Board Upholds Partial Suspension for 943 Church Street After Split Vote

The San Francisco City Board of Appeals on Wednesday declined to overturn a partial suspension of a permit for work at 943 Church Street, leaving the Department of Building Inspection's action in place after a split and contentious hearing. The dispute centers on a rooftop stair penthouse and whether the built structure conforms to plans approved by the planning department.

Todd Mavis, identified himself as one of the owners of 943 Church Street, told the board the project team had relied on guidance from the district building inspector while building and later filed as-built drawings to resolve discrepancies. "We did not increase the length of the stairs from 8 feet to 17 feet. That is not at all what happened," Mavis said, asking the board to accept as-built drawings and lift the notice of violation.

Planning and building staff disagreed. Ed Sweeney of the Department of Building Inspection said on a site visit he documented differences between the structural and architectural drawings and concluded some field changes required a formal revision and an as-built permit. Tina Tam of the Planning Department presented drawings showing the stair enclosure growing from an approved 8 feet 5 inches to a built condition of about 17 feet 2 inches in length and 6 feet 6 inches in height, and warned the pending as-built permit could be subject to neighborhood review.

Neighborhood residents and homeowners said the larger penthouse and associated roof work reduced light and air for adjacent properties and raised safety concerns. "The approved plans had a 3-foot side setback. The appellants have clearly exceeded that," said neighbor Alec Bash, citing impacts on 21 south-facing windows of an adjacent building.

Commissioners debated legal and practical issues, including whether the changes were de minimis, the appropriate remedy (revise as-builts or require new permits), and how strictly to second-guess staff interpretations. Vice President Michael Garcia moved to overrule the zoning administrator's direction with conditions intended to accept as-built plans while requiring DBI to verify minimum code-compliant headroom; that motion failed to secure the four votes needed to overturn the department. The result preserves the partial suspension and keeps the 3.11 neighborhood-notice process available to Planning if the city elects to pursue it.

The board encouraged the parties to document mitigation and to use the project's complaint phone line and on-site inspections to monitor compliance. The hearing record includes DBI and Planning reports, as-built filings and multiple neighbor letters. The item was followed by a short recess; the board set no new hearing date on the suspension itself.