Board denies three rehearing requests, including concerns about preservation and animal safety

At its May 17 meeting the San Francisco Board of Appeals denied three rehearing requests brought by appellants who argued new facts or manifest injustice should prompt a rehearing.

Item 4: 1033–1037 Washington Street — Appellant Lydia Wojtak argued newly discovered preservation-related facts, saying the development violated Secretary of the Interior standards and General Plan policies (citing Concept Objective 2 and Policy 4). The project team and Planning Department staff said preservation review found the project complies with Secretary of the Interior standards; commissioners found no new information warranting rehearing and denied the request by a 5–0 vote.

Item 5: 555 Selby Street — Appellant Julian Lagos urged rehearing on grounds that open building conditions endangered a colony of feral cats and that the original hearing had not adequately addressed animal-safety concerns. Permit-holder representative Laura Billings said the cats had been trapped and relocated, the site was fenced and secured and no demolition work had started. The board found the threshold for rehearing unmet and denied the request 5–0.

Item 6: 1049–1051 Market Street — Counsel raised an ethics and procedure claim alleging a Deputy City Attorney both advocated for department respondents and advised the quasi-judicial process in related litigation. Planning and DBI staff defended the practice and said the board relied on its own counsel for legal advice. Commissioners discussed the high threshold for rehearing and denied the request; the record shows the rehearing requests were not sustained.

Outcome: Each rehearing request was denied by the board; votes were recorded in the meeting transcript and the matters were closed or left to the normal operation of law where applicable.