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Board upholds Green Street garage sprinkler-monitoring permit amid outstanding spray‑booth enforcement
Summary
The Board upheld a permit to install a sprinkler-monitoring system at 1776 Green Street, finding the permit itself code‑compliant, while DBI testimony and neighborhood evidence showed an unresolved spray‑booth installation and an expired 1994 sprinkler permit that DBI has not finalized; the board voted 5-0 to uphold the permit while code-enforcement actions remain pending.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on May 14 voted 5-0 to uphold a permit for a sprinkler-monitoring system at 1776 Green Street after neighbors raised concerns that the monitoring permit depends on two prerequisite items that lack valid building permits: an unfinaled 1994 sprinkler installation and an automotive paint spray booth that DBI records do not show as permitted.
Ryan Patterson, representing neighbors of the Green Street garage, said the monitoring permit appears to be being used to “entitle” an unpermitted spray booth and that DBI records show an outstanding notice of violation. Former San Francisco Fire Department plan reviewer Mario Ballard and DBI inspector Donald Duffy corroborated gaps in historical permit records: a 1994 sprinkler permit appears in DBI logs but was not finalized and there is no documented building permit for a spray booth.
Owner Larry Nacy and counsel said the sprinkler system has been in place, inspected periodically by the Fire Department and that the owner sought to upgrade monitoring equipment (to a radio-based alarm) after annual inspection requirements raised the issue. DBI staff told the Board they issued notices of violation in January and March 2014 for the spray booth and that code-enforcement and permit-renewal processes are underway. DBI staff also noted the practical fix: renewing or finalizing the expired sprinkler permit and completing any spray‑booth permit process.
Commissioners weighed neighborhood safety and the administrative record; several said the permit under appeal (monitoring upgrade) is a safety enhancement and does not, by itself, authorize use of an unpermitted spray booth. The Board voted 5-0 to uphold the monitoring permit as code compliant; DBI indicated separate enforcement and permitting steps remain pending for the spray booth and for finalizing the older sprinkler work.
