Board grants tenants jurisdiction to appeal Golden Gate Ave. permit after notice dispute

On Aug. 21 the San Francisco Board of Appeals granted a jurisdiction request from tenants of 1980 Golden Gate Avenue who said they had not received statutorily required notice for a building‑permit application (201210292977) that was filed in October 2012 and issued April 18, 2013. The Board found that the permit’s scope likely triggered building‑code notice provisions requiring posting and tenant notification and therefore allowed the tenants a fresh appeal period of five days to file.

Requesters argued that no posting, letter or phone call had been made to occupied tenants, and they cited building‑code notification provisions (cited in the hearing as the substantial‑alteration notice provisions of the administrative/building code). Tenant speaker John Tynan described discovering permit activity online only after reviewing related complaints and said the work proposed could meaningfully affect occupants. Counsel for the permit holder said the work was repair and not a substantial alteration and that a later revision permit had been posted and noticed; DBI staff said the initial review had not classified the work as a substantial alteration but that an over‑the‑counter permit was later revised and that an affidavit showed lobby posting on 06/24/2013.

After deliberation the Board found notice had not been provided where it should have been given the scope and likely structural implications and voted unanimously to grant jurisdiction so the tenants could file an appeal; the Board recorded the five‑day filing window running to the following Monday.