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Board upholds Public Works permit for Filbert Street pedestrian tunnel over neighbors’ objections
Summary
The board denied appeals of a public-works street-space occupancy permit for a pedestrian tunnel over Filbert Street stairs at 115 Telegraph Hill Blvd., saying Public Works had followed required referrals and supervisor conditions; neighbors raised safety, traffic and staging concerns and urged delay, but the board voted 5-0 to uphold the permit.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Aug. 16, 2017, denied appeals challenging a Public Works street-space occupancy permit to place a temporary pedestrian tunnel over the Filbert Street stairs in front of 115 Telegraph Hill Blvd., upholding the Department of Public Works’ decision by a 5-0 vote.
Appellant Susan Brant Holly and neighborhood group Protect Telegraph Hill argued the tunnel and associated construction staging would bring safety risks, traffic congestion and impacts to Garfield School. Holly asked the board to exercise discretion and delay permitting until the project’s full construction logistics and staging were fully coordinated among departments and neighbors.
Permit counsel Dan Fratton and Public Works representative Rahul/Raul Shaw told the board the tunnel was a condition of Board of Supervisors approval (motion M-14-190) and that Public Works had reviewed the street-space application under Public Works Code §7.24, including referrals to structural, access and parks staff. Fratton said the pedestrian enclosure is intended to preserve safe access during construction and that the permit does not itself authorize concrete pumping or other later activity.
Public commenters, including neighborhood residents and Garfield School stakeholders, raised concerns about the tunnel attracting crime, the effect of long construction hours, emergency-vehicle access and truck staging on narrow neighborhood streets. Public Works staff said construction-staging details and truck routing would be addressed in separate permitting and MTA review; Public Works also noted permits are revocable and the city can require changes or revoke a permit if safety or mitigation conditions are not met.
Commissioners agreed the street-space permit was narrowly focused and had been reviewed iteratively with multiple city departments; Commissioner Lazarus moved to deny the appeal and uphold issuance. The motion carried 5-0.
Next steps: the permit stands as issued; additional construction‑staging, traffic-control and concrete‑pumping permits will be reviewed separately by Public Works, MTA and other agencies, with opportunity for further referrals and conditions.
