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Board upholds permit for 2693 Sixth Street after review of wall‑removal and egress concerns
Summary
The Board denied an appeal challenging an alteration permit for 2693 Sixth Street, concluding Planning’s review found the project did not remove more than 75% of interior walls and that DBI’s egress concerns could be handled at inspection; the motion to deny the appeal passed 3–2.
San Francisco — The Board of Appeals on April 20 denied an appeal challenging an alteration permit for 2693 Sixth Street that would reconfigure interior walls and alter unit layouts.
Planning staff told the Board their cumulative review concluded the project does not remove more than 75 percent of interior walls and is compliant with the planning code; staff estimated the overall building‑level change at roughly the mid‑60 percent range but below the 75 percent threshold that would trigger additional neighborhood notice. Scott Sanchez explained Planning’s determination that Section 311 notification was not required.
DBI raised a separate safety concern about egress: inspectors recommended that a door leading to a secondary escape not be a locking door and that the passage not be turned into a closet, because code does not permit exiting through a closet. DBI’s Joe Duffy said that issue is normally addressed at the inspection stage.
Appellants’ counsel argued the scope of the work and buyouts of long‑term tenants suggested the project was inconsistent with the city’s planning priorities. "It is very simple to change a doorknob," said appellants’ counsel Donald Simon, urging the Board to consider long‑term effects on tenants and secondary egress design.
Commissioner Anne Lazarus moved to deny the appeal and uphold the permit; the motion carried 3–2 (Lazarus, Fung, Swigg yes; Honda, Wilson no). The board noted DBI’s inspection conditions to address egress hardware during final inspection.
