Building Inspection Commission (BIC)

Regular Meeting

Wednesday, October 7, at 1:00 p.m.

Adopted October 21, 1998

War Memorial Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, Room 428

MINUTES

The meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 1:10 p.m. by President Hood.

1.	ROLL CALL - Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified.

COMMISSION MEMBERS/STAFF PRESENT:

Bobbie Sue Hood, President	Alfonso K. Fillon, Commissioner

Sigmund A. Freeman, Commissioner	Roy Guinnane, Commissioner

Sharon Mark, Commissioner

COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT:

Mona Cereghino, Commissioner- excused absence

Armando Vasquez, Vice President - excused absence

COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT:

Maria Banico, Commission Secretary

D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:

Jim Hutchinson, Deputy Director for Permit Services

William Wong, Deputy Director for Inspection Services

Paulette Hooey, Manager, Administrative Services Division

CITY ATTORNEY'S REPRESENTATIVE:

Judy Boyajian, Deputy City Attorney

2.	President's Report.

a.	Discussion and possible action regarding the January 1999 reopening of City Hall where all city boards and commissions will be holding their meetings.

President Hood said that with the reopening of City Hall in January 1999, the venue of all city boards and commissions will relocate. She solicited comments from the Commissioners and department staff on meeting dates and time and requested that interested parties forward their input to Commission Secretary Banico. She said that one of her questions would be if the BIC had a meeting room available for its regular meetings or would the relocation necessitate a change.

3.	Director's Report.

a.	Report and discussion on the Department of Building Inspections fourth quarter report for Fiscal Year (1997-1998).

Deputy Director Hutchinson referred to the department's fourth quarter report that was distributed as part of the meeting packet. He summarized the report for the Director's Office and for the permit services program of the department.

Deputy Director Wong summarized the report for the inspection services program of the department.

President Hood commended department staff for the report and said that the graphics was especially helpful. She requested this kind of graphical report to be prepared for a report on the automated permit tracking system which would be agendized for an upcoming meeting.

4.	Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission's jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.

Ms. Mia Lord, resident and owner of 174 Majestic Avenue, addressed the Commission and said that she had addressed the Commission regarding code violations in her home. Since then, nothing has happened, no one has called her or returned her calls. She said that the state contractor's law is binding on DBI. She then asked why the department granted a permit to an unlicenced contractor. She asked that DBI fix the code violations at her home.

Deputy Director Wong said that this matter had risen up the ranks to his level. He said that he had visited the site and had been working closely with Ms. Lord to solve this case.

President Hood said that Ms. Lord had spoken to the BIC in the past and directed Deputy Director Wong to look into the record and BIC Minutes.

5.	Report, discussion and possible action regarding the Mission Bay project as described below:

a.	Consideration of adoption of environmental findings and a statement of overriding considerations pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in connection with approval and recommendation of the Mission Bay North and Mission Bay South Interagency Cooperation Agreements (proposed Resolution No. BIC-079.98).

b.	Consideration of approval of the Mission Bay North Interagency Cooperation Agreement and recommendation of approval of the Agreement to the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors (proposed Resolution No. BIC-080.98).

c.	Consideration of approval of the Mission Bay South Interagency Cooperation Agreement and recommendation of approval of the Agreement to the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors (proposed Resolution No. BIC-081.98).

Commissioner Fillon recused himself from the deliberations of this item. He said that he was an employee of the Redevelopment Agency and has been advised by the City Attorney's Office that he may have a potential conflict of interest.

Commissioner Mark moved, seconded by Commissioner Guinnane, to excuse Commissioner Fillon from voting on this agenda item.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-088.98]

President Hood said that there has apparently been a lot of work carried out on the Mission Bay project. She commended the Mayor and his staff for their work and vision.

