settlement was the most effective remedy available.
The property owner’s attorney said the owner intended to restore the site and that a settlement and settlement‑required oversight were in place. Project representatives told the board the project would create a single parcel more consistent with the site’s historic ownership and that consolidation would limit density and future subdivision that could otherwise be feasible under separate lots.
Supervisor Peskin, who led the board motion to approve the conditional use authorization, said the hearing showed systemic failures across multiple city departments and called the case a “teachable moment.” Peskin urged staff and the city attorney to recommend code changes, stronger interagency referral practices and penalties that better deter serial permitting and demolition by attrition.
The vote to uphold the conditional use authorization was 10 in favor, 1 opposed (Supervisor Feuer). The brief roll call recorded: Cohen (aye), Farrell (aye), Feuer (no), Kim (aye), Peskin (aye), Ronan (aye), Safaie (aye), Sheehy (aye), Tang (aye), Yi (aye), Breed (aye).
Why it matters: Preservation advocates said the site’s demolition — a master‑architect work — exposed weaknesses in the city’s demolition definitions, cross‑departmental referral and enforcement. City staff said the settlement and the largest penalty in planning department history for a single‑family property were intended to dissuade future circumvention, but multiple speakers urged code changes, unified demolition definitions, and stronger notice and penalties.
What’s next: Staff told the board that future permits for the merged lot will be subject to planning review; the board directed the clerk to prepare findings consistent with its action. Multiple speakers asked the board to pursue landmarking of the remaining accessory cottage and to dedicate settlement funds to preservation efforts.
