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Planning Commission denies dwelling‑unit merger at 276 Hartford amid dispute over records and alleged illegal conversions
Summary
After extended testimony and record review, the commission denied a proposed unit merger at 276 Hartford (converting a two‑unit building into a single family residence). Commissioners found record ambiguities and concluded the merger could not be approved; the sponsor may return within 12 months with a project that preserves two units.
The Planning Commission on April 16 voted 6‑1 to deny a proposed dwelling‑unit merger and associated expansion at 276 Hartford Street, a Victorian property in the Castro/Upper Market area, after neighbors alleged the owners had previously removed a tenant and merged units without permits.
The project sponsor proposed to legalize a single‑family use, raise the roof, excavate for additional habitable space and construct a three‑story rear addition. Staff recommended denial of the dwelling‑unit merger because historical records overwhelmingly indicate the building was constructed and used as a two‑unit (pair of flats) building, and approving the merger would permanently remove a rent‑controlled unit.
Neighbors and their counsel presented attestations, water‑meter and permit evidence and first‑hand accounts they said showed a second unit existed and had been in use when the sponsors purchased the property. "We were forced to move," said neighbor Leslie Andolin, who said a downstairs tenant left when the property was sold. Attorneys for the neighbors argued that converting the building now would remove an existing rent‑controlled unit and set an undesirable precedent.
The property owners and their counsel, who said they relied on city documents provided during escrow (including an assessor's printout and a 3R report that listed the property as a single‑family dwelling), countered that they purchased in good faith and that errors in historic records and database entries had created confusion. Planning staff and Department of Building Inspection staff reviewed archive permits, Sanborn maps and other records and told the commission the permit record supports classifying the property as two units; staff told commissioners DBI would correct any erroneous 3R entries.
After substantial debate, Commissioners voted to deny the merger; the commission added that the sponsor may return within 12 months with a revised application that preserves two dwelling units. The record will remain under review by DBI and planning for any enforcement or code‑compliance follow‑up.
