Board upholds DBI permit in dispute over 1468 Folsom advertising sign; owner and sign company disagree

The Board considered appeal Ten-0132 brought by CBS Outdoor concerning a 14-by-23-foot general advertising wall sign at 1468 Folsom Street. CBS Outdoor's counsel, Anthony Leonis, said an operations mistake led to the company obtaining a removal permit rather than installing a required placard and asked the Board to invalidate the inspection or the permit so that the parties could restore the sign copy without new structural work.

DBI Deputy Director Lawrence Kornfield and Planning Department staff explained that the permit in question was an alteration/removal permit for the property owner and that Planning Code provisions limit restoration of voluntarily removed general advertising signs. Dan Seider and other planning staff pointed to Proposition G and Planning Code §604(h) as controlling: once a general advertising sign has been removed, it may not be restored except in conformity with the planning code's relocation and legalization procedures.

CBS Outdoor's counsel asserted the alteration did not remove the sign structure and said the company and property owner sought a narrow remedy to return the parties to their prior status. The property owner, Gary Espinosa, was present; CBS said the owner expected the placard to be posted rather than a removal taking place.

Commissioners debated whether the removal was inadvertent or an authorized removal that triggers section 604(h). Commissioner Fung moved to uphold the permit on the basis that it complied with code and that the city did not err in issuing it. The motion passed 3-2, upholding DBI's action to sign off the removal permit.

During the hearing, CBS raised allegations of wrongdoing and possible forgery in a separate sign dispute (later addressed in a separate appeal), which CBS said it takes seriously. Planning staff recommended following the code and Proposition G's constraints rather than granting relief based on a corporate mix-up.