Board continues Empress of China letter‑of‑determination appeal, asks for permits, leases and a site visit

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on March 11 continued an appeal challenging a zoning administrator’s letter of determination (LOD) about the Empress of China building in Chinatown, setting new deadlines for documentation and ordering a site visit before the continuation.

Appellants, led by Malcolm Young and community organizations, argued the Fifth Floor banquet space at 838 Grant Avenue has been abandoned since the Empress closed in December 2014 and that permits cited in the LOD cover only the Sixth Floor. Young told commissioners that Chinatown’s banquet halls are culturally and economically important and that losing the Fifth Floor as a community‑accessible space would harm long‑standing local institutions. “Banquets are an integral part of the fabric of our community,” Young said.

The property owner’s counsel, John Kevlin, and representatives for the project sponsor said permits and substantial work were initiated within the three‑year abandonment window and that substantial work has been done; they argued the LOD was a correct application of the 1967 ZA interpretation and that revoking it could create legal exposure and complicate re‑use of the site.

Planning staff supported the LOD after reviewing the permit history and prior determinations, saying multiple permits and related filings showed intent and activity to preserve the restaurant use. Staff cautioned that the letter of determination is the proper vehicle for this question and observed that appeals of underlying permits would have been another route.

More than 100 members of the public and community groups—including the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Chinese Culture Center, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and neighborhood associations—addressed the board in favor of using the public process to protect the banquet space for local residents and community groups. Several said a loss of affordable community banquet space would further erode Chinatown’s cultural and social fabric.

After questions about historic permit descriptions, historic use of the Fifth and Sixth Floors, and the practical consequences of overturning the LOD, Commissioner Rick Swig moved to continue the matter to April 1 and requested the following to be submitted in advance: the original permit application, copies of relevant leases, and any documents supporting when work began on the Fifth Floor. The board also asked Planning and DBI to perform a site inspection and provide a written explanation of the factors the Planning Department uses to decide when multiple floors should be treated as a single use. The motion carried and the hearing was continued to April 1, with materials to be filed prior to that date.