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Neighbors Press Planning to Enforce Haight Street Parking Rules; Board Continues Case to Allow Remediation
Summary
The Board of Appeals continued review of a planning notice of violation at multiple Haight Street properties after a lengthy hearing that balanced residents’ safety concerns against claims of legal nonconforming residential parking. The board directed remediation steps and set a January 10 continuance.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Nov. 20 continued a contested enforcement case involving five residential buildings owned by Corey, Inc. (appeal regarding notice of violation dated 08/31/2006) after hours of testimony from planning staff, the owner’s counsel and more than a dozen residents and community organizations.
Tina Tam, enforcement planner for the Planning Department, said multiple site visits documented code violations including removal of a kitchen in a ground-floor unit, long-term on‑site storage of building materials, and use of the required rear yard for open parking, loading and storage. Tam said planning could not find documentary evidence that the open rear-yard parking was a legal nonconforming use.
Appellant counsel David Silverman argued the properties contain longstanding residential parking that has served tenants since the early 1950s and that historical photographs and tenants’ letters show a continuous nonconforming use; he also provided a parking plan he had prepared for filing. Dozens of neighbors, neighborhood groups and community partners told the board that the rear yard’s open garage door has facilitated drug activity and violent crime and urged code enforcement focused on safety (solid garage door, lighting, and cleanup) while preserving tenant parking where lawful.
Commissioners pressed planning on how to determine legal nonconforming parking, asked DBI whether garage spaces existed and discussed safety interventions with police and planning. The board directed the property owner to remove remaining construction materials, replace missing appliances so units can be rented, install an automatic garage door, and file a parking plan with DBI; it asked Planning to research the nonconforming-use history and to consult on safety measures. The board continued the matter to January 10 by a 5–0 vote to allow remediation and further research.
