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Board continues York Street penalty appeal after split vote over nine-times fine
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Appeals heard an appeal by Franz von Ueckermann over a penalty tied to unpermitted window and stucco work at 1354 York Street. The board voted 3–1 to reduce the formula-based nine-times penalty to five-times but moved to continue the case so a fourth commissioner can vote; continuation set for Aug. 17.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on June 29 heard an appeal by Franz von Ueckermann challenging a nine-times penalty assessed by the Department of Building Inspection for construction work done without a permit at 1354 York Street.
Appellant representative Bob Nelke said the windows in question and minor stucco repairs predated his client’s 1979 purchase and that the owner, elderly and on a fixed income, did not perform the window work. Nelke told the board that the $1,000 valuation on the permit application overstated the cost of work and urged removal or substantial reduction of the penalty.
Department of Building Inspection Senior Building Inspector Joe Duffy said the department issued an initial notice of violation in February 2007 and did not receive a permit until 2011, that DBI logged multiple enforcement steps and administrative work, and that the nine-times multiplier is applied under the building code formula to the inspector’s estimated value of the work.
After discussion about whether evidence such as invoices had been presented to contest the department’s cost estimate, Commissioner Frank Fung moved to overrule the department and reduce the penalty to five times the permit valuation, citing that the work was fairly minor but that DBI expended administrative resources. The motion passed on a 3–1 roll call (Vice President Michael Garcia and Commissioners Fung and Tanya Peterson voting Aye; Commissioner Chris Huang No). The board noted, however, that the city charter requires four votes to overturn or modify a departmental action when the full board is seated and President Kendall Goh was absent.
The appellant asked for continuation to allow the missing commissioner to participate. The board agreed to continue the public hearing to Aug. 17 and the continuation was approved 4–0. No final adjustment to the penalty will take effect until the continued hearing is held.
