Abatement Appeals Board upholds abatement orders for two San Francisco properties, pauses enforcement for 12 months

The San Francisco Abatement Appeals Board voted unanimously to uphold orders of abatement for two related properties involved in a long-running safety dispute but agreed to hold enforcement in abeyance for 12 months to give cooperative owners time to complete repairs and secure access from a noncooperative neighbor.

The board took the action after a Building Department representative summarized a complaint dating to 2010 alleging hazardous conditions in a shared brick wall affecting 300 Columbus, 75 Fresno and 1224 Grant. Department staff recommended upholding the abatement and imposing an assessment of costs because the unsafe condition remains.

Appellants and owners told the board they have plans and a contractor ready. "If we could just get him to say yes, we could move forward and have this solved in 2 months," said Mr. Boskovich, the appellants' representative. He said two owners have cooperated while the owner of 1224 Grant has repeatedly denied responsibility for the wall.

Owner Charles Reese described outreach efforts and a recorded boundary survey paid for by the appellants. "We forwarded that survey to them," Reese said, adding that his group spent about $12,000 on the survey and that recorded orders have blocked building permits for tenants and upgrades. Reese asked the board to differentiate cooperative owners from the noncooperative owner and to press the latter to allow access for repairs.

Appellants and staff warned of life-safety risks if the wall fails in an earthquake. The appellants estimated repairs to the affected sections at about $50,000 and said roughly 90 occupants could be affected across the adjacent buildings, including a roughly 20-unit single-room-occupancy building and a roughly 70-unit hotel structure below part of the wall.

Commissioners debated options including upholding the order and holding it in abeyance, or continuing the appeals while deferring recording of abatement notices. Several members said upholding the orders and placing them in abeyance would preserve legal leverage against the noncooperative owner while minimizing immediate penalties for the cooperative owners.

A motion passed to "uphold the order of abatement and hold it in abeyance for 12 months; uphold fees," and the board conducted a roll-call vote. President Warshall, Vice President Lee, Commissioner Conston, Commissioner McCarthy, Commissioner Moss and Commissioner Walker all voted yes; the motion carried unanimously.

The board asked the Building Department to pursue interim measures, including staff-requested structural evaluations to mitigate immediate seismic risk while the owners seek access and funding. The department will also continue to pursue referral to the city's litigation committee or city attorney's office regarding the noncooperative owner if informal outreach fails.

The board closed the item with no public comment and adjourned. The matter may return to the board if repairs do not proceed within the 12-month abeyance.