Neighbors press Planning Commission to enforce code against Academy of Art; university pledges to comply

Neighbors crowded the Planning Commission to press for code enforcement against the Academy of Art University, saying the school acquired and converted multiple properties to student group housing without required permits and that city enforcement had lagged.

At a hearing on the Academy’s institutional master plan and related enforcement actions, Planning Department staff outlined a multi‑year timeline that began in 2003 and intensified in 2006 when notices of violation were issued. Scott Sanchez, Planning Department staff, said the department has identified multiple life‑safety issues — including lack of sprinklers, window failures, and seismic retrofit needs at landmark properties — and that the Academy had filed 14 conditional‑use applications in response. Sanchez told commissioners he supported allowing life‑safety‑related permit reviews to proceed without conferring…