Mr. David Prowler, Mayor's Office, addressed the Commission and described the proposed land uses and timing of development for the Mission Bay project. Mr. Prowler said that there had been a lot of work accomplished to date and the BIC is seeing the end of the planning process. It is anticipated that the first phase of development will break ground by next year. The final entitlements for the project will be before the Board of Supervisors at the next meeting.

Deputy City Attorney Kate Stacey addressed the Commission and described the processes and actions before them.

Commissioner Freeman said that the department was in the process of adopting the 1998 San Francisco Building Code. He wanted to clarify the provisions on what code will apply, the 1997 Uniform Building which has not been adopted or the 1998 San Francisco Code which is yet in process. He wanted to avoid a situation where the designers would have to look at two codes. Currently the resolutions state that whatever is more stringent will apply.

President Hood agreed and said that the language in draft Resolution BIC-080.98 and BIC-
081.98 should be revised. She said that fifth paragraph on page one of both documents should be amended. She said that the use of the words "more stringent" may be construed as allowing the use of either code and will open the door to a debate on which is more stringent.

Deputy City Attorney Stacey said that the reference to the two codes was necessary to make the resolutions consistent with the language in the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR). She inquired if the Commission's concerns would be satisfied if the Inter-Agency Agreement was modified to limit the application of this language to the seismic provisions.

Commissioner Freeman agreed. He said that there should be consultation with DBI so there will be no confusion with regards to the seismic regulations.

Deputy City Attorney said she would revise the language on the Inter-Agency Agreement and will consult with DBI staff on this revision prior to forwarding the agreement to the Board of Supervisors.

Commissioner Freeman said that the Mission Bay project is a good project and will bring benefits to the City. He said that he hoped that during the permit process, DBI's turn around time for other projects is not affected.

President Hood solicited support from the Mayor's Office for budget and additional support, if needed on this project. She said, however, that this project had been anticipated and the department could set up a special team which would process the permits more efficiently. The department needs a long lead time to get new staff and she directed management to start working on this immediately. She said that the staffing issue should be calendared for discussion at a future BIC meeting.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that the department has made very ambitious commitments. He assured the BIC that the positions are in place and that the highest level of service will be maintained for the silent majority.

President Hood recommended another change in the resolutions: to add the word "non-material" before the word "addition" in the last paragraph of page one.

Commissioner Guinnane moved, seconded by Commissioner Mark to adopt Resolution BIC-
079.98 as prepared.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-079.98]

Commissioner Guinnane moved, seconded by Commissioner Mark to adopt Resolution BIC-
080.98 as amended per the discussion and as shown on Attachment A.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-080.98]

Deputy City Attorney Stacey clarified for the record that the BIC had approved the Inter-Agency Agreement on items that are within the BIC's jurisdiction and also was recommending approval of the Agreement by the Board of Supervisors.

Commissioner Guinnane moved, seconded by Commissioner Mark to adopt Resolution BIC-
081.98 as amended per the discussion and as shown on Attachment A.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-081.98]

6.	Report, discussion and possible action regarding the August 1998 billing and expenditures for City Attorney's Office' services to the Building Inspection Commission and the Department of Building Inspection.

Ms. Paulette Hooey, Manager of the Administrative Services Division, said that this month's billing represented the lowest level of expenditures for legal services since 1995. The monthly billing includes a credit of $44,000 from collections made by the City Attorney's Office.

Commissioner Guinnane said that at a recent Litigation Committee Meeting, Deputy City Attorney Kimon Manolius reported that he had received a $100,000 payment. Commissioner Guinnane said this was not included in the billing. He said that he had continuing concerns that the penalties and settlement monies being collected for DBI cases are structured in such a way that a big portion of the payments revert to the general fund.

Ms. Hooey said that the $100,000 may be forthcoming in the next month's billing. She said that the credit on this month's billing is for a property on Jones Street. She had already inquired with the City Attorney's Office on the breakdown of penalties and settlements for the Jones Street case. The information she has, to date, on the latter is that $16,000 has already been collected and some $75,000 is outstanding. The City Attorney's Office is in the process of calculating what goes into the general fund and what goes back to DBI. She said that she was informed that there was an $80,000 lump sum penalty.

