Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Brotherhood Way 800 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board upholds zoning administrator’s finding that 800 Brotherhood Way project has not lapsed
Summary
The Board of Appeals denied an appeal alleging the 2005 conditional use authorization for 800 Brotherhood Way had lapsed, finding the zoning administrator did not abuse discretion and that project sponsors had shown continuing, good-faith efforts to advance the project.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Jan. 9, 2013 denied an appeal that sought to declare void a 2005 conditional use authorization for a planned residential development at 800 Brotherhood Way. Appellants argued a three-year lapse of activity and that a 2008 zoning-administrator interpretation improperly modified conditions (pedestrian-path requirements).
Project counsel and Planning Department staff provided a chronology of post-2005 activity that included tree-removal permits, a vesting tentative map, agreements with agencies (PUC, MTA), an arts-commission agreement to protect a Bufano sculpture and recent grading and building permit filings. Planning’s Scott Sanchez told the board the planning department has repeatedly found the use had not lapsed and that the department treats the “lapse of use” determination as within the zoning administrator’s interpretive authority.
Speakers for the appellants asked the board to require the project to return to the Planning Commission if conditions had been modified without proper procedure; counsel for the permit holder urged the board to limit its review to whether the 2012 letter-of-determination (LOD) was an abuse of discretion. After hearing public comment on traffic, environmental review and pedestrian access, the board concluded there was no abuse of discretion by the zoning administrator and voted 4–0 to uphold the LOD. The board noted issues about notice and potential future legislative fixes but found substantial administrative activity and filings supported continuity of the project.
The decision preserves the Planning Department’s determination that the project authorization remains valid and allows the sponsor to continue seeking building permits and related approvals. DBI and Planning will continue reviewing the building-permit submissions to ensure compliance with the Planning Commission’s conditions and any applicable environmental review.
