Building Inspection Commission (BIC)

Regular Meeting of November 5, 1997

Adopted November 19, 1997

War Memorial Building

401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 428

MINUTES

The meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 1:12 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	Sigmund A. Freeman, Commissioner

Roy Guinnane, Commissioner	George Tsang, Commissioner

Armando Vasquez, Commissioner	Maria Banico, Commission Secretary

COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT:

Eileen Hansen, Commissioner

D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:

Frank Chiu, Director

James Hutchinson, Deputy Director for Permit Services

William Wong, Deputy Director for Inspection Services

Carla Johnson, Assistant to the Director

Lesley Stansfield, Chief Housing Inspector

CITY ATTORNEY'S REPRESENTATIVE:

Ilene Dick, Deputy City Attorney

Judith Boyajian, Deputy City Attorney

2.	President's Report.

President Hood said that she has no items to report under President's Report.

3.	Director's Report.

a.	Presentation and discussion on the proposed floor plans for the first floor remodeling in preparation for the One-Stop Permit Coordination Program.

Director Chiu presented the proposed lay out of the first floor of 1660 Mission Street to the Commission. He said that currently customers who need to pick up permits have to stand in the same line as customers who need to pay or file for permits. This arrangement creates long lines. He said that the new floor plans will have separate lines for permit pick-up and over-the-counter permits such as roofing or other permits which do not require too much time to process. Mr. Chiu said that a rear entrance on Otis Street will be added. The public information area will also be relocated nearer to the main entrance. The counters for the Planning Department will be near the rear entrance. Some DBI staff will move to other floors to have more waiting area space with seats and computer terminals for public use.

Director Chiu said that this remodeling is being timed with the start of the One Stop Permit Coordination Program. The main goal is to minimize the need for customers to move around from one counter to another. Instead, customers will be given a number by the Reception/Permit Coordinator Clerk and assigned to a counter where staff from various divisions will come and attend to their needs. He thanked Deputy Director Wong for accepting the responsibility to coordinate the remodeling work and the implementation of the One Stop Permit Coordination Program until a manager is hired.

Commissioner Vasquez asked if the construction will begin in November or December and if the funds are available.

Director Chiu said that the money have been set aside from funds allocated for moving some divisions to 1650 Mission Street. He said that he did not anticipate any need for a supplemental budget request for this remodeling. Mr. Chiu added that he is also moving the Commercial Plan Check counter from the second floor to the first floor.

President Hood added that there will also be customer service staff who will walk around to guide/direct customers to the right counter.

Director Chiu said that at least two staff members will be walking around to help customers.

Commissioner Tsang said that he liked the signs above each counter. He thanked the department for installing the generator. He said that during the black-out last week, DBI was the only building in the block that had electricity.

Ms. Patricia Vaughey said that the current Customer Services staff needs more training on community relations to serve the public better.

Ms. Roberta Caravelli, Citizen Review, said that David Bernard of Customer Services is very helpful. She said that the computer is always down. Besides having a faster permit approval process, the department should pay more attention to quality control to avoid the issuance of illegal permits.

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

Ms. Patricia Vaughey addressed the Commission regarding a property at 500 Divisadero Street. She requested that the Commission keep the investigation open on the permit application for this property. She said she suspected that there was tampering with the computer entries. She said that she does not want the same incident to happen again in the future and hopes that the new computer system will function better than the current one.

Mr. Richard Millet, Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association, said that the Association has asked the Planning Department to require architects to put dimension on plans for any remodeling or alteration work and was told that Planning staff relies on the scale of the drawings. He said that information such as the height, rear yard, adjacent building set back, etc. is important to the neighborhoods and should be identified on the plans.

Mr. Bruce Schneider, homeowner 310 Missouri Street, said that he contacted the department about a possible violation in his neighborhood and was told the inspector was on vacation. The second time, about six months ago, he was told that the department would assign an inspector. He has not heard anything since then. He said that the problem is exhaust smoke generated from a restaurant behind his house. He contacted the restaurant owner and got a cold shoulder. He then contacted the Department of Public Health which referred him to the EPA. An inspector from the EPA observed the restaurant and wrote a report that this is not an EPA issue and ruled it as "public nuisance."

President Hood referred this matter to the department and asked Mr. Schneider to give the necessary information to Director Chiu.

Ms. Roberta Caravelli, Citizen Review, referred to item #5 on the Agenda and said that the Commission should hold the public hearing only when the environmental report is completed.

5.	Report, discussion and possible action regarding the following:

File 115-97-13.1: [Safe and Affordable Housing Preservation] Ordinance to establish a 36-
month amnesty period during which an additional dwelling unit constructed without a permit prior to January 1, 1997 in a single-family structure in an RH-1 or RH-2 Zoning District can be legalized and amending:

-	Section 353 of the San Francisco Housing Code to require inspection of a single-family structure in the RH-1 and RH-2 Zoning Districts prior to transfer of title;

-	Section 503(a) of the San Francisco Housing Code to allow lower ceiling heights in legalized units;

-	Section 101.3 of the San Francisco Building Code to allow some exemptions from local code requirements for legalized dwelling units;

-	Section 107.5 of the San Francisco Building Code to exempt owners participating in the amnesty program from paying penalty fees; and

-	Section 310.6.1. of the San Francisco Building Code to allow lower ceiling heights in legalized dwelling units.

