Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Demolition Claims topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors call 655 Alvarado an unlawful demolition; DBI to produce annotated report for Planning
Summary
Neighbors and community groups urged the Building Inspection Commission to declare 655 Alvarado an unpermitted demolition after DBI staff described permits, suspensions and hazard mitigation; DBI committed to prepare overlay drawings, a chronology and to review whether the work meets the demolition standard.
The Building Inspection Commission heard lengthy testimony May 16 about 655 Alvarado Street, where DBI staff said multiple permits and addenda dating from a 2009 site permit through 2016–17 revisions resulted in suspensions and active notices of violation for work that DBI currently characterizes as exceeding the scope of permitted work.
DBI plan‑check engineer Cyril Yu described site reconnaissance and the department’s issuance of an administrative permit to complete temporary shoring and retaining systems after inspectors found the partially demolished site created hazards for neighboring property owners. DBI said work stopped Oct. 4, 2017 except for hazard mitigation; the department currently has three active NOVs for undermining, exceeding permit scope and for unsafe conditions at adjacent buildings.
Project representatives — architect Zach Madry and contractor Patrick Davis — told the commission they sought to preserve required walls where feasible, described encountering field conditions (including prior fire damage and dry rot) that prompted in‑kind removal and replacement, and said inspections beginning March 2017 did not trigger correction notices until the permits were suspended later that year.
Neighbors testified they suffered property damage and loss of light/privacy and urged stronger enforcement. Mary Ferretti, an adjacent owner, requested that DBI consider reductions in the permitted project size or setback changes to compensate for impacts; other speakers, including Jerry Drattler and neighborhood council representatives, asked DBI to declare the project an illegal demolition and pursue penalties.
Commissioners and DBI staff focused the discussion on three tasks: (1) produce a clear, annotated packet for Planning that overlays the site permit, addenda and structural revisions to show what drawings authorized versus what was removed in the field; (2) compile a date‑stamped chronology of permits, inspections, complaints and notices of violation; and (3) determine whether the amount of removal meets the Planning definition of demolition that could trigger more severe penalties (including a moratorium) or other enforcement remedies. DBI agreed to provide the colored overlays and said it is reviewing a recent neighbor complaint that produced an engineer’s report recommending mitigation at an adjacent property.
The commission did not rule at the meeting whether 655 Alvarado constitutes an unlawful demolition; it directed staff to complete the report and return the matter to the commission so the commissioners can finalize recommendations to the Planning Commission.
