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Board upholds DBI permit for 205 Ninth St fire doors after tenant safety complaints
Summary
The Board of Appeals denied an appeal regarding a DBI permit to replace 33 unit doors with commercial 20‑minute fire‑rated doors at 205 Ninth St, finding the life‑safety permit appropriate despite tenant complaints about notice, dust containment and alleged code issues; vote 4–0.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on April 27 denied an appeal by a tenant at 205 Ninth Street challenging a DBI permit to replace doors in 33 rooms with commercial 20‑minute fire‑rated doors, voting 4–0.
The appellant said workers "were tearing out my door while I was in bed" and alleged improper 24‑hour notice practices, poor containment of dust (including asbestos concerns) and other management problems. Tenant testimony described intermittent alarm issues and asserted the contractor sometimes failed to show up after giving notices.
The permit holder’s representative, Thomas Gagne, said the owner purchased the property in December 2015 amid multiple violations and has worked with DBI to address fire, electrical and housing issues. Gagne said the new doors include peep holes, thresholds and automatic closers and that the work addresses life‑safety deficiencies. DBI inspector Joe Duffy told the board the permit is appropriate for installing fire‑rated doors and that the department had not issued stop‑work orders; DBI confirmed complaints were open in the system pending permit approval and inspections.
Vice President Fung moved to deny the appeal and uphold the permit; Commissioners Lazarus, Honda and Wilson voted aye.
