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Board of Appeals denies jurisdiction request for 157 Randall Street after neighbors allege encroachment
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Nov. 5 denied a late-filed jurisdiction request from neighbors of 157 Randall St., ruling the city did not mislead residents during permitting and that encroachment and minor property-line disputes are primarily civil matters.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Nov. 5 denied a request that it take jurisdiction over a building permit for 157 Randall Street, concluding the city did not err in issuing a site permit and that the neighbors’ concerns are civil property disputes.
John Clifford, who lives at 153 Randall Street, told the board his neighbors’ addition raised an east wall in August 2014 that substantially reduced afternoon light and — according to a recent survey he submitted — encroached on his property by roughly two inches. Clifford said the architect and the plans misrepresented the project’s height, and he urged the board to send the matter back to the Department of Building Inspection for correction.
Permit holder Nadia Ramsaroop told the board she and her husband, Manish Jain, obtained the permit after what she said were multiple conversations with neighbors and staff. She said the Department of Building Inspection inspected the completed exterior work and confirmed it matched the approved plans, and that the neighbor’s late survey reflected a common, small discrepancy that is typically resolved between property owners.
Scott Sanchez of the Planning Department said he had reviewed the site-permit set and saw no error in the neighborhood-notification materials that would have prevented neighbors from filing during the 15‑day appeal period. Senior building inspector Joe Duffy said DBI had inspected the work and that minor encroachments of a fraction of an inch commonly become civil disputes rather than code-enforcement actions; DBI has an active complaint file and will pursue abatement only if a code violation merits it.
Commissioner Frank Fung moved to deny the jurisdiction request, citing a lack of evidence the city caused the requesters to be late in filing. President Anne Lazarus and Commissioner Daryl Honda voted with Fung; the motion passed 3–0. The board recorded that no appeal shall be filed against this permit.
