Board upholds permit at 1360 Dolores Street after neighbor raises retaining‑wall concerns

The Board of Appeals on July 31 rejected an appeal by Gregory Peters, who argued that work at 1360 Dolores Street could damage a shared, 90‑year‑old retaining and foundation wall adjacent to his property.

Peters’ counsel said the record lacked soils reports and other technical data about excavation, compaction and vibration and asked the Board to stay final inspection until the issues were resolved. A consultant for Peters described visible cracking and deterioration in the wall and urged pre‑construction testing and monitoring.

Permit holders’ representatives said the project is a relatively small 186‑square‑foot horizontal addition and involves three hand‑dug piers to support an on‑grade stair; their soils engineer and structural consultant said the work is not expected to surcharge or otherwise harm the neighbor’s wall. They also offered to install baseline monitoring sensors on the neighbor’s property to detect unanticipated movement and address any issues arising during construction.

DBI and Planning staff described the permit type and review history; DBI said standard plan review, required inspections and correction notices were part of the record and that the permit was reviewed under the department’s code and inspection procedures. After hearing testimony and comparing engineering claims, the Board concluded the evidence of an imminent threat was speculative. A motion to deny the appeal and uphold the permit was approved 4–0.

The Board noted the permit holder’s agreement to monitoring; DBI said it would respond to any unsafe conditions during work and issue correction notices or enforcement actions if necessary.