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Board upholds abatement for Montgomery Street rockslide site, orders permit closeout and cost review
Summary
The board upheld a director's order of abatement for 1041 Montgomery after concluding required permits had not been timely finalized; it directed DBI to work with the owner to refile or reissue permits, obtain final inspections, and pursue fair allocation of emergency‑response costs among affected properties.
The Abatement Appeals Board on Nov. 19 voted to uphold a director’s order of abatement tied to a Feb. 27, 2007 rockslide that damaged multiple properties including 1041–1045 Montgomery Street, and directed DBI to secure permit reissuance/closeout and to seek fair allocation of emergency‑response costs.
Senior building inspector Joe Duffy told the board the slide deposited debris downslope and left unstable material on the slope. "The work is finished and the hillside repairs have been completed," Duffy said of the field operations, but he noted DBI records showed a permit for bolting and wire‑mesh at 1041 was approved by plan review yet never issued for that parcel and had been canceled. Staff recommended upholding the order because paperwork required for final sign‑off and formal documentation remained incomplete.
Appellants’ counsel said owner Dennis Chang had acted responsibly, cooperated with neighbors and contractors, and had incurred substantial expense to stabilize the slope; counsel and two geotechnical witnesses described multiple contractors and a complex sequence of permits and agreements among neighbors that complicated permit pickup and final inspections. "Dennis Chang . . . did what he could as fast as he could to get this done," counsel said.
After discussing whether the outstanding permits could be finalized and whether cost allocation among seven affected properties should be recalculated, the board voted to uphold the order of abatement and directed DBI to refile or reissue any canceled permits for 1041, obtain final inspections and special‑inspection reports, and work with the City Attorney’s Office on a proportional approach to recovering emergency and inspection costs for the larger slide response. The board also asked staff to present written findings for later adoption and to report back on permit‑closeout progress.
The motion carried on a roll‑call vote; commissioners said their intent was to secure documentation that work was completed and preserve city authority to recover its costs while leaving civil disputes among neighbors and contractors to be resolved in other forums.
