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Board of Appeals continues Yi elevator variance to Oct. 25 after easement dispute
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Appeals continued an appeal by Edward and Victoria Yi of a denied front‑yard variance for 95 Saint Germain Avenue to Oct. 25, 2017, after planning staff said the revised design addressed scale and ADA access but neighbors raised outstanding private‑easement and privacy concerns. The continuance gives parties time to negotiate and, if they reach agreement, to submit draft findings and accurate plans.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on July 19 continued the appeal by Edward and Victoria Yi of a Planning Department denial of a front‑yard variance to Oct. 25, 2017, allowing the parties more time to resolve a private easement dispute that would affect access to a proposed elevator.
The appeal concerns a proposed modification at 95 Saint Germain Avenue that would increase the height of a garage to about 17 feet, reduce the front setback from 15 feet 6 inches to 10 feet 10 inches and add a small balcony and an interior elevator and car lift as a disability accommodation. Appellant counsel Ryan Patterson said the elevator is necessary to accommodate homeowner Victoria Yee’s long‑term chronic condition and supplied a doctor’s letter and a disabled placard in the board packet.
Planning Department zoning administrator Scott Sanchez told the board that he had denied a larger earlier design in 2015 but that he had reviewed the revised, reduced plans and would have granted the variance based on the current submission. Sanchez said the scaled‑back proposal narrows the project to the elevator and minimal encroachment, and that the application is now before the Board as a de novo hearing.
Neighbors and their counsel, David Silverman, argued the elevator location conflicts with an existing shared easement and that the project would intrude on privacy and light for 99 Saint Germain. Owner Lisa Gauthier said the proposed elevator placement would look into a bedroom and reduce light and air in the home. Silverman said a shared tower and an existing two‑story lift complicate the legal right to build in the proposed location.
Project architect Mike Caravalia described multiple design concessions — reducing west‑facing glazing, lowering the front addition by several inches, and paring the height by about three feet — and explained a small bump‑out was needed to meet rollover clearance for the proposed roll‑through elevator and to preserve access to a mechanical room above the garage.
Senior building inspector Bernie Curran told the board that notices of violation had been issued for the elevator on both properties and that no permit existed for a roof deck shown by neighbors; Curran said a permit had been filed to address the violation. Counsel for the appellants said the applicants intend to abandon the existing easement but acknowledged extinguishing a private easement may require litigation.
Vice President Frank Fung moved to continue the hearing to Oct. 25 to give the parties time to negotiate a private resolution. Fung asked that, if the parties reach an agreement, they submit draft findings and accurate plans reflective of the negotiated changes before the next hearing. The motion carried.
The board did not take a final vote on the variance; the continuance sets Oct. 25, 2017, as the next date to report progress and, if applicable, accept draft findings and revised plans.
Next steps: the parties were directed to attempt negotiation on the easement and, if they reach agreement, to provide the board with the updated plans and draft findings prior to the October 25 hearing.
