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Board orders DBI inspection after garage-room conversion raises safety and zoning questions at 926 Garfield
Summary
The board continued the case of a disputed garage conversion at 926 Garfield to Jan. 28, 2015, and directed the Department of Building Inspection to inspect the ground floor for life‑safety and code issues after neighbors and the tenant raised concerns about habitability and potential group‑housing in an RH‑1 zone.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Nov. 5 ordered the Department of Building Inspection to inspect the ground-floor garage conversion at 926 Garfield Street after testimony flagged potential life-safety and zoning issues.
Tenant Lynn Marr said she moved into a garage room under an arrangement that provided a rent reduction; she later found herself litigating eviction and code issues after the owner took out a permit to "restore the garage to original condition." Owner Lily Esteban told the board she applied for a permit after stopping work and intended to either legalize or remove the room; she said the work was paused once DBI issued a notice of violation.
Planning staff said the RH‑1 zoning district does not allow group-housing uses and that if the ground-floor area includes a separate kitchen it could constitute an additional dwelling unit. DBI raised immediate concern that a person was living in an unfinished garage room with no verified egress or ventilation; inspectors recommended a site visit to assess life-safety conditions.
The board directed DBI to inspect the full ground floor, report back on egress, ventilation, and whether the space constitutes a separate dwelling, and continued the hearing to Jan. 28, 2015. The board asked DBI to seek an earlier hearing date if it found hazardous conditions that require sooner action.
