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Board conditions 1973 Broadway permit but upholds permit suspension amid neighbor damage dispute
Summary
The Board of Appeals approved a revision to the alteration permit for 1973 Broadway with conditions — monitoring, engineer/survey reporting, a liaison to the HOA, pre‑start DBI inspection and a requirement that a new contractor be on the permit — but denied the request to release the prior suspension, leaving those suspension restrictions in place while conditions are met.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals split its rulings on two related matters concerning 1973 Broadway on Feb. 5: the board granted a revision to an alteration permit with a package of conditions intended to protect neighboring properties, but denied the appellants’ request to release the prior suspension on related permits.
Appellants, represented by attorney Sarah Hoffman and homeowner Lynn Fisher, argued that repeated unpermitted demolition and excavation at 1973 Broadway produced significant damage to the adjacent 1967 Broadway foundation and interior walls and that planning and building staff improperly ‘legalized’ additional demolition via serial permitting. Experts for the appellants urged recalculation of demolition thresholds and said the work may be at or over the planning‑code demolition threshold.
The permit holders (the Porters), represented by counsel Dennis Shaner, acknowledged contractor mistakes and excess work by their prior contractor but said they had stabilized the site, that planning and DBI had reviewed revised plans, and that the current calculations did not reach demolition under the planning code. The Porters said they were seeking to complete the project they had originally permitted and were negotiating with a new contractor.
Planning staff said they had performed extensive review of revised demolition calculations and site visits and concluded the work, as documented, did not meet the section 3.17 demolition definition; DBI staff described added pre‑start and monitoring procedures the building department now requires for sensitive projects and recommended on‑going monitoring and special inspections.
After discussion the board adopted a set of conditions that the record lists on the hearing transcript: ongoing monitoring reports (monthly during structural and framing work, then semiannual and a final 12‑month post‑occupancy report) to DBI and to the homeowners association, periodic engineering reports during structural work, a pre‑start DBI inspection and special inspections tied to structural work, a requirement that any additional demolition first obtain a revision permit, a requirement that a new contractor be named on the permit (no work may resume until a contractor has been documented on the permit), and a requirement that the permit holder provide a liaison with contact information to the HOA.
The board then voted to deny the separate appeal to release the suspension of the prior permits and upheld the zoning administrator’s suspension determination, effectively keeping the suspension in place while the conditions and further administrative steps are completed. Commissioners emphasized that the courts remain the venue for monetary damages and that the conditions are intended to reduce the risk of further damage if work resumes under a new contractor and proper oversight.
The Board recorded motions on both items and the procedural conditions will be enforced by DBI and planning as permit processing continues.
