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Board splits on Jack Spade permits; revocation motion fails to reach threshold so permits stand
Summary
A divided Board of Appeals debated whether Jack Spade should be treated as "formula retail" tied to Kate Spade and subject to a conditional‑use hearing. The board voted 3–2 to revoke permits, but under the City Charter four votes are required to overturn departmental action, so the permits remain in effect.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals spent much of its Aug. 21 meeting debating whether Jack Spade, a men’s retail brand affiliated with Kate Spade, should be counted as formula retail under Planning Code Section 703.3 and therefore subjected to a conditional‑use hearing.
Opponents, led by the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association, urged the board to treat Jack Spade and Kate Spade as a single retail enterprise, arguing they share trademarks, common branding cues and corporate control and that public comments and city findings support requiring a public conditional‑use hearing. Jefferson McCarley of the association said the law’s purpose is to protect neighborhood retail character and allow community review when larger corporate entrants plan to open in commercial corridors. “Prop G intended that big enterprises go through a conditional‑use hearing,” he told commissioners.
Jack Spade’s representatives, including Philip Lesser and Melissa Exitis,…
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