Neighbor alleges unpermitted demolition, asks commission to review enforcement

Jerry Drattler, a San Francisco resident, told the Building Inspection Commission that a developer ‘‘demolished a very large deck on the south side of the house and a 3 story bay without permits or planning department historical resource evaluation’’ and removed asbestos-laden heating equipment using unlicensed workers, which he said may have contaminated the site.

Drattler said he filed complaints with the Department of Building Inspection as violations occurred, and that the developers are now working with DBI to legalize the unpermitted work. He told commissioners he has ‘‘extensively documented’’ roughly 15 alleged building- and planning-code violations and that he will prepare a schedule of fines and penalties once the legalization process is complete.

Commissioner Gilman praised Drattler’s comments and asked staff to agendaize the matter as a future case study so the commission and DBI staff could examine enforcement practices, the timeline for legalizing unpermitted work, and whether penalties provide a sufficient deterrent. Gilman said the case could help clarify whether DBI processes are preventing or enabling post‑hoc legalization of significant work.

The commission did not take immediate action on the complaint at the meeting. Commissioners and staff discussed bringing the documented case back to a future meeting for a fuller report and recommended follow-up by DBI staff to collect the relevant enforcement records and penalty data for commission consideration.