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Board conditions 704 Wisconsin roof-deck permit, restricts lighting to egress levels
Summary
After neighbors challenged a roof-deck permit that replaces a wire railing with tempered glass and adds a small hot tub, the Board of Appeals required a permit revision that limits deck lighting to the minimum code requirement for egress to minimize neighborhood impacts; the board approved the conditioned permit.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals resolved a dispute over a roof-deck permit at 704 Wisconsin Street on March 27, 2019, voting to approve the permit only after conditioning the deck’s lighting to the minimum code requirements necessary for egress.
Neighbors John Stout and his co-appellant argued the change from an open wire railing to a tempered-glass railing plus the installation of a small hot tub would intrude on privacy, increase nighttime lighting and noise, and change neighborhood character. “This permit clearly extends an adverse use into the nighttime hours,” Stout told the board, citing unpermitted lighting and asking for a sound study to assess whether the hot tub would violate the city’s residential noise provisions.
Permit-holder counsel Tom Tunney and owner Mary Randolph Norton said the glass railing and a small, wood-clad, three-foot-tall hot tub were designed to minimize visibility and noise. Tunney showed photos and argued prevailing winds and parapet placement would carry noise away from the appellants’ home and that the glass railing could reduce noise transfer. Norton, who said she uses the tub for rehabilitation following an accident, offered to remove two downlights that neighbors said were installed without a permit.
Planning Department staff and DBI said the project complies with current code and that lighting fixtures are typically handled through electrical permits and DBI oversight. Commissioners debated whether to remove the hot tub or otherwise limit rooftop features to prevent a future ‘party deck’ and focused on a practical condition to minimize neighborhood impacts.
President Frank Fung moved to grant the appeal and issue the permit on the condition that lighting on the deck be restricted to the minimum code requirements for egress; commissioners supported the motion and the board directed that the permit be revised or annotated so DBI would record the lighting condition. The motion carried and the conditioned permit was approved.
The board’s action left other compliance and enforcement matters—such as electrical permitting for any remaining fixtures and future nuisance complaints—to DBI and enforcement agencies.
