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Board continues AT&T cabinet appeal at 203 Quintara to Aug. 27 as DPW reviews new ordinance guidance
Summary
The Board of Appeals continued Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood Association's appeal of an AT&T excavation permit at 203 Quintara Street to Aug. 27, 2014 to allow the Department of Public Works time to apply guidance under a newly effective ordinance and finalize its analysis of an alternate site at 2096 Twelfth Avenue.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on July 2 continued an appeal of an AT&T excavation permit for a telephone cabinet at 203 Quintara Street to Aug. 27 to give the Department of Public Works time to apply guidance under a newly effective ordinance and complete its analysis of an alternate location at 2096 Twelfth Avenue.
John Gus and Teddy Vrejas, representing AT&T, presented exhibits and photographs showing prior erosion and a March 2013 preconstruction note and a DPW notice that the adjacent slope had deposited dirt and rocks onto the sidewalk, arguing the Twelfth Avenue location was unsafe for installation. The company told the board it had permitted work at the Quintara site and that DPW inspectors had expressed concerns about ongoing hillside erosion at the alternate site.
The appellant’s agent (identified in the hearing record as Bridal Moreno) said AT&T’s exhibits did not include engineer opinions that the Twelfth Avenue hill was unsafe for equipment placement and argued the landslide cited by AT&T occurred in 2011 at a location more than 75 feet from the proposed Twelfth Avenue box. Neighbors urged the board to locate equipment where the community previously supported a site.
Carla Short of DPW clarified that sidewalk inspectors did not render a definitive determination that the alternate site was unsafe for AT&T equipment, that the DPW notice to repair debris had been issued to the adjacent property owner, and that records were inconsistent about whether that segment is a city‑maintained street or a ‘paper street.’ Short said DPW’s geotechnical staff was reviewing the slope and that the department planned to issue implementing guidance under the new ordinance within 60 days of the ordinance’s effective date.
Vice President Arceli Hurtado moved to continue the appeal to the board’s Aug. 27 meeting to allow DPW to present whether the permit, as submitted, meets the criteria in the new ordinance; the motion passed 3–0 with President Lazarus recused and Commissioner Chris Huang absent. The board asked DPW to provide a verbal update at the continued hearing describing how the permit would be evaluated under the new rules.
