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Speaker urges independent probe of missed inspections at 3847–3849 Eighteenth Street
Summary
Kevin Chang told the commission that DBI conducted 26 on‑site and complaint inspections over 34 months without documenting alleged as‑built violations at 3847–3849 Eighteenth Street, and he asked the commission to call for an independent, transparent investigation into possible enforcement lapses.
Kevin Chang presented evidence to the Building Inspection Commission on Aug. 21 asserting that the property at 3847–3849 Eighteenth Street underwent extensive work — including what he described as 822 cubic yards of excavation — without proper permitting or enforcement. Chang said DBI performed more than 20 on‑site inspections and six complaint inspections (26 inspections total) over a 34‑month period but did not identify or document the as‑built conditions and alleged violations. He asked the commission to initiate an independent, thorough, and transparent investigation and questioned why notices of violation, inspector rotation, and other enforcement steps did not occur earlier.
Chang asked commissioners to consider whether agency wheels of justice are “slow or selective” and whether building staff actions were “incompetent or corrupt,” and he requested the commission call for outside review. He also noted that some special inspections were performed without a geotechnical report and that a staff report provided to the Planning Commission had not been presented to this commission.
At the July minutes discussion later in the meeting, Chang returned to request corrections to last month’s minutes to ensure the historical record accurately reflects the severity of the alleged code violations at that property. Commissioners heard his request; the body ultimately approved the July minutes as written by a recorded vote (5–1).
The commission did not at this meeting order an independent investigation; commissioners and staff did not indicate a formal next step beyond the record request and the later minutes vote.
