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Board Deadlocks on Procedural Challenge to 3828 Cesar Chavez Permit; Permit Stands by Default
Summary
The board split 2-2 on whether to deny a permit that Planning said was issued without required block‑book notice; because three votes are required to overturn a department action with a vacancy, the permit remained upheld by default.
A procedural dispute over whether a permit had been issued without required neighborhood notification left the San Francisco Board of Appeals deadlocked on Jan. 28, and by board rule the departmental determination remained in effect.
Appellant Pamela Miller urged the board to deny a permit issued for work at 3828 Cesar Chavez on the ground the Planning Department’s block-book notification (BBN) was not performed; Miller’s counsel said the Planning Commission later voted on discretionary review and recommended the permit be denied. Planning staff acknowledged the issuance without required notification and said the permit was improperly issued.
Permit-holder counsel countered with legal arguments about private‑property rights and cited federal litigation that the attorney warned could raise government‑taking concerns under precedent. The permit holder argued the permit was lawfully processed given intake procedures and that withholding a permit to protect a tenant or forward a political agenda could cause a taking.
Commissioners debated legal precedent, process, and the remedies available. A motion to deny the permit on procedural grounds did not receive the three votes required (the board has one vacancy and requires three members to overturn a department action). The vote was 2-2, so the board’s failure to reach the required supermajority left the underlying departmental permit in place by default.
Planning said it may discuss administrative revocation options with the City Attorney, including a zoning-administrator revocation that could be appealed back to the board; that path was noted but not pursued at the meeting.
