Abatement Appeals Board Upholds Orders Against Owner Susanna Shaw, Grants 30 Days to Obtain Permits

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Abatement Appeals Board on Wednesday upheld orders of abatement for multiple Fourth Street and Noe Street properties owned by Susanna Shaw and gave the owner 30 days to pull required permits and complete repairs.

Rosemarie Boske, Chief Housing Inspector, told the board that the cases before members — listed as agenda items 1–5 and involving properties at 3825–3829 Fourth Street and related sites — are part of a City Attorney referral and that a lawsuit was filed in March to seek compliance. "Staff does not feel that these cases ... warrant additional time," Boske said, urging the board not to extend deadlines given a history of recurring notices of violation and failures to obtain required permits.

Shaw, the appellant and owner, disputed the department's account and told members she first learned of several notices at a director's hearing and that she had previously cleared many of the same items: "I was targeted," she said, describing confrontations with inspectors and saying some records and tapes were destroyed so earlier compliance was not visible in staff records. Shaw also said she had met with the City Attorney and with staff and that some work is underway.

Field inspector Steve Mangavan gave a written list of remaining problems at one property, 20 Fourth Street, citing roof leaks and multiple layers of old roofing, electric heaters installed in six units without permits, window sashes in disrepair, and missing or improperly installed handrails. Board members and staff noted that several violations raise habitability and fire-safety concerns.

Commissioner Walker, who moved to uphold the department's recommendation, said the evidence in staff photographs and records supported the directors' orders and that the violations "make the buildings unsafe to occupy" and present a fire risk. The motion, which applied to agenda items 1 through 5, allowed 30 days for the owner to take out permits and begin correcting the violations.

The board voted by roll call: President Clinch, Vice President Melgar and Commissioners Lee, Marr, McCarthy, McCray and Walker all voted yes. The motion carried and the order of abatement was upheld; the board directed that the order be recorded on the properties.

The record shows staff requested the abatement be recorded so prospective buyers or renters would have notice. Boske told the board that the lawsuit filed earlier this year is intended to compel final compliance and that staff have seen a pattern of reoccurring noncompliance that, in their view, makes an additional extension inappropriate.

The board took no further public testimony on the matter, moved to general public comment (none offered), and adjourned. The abatement order will be recorded on the affected properties and staff will monitor compliance during the 30-day period.

Next procedural steps: the order is recorded on the properties and staff indicated the City Attorney's lawsuit remains pending; the case will return to staff monitoring for evidence that permits have been filed and corrective work begun.