Abatement Appeals Board puts 116 Merced Ave. order in abeyance for one year, cuts permit penalty

The Abatement Appeals Board on Wednesday voted unanimously to hold the order of abatement for 116 Merced Avenue in abeyance for one year and to reduce the permit-penalty multiplier from nine times to two times the permit application fee.

The action preserves the Department of Building Inspection—s (DBI) authority to enforce the underlying notice of violation if the owner does not complete required work within a year, but delays recording the order and its one-time assessment while the owner pursues an alteration permit to remove an illegal dwelling unit.

DBI senior building inspector Gilbert Lam told the panel that the original notice of violation was issued Aug. 30, 2019, after a site inspection found habitable rooms in the basement, including a kitchen and bathroom. The director—s hearing process and permit history, Lam said, left the case unresolved and the abatement was issued Nov. 5, 2024, because of continued noncompliance.

The owner—s attorney, Brett Gladstone, described a series of delays he called a "perfect storm" that included COVID-related…