Board continues 25 Lusk rooftop appeal to allow neighbors and owner to negotiate sound mitigation

The Board of Appeals continued, without decision, an appeal of the Department of Building Inspection’s alteration permit for rooftop dining at 25 Lusk. Appellant Marcy Ruiz said the proposed rooftop deck would be immediately adjacent to her second-floor windows and generate noise that existing mitigation would not eliminate. She presented photographs and an email she said documented unsuccessful negotiations with the owner.

The permit holder, represented by counsel Tuya Catalano and executive chef/partner Matthew Dolan, described the expansion as a business necessity and said the parcel sits in the SLI (Service Light Industrial) zoning district where restaurant and outdoor activity uses are principally permitted. Planning Department staff said the SLI code does not automatically require the neighborhood notification or conditional-use authorization that would apply in other zoning districts and said the project is generally code compliant. Planning staff suggested that recording a Notice of Special Restrictions with the plans to bind the operation to the approved plans could provide enforcement.

Commissioners and representatives agreed the primary unresolved issues were noise and hours of operation. Several neighbors said the existing rooftop mechanical equipment already produces substantial noise and that the SALTER noise assessment ought to be expanded or implemented more comprehensively.

Vice President Frank Fung moved to continue the matter to allow both sides to negotiate a sound-mitigation plan and potential limits on hours; the Board set the return hearing for August 23, 2017 (with alternative dates discussed). The motion passed with votes in favor from Commissioners Lazarus, Honda and Swig; the matter was continued to allow the parties to attempt agreement before the Board votes.