Commissioner Guinnane asked who would decide on the break down of the penalties.

Ms. Hooey said that she will prepare a report for the BIC. She understood that if the penalties were for the Business and Professions Code, the penalties would go to the general fund.

Commission Secretary Banico said that there may be some confusion on the cases. The $100,000 payment reported at the Committee Meeting was for a property on Bush Street. Ms. Hooey seems to be referring to a different case on Jones Street.

Commissioner Guinnane said that this question has been going on for a long time. Settlement agreements should be structured in a way so that DBI gets most of the penalties or settlement funds.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian said that she will report back to the BIC on the breakdown.

President Hood directed that this matter be agendized for the next meeting.

Ms. Hooey introduced Ms. Ella McCoy-Rauls who has been working with the City Attorney's Office and will be following up on the unidentified charges.

President Hood thanked Ms. McCoy-Rauls for her efforts on the monthly billings.

Commissioner Guinnane asked for information on the billing entry for the Housing Inspection Services Division which showed a credit of $32, 050.33.

Ms. Hooey said that this included a credit for attorney's fees on 1080 Bush Street for $36,600.

Commissioner Guinnane said that the last HIS quarterly report stated a collection of $169,000 in assessments. He asked where this was in the monthly billing.

Ms. Hooey said that the report before the BIC was only on City Attorney's Office' billing. The assessments collected by HIS are not reflected in this report. She said that she would report back on this matter.

7.	Report, discussion and possible action to reconstitute the Code Review Committee of the Building Inspection Commission to review the proposed 1999 San Francisco Building Code and other related matters.

Commission Secretary Banico said that this item was continued from the previous meeting. Commissioner Freeman and Commissioner Fillon, who were both absent, were suggested for membership to the Code Review Committee. President Hood postponed action to this meeting to allow Commissioner Freeman and Commissioner Fillon to signify for themselves if they would be interested in making up this committee.

Commissioners Fillon and Freeman said that they would be willing to be members of the Code Review Committee.

8.	Discussion and possible action to approve revisions to the BIC Procedure 4 (Administrative Bulletins and Code Rulings Preparation and Flowchart Process) in the Commission's Rules, Regulations, Policies and Procedures (RRPP) adopted on November 17, 1995. At the September 16, 1998 BIC Regular Meeting, the BIC provided clarifications on the adopted process and directed the Commission Secretary to revise the procedure language.

Commission Secretary Banico referred to two flowcharts (Attachments B and C) prepared which were part of the meeting packet. She said that the flowcharts illustrated the BIC direction at the next meeting. She had forwarded the flowcharts to Deputy Director Wong for comment prior to the meeting. One suggestion was to include a cross reference to the departmental documents on the same subject. Another concern raised by Deputy Director Wong is that the department documents (e.g., Administrative Bulletins on how to prepare Administrative Bulletins, Code Rulings and Office Policies and Procedures) needs to be updated to be consistent with this proposed flowchart. Ms. Banico suggested that the BIC act on this flowchart so that it could then be used as the basis for preparing the departmental documents.

Deputy Director Wong recommended that the BIC postpone action on the flowcharts until the Technical Services Division and Director Chiu (who was on a trip to China with the Mayor) have had a chance to review the drafts. This document will change the administrative processes.

Deputy Director Hutchinson agreed with Deputy Director Wong and said that the flowcharts needed public input. He said the BIC could certainly adopt the draft as proposed at this meeting but recommended that the Commission postpone any action until the proposal has been reviewed by the Technical Services Division and the public advisory committees.

Commission Secretary Banico said that the flowcharts embody a BIC procedure. She said that a precedent may be set by referring the procedure to subordinate bodies, DBI staff and public advisory committees. If the BIC decides to refer this matter to staff and advisory bodies, she requested that the BIC address this issue for clarification purposes, because an expectation may be created that all BIC procedures are subject to referral.

