Board sustains denial of illuminated blade sign at 501 Geary after failed motions to continue

The San Francisco Board of Appeals sustained the Planning Department's disapproval of a building permit to install illuminated channel letters on a projecting blade sign at 501 Geary Street (appeal 16-180). The owner's representative argued the sign should be treated as a re-copy of a long-standing sign and not require full re-review; Planning staff said a permit to alter and Historic Preservation review were required for the conservation district and that the sign had been installed without proper permits.

Appellant representative Steve Allen described historic precedent for a blade sign at the site dating to a 1964 photograph and said ownership had not changed; Planning's Scott Sanchez said the property sits in a Kearny-Market-Mason-Sutter conservation district and the permit-to-alter process had not been completed. Planning staff reported an enforcement case and a notice of violation issued Oct. 26, 2016, and that penalties (noted in the department's brief as about $22,750) had accrued.

Commissioners debated whether to deny on process, continue for full board and preservation staff, or sustain the denial. A motion to deny on process failed and a motion to continue to secure full board and Historic Preservation participation also failed; with no further motions, the department's denial was sustained by default.

Planning staff said the owner may reapply for a conforming sign and complete the permit-to-alter and Historic Preservation process; penalties and enforcement remain a separate matter.