Abatement Appeals Board upholds order for 219 Whitney, gives homeowner six months and cuts fee to $100

The San Francisco Abatement Appeals Board on May 21 unanimously upheld an order of abatement for 219 Whitney Street but gave owner Knut Akset six months to resolve the violations and reduced assessed fees to $100.

Staff from the Department of Building Inspection told the board the case involves a single-family dwelling with the front entry stairs removed without a valid permit and two expired permits for a vertical addition; an order of abatement was issued Dec. 17, 2012. "Staff recommends an order of abatement to uphold the order of abatement and impose assessment of costs," the department's representative said during the hearing.

Akset told the board he rebuilt much of the façade but ran out of money and time after health and family emergencies, and that the upstairs addition has never been occupied. "I disrespectfully disagree" that the structure constitutes a public nuisance, he said, and asked the board for a moratorium under the building code on financial-hardship grounds.

Commissioners pressed staff and the owner about egress and the status of permits from the 1980s. Staff confirmed the two permits relating to the vertical addition expired and that, without a valid permit, the department must verify the legal condition through inspections. Commissioners and staff discussed practical steps to restore safe egress quickly, including issuing a new over‑the‑counter permit for a simple, code‑compliant set of stairs.

Several board members proposed a compromise: allow the owner to pull a new permit and install stairs that meet code within a set time, while reducing fees to help the owner afford repairs. The owner had said custom millwork could take four to six months; staff called two months reasonable for basic code compliance. The board settled on six months to resolve the Notices of Violation and reduced the assessed fee to $100.

The motion carried on a unanimous roll-call vote. President Clinch, Vice President Melgar, and Commissioners McCarthy, Maher, Lee, McCray and Walker all voted yes. The board recorded the outcome as upholding the order of abatement, granting time-limited relief to resolve the violations, and reducing assessed fees to $100.

The board advised the owner to consult planning staff about acceptable, lower-cost stair designs that could be permitted quickly. If the owner instead pursues completion of the original design, planning review may extend the timeline and require modified plans and inspections.