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Board leaves Verizon pole permit in place after Presidio Heights appeal fails to obtain majority
Summary
Neighbors seeking to block a Verizon pole on Clay Street presented aesthetics and historic‑context arguments, but the Board of Appeals did not obtain enough votes to reverse Public Works; the permit was upheld by operation of law on June 20, 2018.
Presidio Heights homeowners and the Presidio Heights Association of Neighbors urged the San Francisco Board of Appeals on June 20 to deny a personal wireless service facility permit issued to Verizon Wireless for 3512 Clay Street, arguing the pole‑mounted antenna would significantly degrade public views of a historic block.
Appellants including Scott Weikauf, Merrill Randall and Cornelia Ellwine presented photographic evidence and argued that the neighborhood’s wholly or largely undergrounded utilities and intact historic façades make a pole‑mounted antenna incompatible with Article 25 design and zoning‑protected standards. They proposed alternative pole locations and questioned the planning and public‑works review of visual impacts.
Outside counsel Paul Albrighton and Verizon representatives said the facility is small, conforms to DPW planning review, and that the proposed antenna (described by counsel as roughly 2 feet 7 inches tall and 10 inches in diameter) and associated radios are visually minimal. Public Works told the board it had evaluated the site under Article 25 and determined the location met public‑health and design criteria.
Commissioners split on the competing evidence and legal interpretations. A motion to deny the appellants’ challenges (i.e., to uphold the permit) failed to carry; a later motion to adopt the board’s draft findings and grant the appeals likewise failed to secure the votes needed to reverse DPW’s decision. The transcript records that, because the board did not reach the vote threshold to grant the appeal, the permit remained upheld by operation of law.
What happens next: the permit stands as issued by Public Works; appellants may have exhausted the local appeals pathway described in the Board of Appeals rules and could pursue other administrative or legal options if available.
Sources: San Francisco Board of Appeals hearing transcript, June 20, 2018; testimony from Presidio Heights appellants and Verizon counsel.
