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Board of Appeals grants late jurisdiction after city website failed to show permit issuance
Summary
Facing a late appeal window for curb-cut permit 23IE00435 at 551 Alvarado St., the board found the Department of Public Works— public-facing permit system had not updated, granted late jurisdiction and gave the requester a new deadline to file an appeal.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted unanimously on Aug. 28 to grant a late jurisdiction request from Catherine Woods after finding the city—s permit-status website failed to show that a street-improvement permit for 551 Alvarado Street had been issued.
Woods told the board she repeatedly checked the Department of Public Works— online system and had requested that DPW notify her when the permit issued; she said she learned on Aug. 7 from DPW staff that the permit had been issued on July 17 but the website had not been updated, and that the missed update left her unable to file a timely appeal. "I had no way to appeal a permit before it was issued because I can't — it's not allowed — and I had no means to tell when the permit was granted," Woods said during the hearing.
The permit holder—s counsel, Amy Lee, urged the board to deny the late-jurisdiction request, saying Woods had multiple opportunities and that the department was not required to notify individuals. Lee said Woods—s inquiries were sparse and that allowing the jurisdiction request would create a precedent for delayed follow-up.
DPW plan checker Burhane acknowledged the permit was issued on July 17 and described the department—s normal practice of updating the internal database and relying on the website as a public search tool. "We don't notify anyone when the project is approved. We have so many projects," he told the board, while also conceding he did not know why the public-facing system did not update in this instance.
Several commissioners said the public website is a primary communications tool the public reasonably relies on. Vice President Alexis Levy moved that the board grant the late-jurisdiction request on the basis that the city inadvertently caused Woods to miss the filing deadline because the DPW website had not reflected the approval. The motion passed 5-0. The board gave Woods until the next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to file a formal appeal.
The board—s action was narrowly procedural: granting jurisdiction does not decide the underlying merits of any future appeal. The item was recorded as jurisdiction request number 24-5 and the affected permit was listed as 23IE00435.
