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Board pauses window-permit approvals at 446/448 Vallejo, orders revised plans after Notice of Violation
Summary
Neighbors who filed a Notice of Violation over six property-line windows won a continuance: the Board of Appeals gave the permit holder until July 18 to submit revised architectural and structural plans meeting AB009 and DBI requirements so that DBI can review and the board can consider a conditioned resolution.
The Board of Appeals on June 6 continued two appeals challenging building permits issued to legalize property-line windows at 446 and 448 Vallejo Street and ordered the permit holder to submit revised plans addressing structural and fire-safety requirements.
Neighbors Leonardo and Veronica Branco (owners at 440–442 Vallejo) told the board six openings on the property line were installed without permits and later enlarged; they said the work lacked required sprinklers, structural calculations and neighborhood notification and left neighbors exposed to privacy intrusions. Veronica Branco said the windows are “obnoxiously large” and asked the board to require the owner to correct the condition.
DBI Senior Inspector Joe Duffy confirmed the department issued Notice of Violation 201842581 after a complaint and that the property has multiple unpermitted openings: two on the front building and four on the rear building. Duffy said DBI accepted incomplete permit applications that referenced only part of the openings and that structural header details and sprinkler requirements were missing from the plan sets that were issued; DBI revoked two permits on June 4 after the appeals were filed.
Architect Patrick Perez and the permit holder said they would file corrected permits and add sprinkler heads and structural calculations; tenants said they value their home and asked the board to limit any further intrusive changes beyond fire-safety compliance. DBI staff and planning staff reviewed historical aerials and said some property-line openings predate the most recent owner, but DBI emphasized that any unpermitted work must be legalized with complete plans.
The board continued both appeals to July 18 and directed the permit holder to submit revised architectural and structural plans that meet AB009 and DBI plan-check requirements so DBI can review the package in advance of further board action.
Next step: the permit holder must submit complete plans (structural and architectural) and the department will review whether the proposed windows comply with AB009 (fire-resistance and other conditions) and size/percentage limits; the board will reconvene the appeals on July 18.
