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Board of Appeals revokes permit for shared fire escape at 2507 Pacific Avenue
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Summary
The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted 4–1 on May 31 to grant an appeal and revoke a DBI-issued permit to remove a shared fire escape at 2507 Pacific Avenue, finding the structure is attached to two parcels and a single removal permit was improperly issued.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted 4–1 on May 31 to grant an appeal in the case of Lipsett v. Department of Building Inspection and revoke a permit to remove a fire escape at 2507 Pacific Avenue.
President Rick Swigg moved to grant the appeal on the basis that the fire escape is attached to two separate properties and “requires 2 permits, 1 from each address,” a requirement the board said was not satisfied by the single permit before it. Vice President Jose Lopez, Commissioner Lundberg and Commissioner Epler voted with Swigg; one commissioner voted no. The board’s action rescinds permit number 202303143618 (the permit to “remove existing non complying fire escape”).
Appellant counsel told the board that recent research by the Department of Building Inspection had located permit records dating to 1932 associated with the former single lot that included the properties now at issue; counsel said the historical permits “apply to the properties that issue in this appeal.” Permit-holder counsel disputed that account, saying the documents his team reviewed did not reference 2509 and that “the structure here in question is, encroaching over the property line, illegal and nonconforming.”
Matthew Green, representing the Department of Building Inspection, told the board DBI and the Fire Department continue to believe the permit was issued improperly because the fire escape is attached to both buildings and “it would require building permit from both addresses.” Green said DBI is investigating the matter and has scheduled a site visit.
Commissioners centered their deliberations on whether a single permit that addresses only one parcel can authorize removal of a structure attached to another parcel. Several commissioners said detaching only one side would leave the structure cantilevered over the other property and pose a nuisance or safety risk; the board concluded the permit before it was therefore improperly issued.
The board’s written decision will follow; staff said they will inform parties about next steps and any enforcement or remedial options. The action to revoke the permit was limited to this permit and does not itself adjudicate any separate civil claims between neighbors.