Deputy Director Wong said that the flowcharts also needed additional text for clarity. He said that the drafts should also be reviewed by the public advisory committees before BIC action.

President Hood said that the process is already in place. The flowcharts were meant as a clarification of a BIC policy that was adopted in 1995.

Deputy Director Wong said that the process has changed and will result in more time for the preparation of administrative bulletins, code rulings, and office policies and procedures.

President Hood said that 90% of proposals will follow the "once" path.

Commissioner Mark said that the timberline will be about the same.

Deputy Director Wong said that the need for the BIC to make a decision on whether to review a proposal once or twice will require more time.

President Hood said that this part of the process adds only two to three weeks at the most.

Deputy Director Wong said that the flowchart should contain information on the administrative process such as the 14 days to prepare the first draft.

President Hood said that the flowchart is a BIC procedure. It does not need to contain that level of detail on the administrative procedures.

Commission Mark moved, seconded by Commissioner Guinnane, to adopt the flowcharts (Attachment B and C) as clarification of Procedure 6 of the BIC Rules, Regulations, Policies and Procedures with the changes that cross references to administrative documents be added.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-089.98]

9.	Commissioner Inquiries and Review of Communication Items: At this time, the Commission may make inquiries to staff regarding the status of various documents, policies, practices and procedures which are of interest to the Commission and may discuss communication items received since the last Commission meeting.

Commissioner Guinnane said that the BIC received a letter from Randy George and requested for clarification.

Deputy Director Wong said that he did not have the details at hand. From his recollection, Mr. George, property owner of 359-61 Lombard Street was required to remove a hot tub that was installed on the roof of said premises. There was an order of abatement issued by the Abatement Appeals Board. Deputy Director Wong said he would reply to Mr. George's letter.

Commissioner Guinnane asked for a report on this matter at the next meeting.

10.	Approval of the Minutes of the BIC Regular Meeting of September 2, 1998.

Commissioner Guinnane moved, seconded by Commissioner Mark, to approve the Minutes of the BIC Regular Meeting of September 2, 1998 as prepared.

The motioned passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-090.98].

11.	Approval of the Minutes of the BIC Regular Meeting of September 16, 1998.

Commissioner Mark moved, seconded by Commissioner Guinnane, to approve the Minutes of the BIC Regular Meeting of September 16, 1998 as prepared.

The motioned passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-091.98].

12.	Discussion and possible action with respect to those items that could be placed on the agenda of October 21, 1998 BIC Regular Meeting and other future meetings.

Commissioner Guinnane requested a report on the status of the MIS programs and staff, particularly the permit tracking system. He said that the report should include details on all monies paid out to private consultants. He asked for the names of the companies employed as MIS consultants.

Deputy Director Hutchinson asked what period of time the report should cover.

President Hood said that the last three years should be included in the report.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that the department worked with a consultant whose contract was established when DBI was still part of the Department of Public Works.

Commissioner Guinnane said that he is interested in finding out the amounts paid out to different firms, the hourly rates, and their products.

President Hood said that she would also like to include the internal organization and identification of the people in charge.

President Hood said that the joint meeting (BIC & CPC) report should be agendized for the first meeting in November.

Commissioner Freeman said that the Unlawful Demolition Task Force has continued to meet. However, progress is being stalled by the lack of City Planning staff involvement.

President Hood suggested that Commissioner Freeman solicit the involvement of one of the City Planning Commissioners.

Ms. Banico announced that she would be on vacation and would not be attending the next meeting.

13.	Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission's jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.

There was no testimony given at this point in the proceedings.

14.	Adjournment.

There being no other business, and on a motion made by Commissioner Guinnane, seconded by Commissioner Freeman, the meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-092.98]

_________________________________

MARIA G. T. BANICO

Commission Secretary

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