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Board revokes minor encroachment permit for Planned Parenthood trash enclosure after neighbors raise safety and notice concerns
Summary
The Board of Appeals granted the appeal by neighbors and revoked the minor sidewalk encroachment permit for a trash enclosure fronting 1650 Valencia Street, citing department errors in notification, construction beyond permitted dimensions, and neighborhood safety and blight concerns; vote was 5-0.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted 5-0 on Nov. 16 to grant an appeal and revoke a minor sidewalk encroachment permit for a trash enclosure installed at the Planned Parenthood clinic fronting Tiffany Avenue and Valencia Street.
Neighbors David and Frances McKeown told the board the notice for the permit listed the property address but did not indicate the Tiffany Avenue frontage where the structure was placed; they also alleged the contractor began construction without the required 72-hour pre-construction inspection and that the finished enclosure exceeded permit dimensions. “We live on Tiffany Avenue…we would certainly object to that,” David McKeown told the board, saying the enclosure had become a magnet for dumping and illegal activity.
Permit-holder representatives and Planned Parenthood said interior space constraints and prior citations over unsecured bins prompted the need for an enclosure; Planned Parenthood’s public-affairs representative Gabriela Jimenez said the organization had installed lights and cameras and was willing to work with neighbors and Public Works.
Public Works staff described the permit and administrative history: the department approved a conditioned permit after a public hearing and later issued an updated permit number; following neighborhood complaints Public Works suspended construction and imposed conditions including reduced enclosure height, finish matching the building stucco, recommended illumination, and a requirement that Planned Parenthood remove litter within 72 hours. However, the structure built on site did not match the approved materials and dimensions in photographs submitted to the board.
Multiple commissioners expressed alarm at a permanent structure built in the public right-of-way that creates hiding spots and has been associated with vagrancy and dumping. Vice President Frank Fung moved to grant the appeal and revoke the permit on the basis that the department erred in issuing a minor encroachment permit for a permanent structure in the public right-of-way; the motion passed 5-0.
The board ordered revocation of the improperly issued permit and indicated that the constructed enclosure, as-built, would not be allowed to remain in its current form; the department noted a conditioned replacement permit had been prepared but was suspended pending the board’s decision.
