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Board upholds Stanyan Street decks permit; orders lattice/trellis mitigation and DBI monitoring
Summary
After neighbors showed simulations of lost sky views and privacy impacts, the Board of Appeals upheld permits for two stacked decks at 520–530 Stanyan Street but required the permit holder to install lattice/trellis mitigation (height to be negotiated) and for DBI to monitor construction and lead-abatement.
The Board of Appeals on April 16 upheld permits authorizing two-level decks at 520–530 Stanyan Street but attached mitigation and monitoring conditions after neighbors presented simulations showing significant visual impact.
Neighbor Richard Stone and Jocelyn Herrick-Stone argued the proposed lower deck — about 280 square feet and raised roughly 9 feet above grade — would overshadow their kitchen and bedroom windows and block views of the sky from the first floor. The neighbors presented three-dimensional simulations and asked the board to reduce the lower deck’s depth to match the upper deck.
Permit-holder attorney Garrett Sanderson and owner Milton Panagatakis said the deck design was reviewed by the Planning Commission, which requested an additional setback that produced roughly 12 feet of separation on record. Sanderson argued the decks allow sunlight to reach the lower unit and that trellis/lattice and landscaping were offered as mitigation and remain options to preserve privacy.
Commissioners debated massing, sunlight angles and the practicality of lattice mitigation. The board voted to uphold the permit while adding a condition asking the parties to install a lattice/trellis along the shared property line (height between typical rail requirements and up to 6 feet, to be negotiated) and directed DBI to monitor lead-abatement and construction activity. Commissioners recorded the motion as adopted.
