Board denies late-jurisdiction appeal over rooftop work at 66 Page Street

The Board of Appeals on July 29 denied a late-jurisdiction request from a neighbor seeking review of rooftop mechanical work at 66 Page Street, where the French American School is converting a former repair shop into a school facility.

Attorney Clifford Freed, appearing for neighbor David Collins, urged the board to take jurisdiction and allow an appeal, saying the building department did not give the required adjacent-owner notice and that the rooftop platform and equipment would harm tenants’ light, privacy and health. Freed said the neighbor had no meaningful opportunity to appeal because construction was hidden under tarps and plans for the rooftop were never shown during a January site visit.

Pat Buskovich, who identified himself as a technical witness for the requester, told the board the work increased the building height by roughly eight feet and said he believed structural design and seismic standards were not applied correctly; he urged revocation of the permit on safety grounds.

Harry O’Brien, representing the permit holder French American School, said the school had provided a December notice and invited neighbors to review plans. O’Brien told the board the school had invested about $4,500,000 in construction in good-faith reliance on the permit and that the rooftop mechanical platform does not count as an increase in height under the planning code because mechanical equipment and appurtenances are exempt from height calculations.

Scott Sanchez of the Planning Department told the board that the Section 3.12 neighborhood-notification requirement for a change of use (repair garage to school) was not performed in this case and acknowledged that was an error in processing. Sanchez said, however, that the 3.12 notice covers the change of use and that the mechanical equipment itself is exempt from the neighborhood-notification requirement.

Patrick O’Riordan, Senior Building Inspector, reported multiple inspections and said the mechanical platforms were shown on the approved drawings, though some equipment was not detailed. Hansen Tom, the city’s principal engineer, and other staff discussed whether the platform exceeded one-third of the roof area — a threshold that could change whether the work is treated as a floor/height addition.

Several tenants and neighbors testified. Alexandria Perez said the mechanical platform now sits directly outside her bedroom window and raised concerns about potential noise and air quality if equipment is activated. Other neighbors and representatives from nearby institutions offered both support for the school and sympathy for tenants’ disruption.

After extended discussion about whether the building department or the permit holder erred in providing notice, Commissioner Michael Garcia moved that the board not grant jurisdiction of the late appeal. The motion proceeded to a roll call and the board announced the result as 2 to 3; the board noted its rules require four votes to grant jurisdiction, and therefore the board denied the request for jurisdiction. That means the board will not hear a late appeal of the permit at this hearing; any code-compliance or structural issues remain matters for the building department review process or future permits, the board said.

The board did not take additional action on the permit at this meeting.