Abatement Appeals Board rejects rehearings, upholds abatement orders after contested testimony

The Abatement Appeals Board on Oct. 24 considered multiple appeals and rehearing requests and left earlier abatement orders in place after testimony from owners, staff and neighbors. Two appeals — involving 2750 Market Street and 808 South Van Ness Avenue — were withdrawn after owners pulled permits, and the board accepted those withdrawals. A rehearing request tied to 1743 Twelfth Avenue produced heated debate over whether to grant a continuance to allow counsel to represent the appellant; commissioners denied the continuance by roll call, 5–1. The board then proceeded to consider other rehearing requests.

At the hearing on 130–132 Beulah Street, Senior Housing Inspector Andrew Kars told the board that staff’s records showed the property had been converted without permits, creating two unpermitted units and that no new evidence had been presented since the board’s earlier decision. “What you have here in front of you is PO number 6758… the basement area was converted into two additional units creating a 4‑unit building on 3 floors of occupancy without the benefits of any permits or inspections,” he said.

Owner Catherine Roberts disputed the characterization of the property and presented documents she said showed fire and electrical inspectors found no ongoing life‑safety hazards. “The fire department is not concerned about this at all,” Roberts said, and she argued that some cited items were preexisting nonconforming features and that certain code thresholds had changed since the initial inspection. DBI staff replied that the documents submitted at the hearing had not previously been provided to staff and that even if some items were addressed, the property still lacked required permits for the unpermitted units.

After public comment and staff rebuttal, a commissioner moved to deny the rehearing request and the motion carried unanimously. The board’s action leaves the prior order of abatement intact; staff noted the owner retained the previously allotted time to apply for permits to address life‑safety hazards and to pursue compliance for nonconforming work where feasible.

Votes and procedure: The board approved the meeting minutes at the start of the session, accepted the two withdrawals (2750 Market Street and 808 South Van Ness), denied the continuance request related to the Twelfth Avenue rehearing by a 5–1 vote, and denied the Beulah Street rehearing unanimously. The board adjourned and the item record indicates staff will return affected cases to normal enforcement or director’s hearing processing as appropriate.

Next steps: Where permits have been pulled, staff indicated they will monitor progress; where rehearings were denied, abatement orders remain in force and staff retain authority to pursue abatement and billing under the existing timelines and instructions from the board.