File 115-97-14.1: [Illegal Unit Amnesty] Ordinance to establish a 24-month amnesty period during which one existing dwelling unit constructed prior to January 1, 1992 without a permit and exceeding the number of dwelling units documented as of January 1, 1992 may be legalized in any RH-1, RH-2, RH-3, RM, RC, NC, C, or Mixed Used Zoning District and amending:

-	Section 351 of the San Francisco Housing Code to require a legalized unit to be identified on the building's 3R report with notice of the rent control restriction;

-	Section 503(a) of the San Francisco Housing Code to allow lower ceiling heights in legalized units;

-	Section 101.3 of the San Francisco Building Code to allow some exemptions from local code requirements for legalized dwelling units;

-	Section 104.2.5 of the San Francisco Building Code to require the owner to pay the City's costs in detecting and abating violations if a density violation is discovered after the expiration of the amnesty period;

-	Section 107.5 of the San Francisco Building Code to exempt owners participating in the amnesty program from paying penalty fees; and

-	Section 310.6.1. of the San Francisco Building Code to allow lower ceiling heights in legalized dwelling units.

a.	Comparison of the provisions of both proposed ordinances and description of the process for adoption.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian referred to her report comparing the two proposed ordinances and the table prepared by DBI. She said that the table covers all points related to DBI. She added that Supervisor Teng's proposed ordinance also covers illegal alteration work. The funds collected will be used to enhance neighborhood parking and open space. Both programs exempt owners from paying penalties The Planning Code will be amended to allow the legalized unit to be exempt from parking and open space requirements. The major distinction between the two legislations is that Supervisor Teng's proposed ordinance exempts the parking requirement only for units that are 600 square feet or less. Supervisor Ammiano's proposed ordinance subjects the legalized units to rent control, prohibits from converting them to condominiums, and prohibits the owners from passing through the cost of legalization to the tenants.

Ms. Boyajian said that the BIC can not take any action until the environmental review is completed. She said that the Planning Department is preparing a negative declaration covering both legislation. The process will take about six months to complete which means that it will be four to five months from now before the BIC can act on the building and housing code changes. Ms. Boyajian said that findings are required to deviate from the State's Building and Housing Code. The Commission may want to give their input on proposed findings in future meetings.

b.	Report on the impact of the two proposed ordinances on the work load of Department of Building Inspection staff.

Deputy Director Wong said that he has identified four areas that DBI staff will be affected:

The pre-amnesty period. The department has set up a hotline to answer questions from the public, provide information, send copies of the proposed ordinances. These services are manageable with the current staff level.

The amnesty period. According to the proposed ordinances, there are approximately 20,000 - 30,000 unauthorized units. He estimated that roughly 20% of these units will be legalized and the department will need seven additional staff to handle the extra workload.

The post amnesty period. Six months prior to the end of Supervisor Ammiano's amnesty program, the department will start the enforcement process according to Building Code Section 102. He estimated six additional inspectors for three years to do the enforcement process and approximately eight to ten years to complete the program.

The transfer of title period. Supervisor Teng's proposed legislation requires owners to obtain an inspection of the property prior to transfer of title. Using the estimate of 3,000 transfer-of-
title per year, the department needs nine additional staff to carry out this proposal.

Commissioner Guinnane asked if the inspection requirement will be in effect at the beginning of the amnesty program.

Deputy Director Wong answered affirmatively and said that inspection will also be required when a property changes title.

Commissioner Guinnane asked if transfer of title can be done when there are violations found during the inspection.

Director Chiu said that the transfer of title could be allowed with a set aside for the approximate cost of repair in the escrow account.

Deputy Director Wong said that the revenues generated from this program based on the same assumptions on workload will cover the costs of hiring new staff. Revenues will be generated mainly from plan check, inspections and code enforcement.

President Hood said that the public is very interested in these ordinances. She said that she thinks many property owners will come forward to legalize their units since it will increase their property values. Rents could also be increased. She said that this could lead to a bigger project.

Commissioner Guinnane asked if during an inspection, the inspector only looks at the illegal unit or inspects the whole house.

Director Chiu said that presently, if a homeowner is legalizing a unit, the inspector will focus the inspection on that particular unit.

Commissioner Guinnane said that there will be problems at the close of escrow between the buyer and seller to determine the amount of money set aside for this program. He said that the inspection part should be at the end of the amnesty period.

Director Chiu said that he thought that the physical inspection will be carried out after the amnesty period as proposed in the ordinances. He said that he will find out more details on this issue.

Commissioner Tsang asked if DBI will get part of the registration fees.

Deputy Director Wong said that DBI will not get funds from the registration fees. The fees will be for improving the neighborhoods.

President Hood said that the money will be used to provide parking space and open areas in the neighborhoods.

Commissioner Vasquez said that it is extremely important to plan ahead on how the department will handle the additional workload. The staffing is very critical to avoid a customer service nightmare.

Ms. Lesley Stansfield, Chief Housing Inspector, clarified Commissioner Guinnane's earlier question and said that subordination process will only kick in if there is a code enforcement case.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian said that it would be the owner's responsibility to comply with the code. The department cannot stop an owner from selling his property, DBI can only go after the current owner to either remove or legalize their unit.

Ms. Roberta Caravelli, Citizen Review, said Supervisor Teng's proposal is unconstitutional because it provides unequal treatment to property owners. She said that the Commission should hold their hearing only after the environmental review is completed. The environmental review report will provide the correct estimate of the number of units and other necessary details to be used by the decision makers.

Mr. Jake McGoldrick, Richmond District Neighborhood Association, said that the data on illegal units needs to be clarified. For example: how many units were removed last year and how many units will be removed this year. He asked about the social issues.

President Hood asked if Mr. McGoldrick was referring to the possibility of losing affordable housing as the result of this program.

Mr. McGoldrick said yes among other issues. The department should issue a written clarification on its work priority. He also said that there may be a conflict of interest for Commissioners who own(ed) and construct(ed) illegal units and they should recuse themselves from this discussion.

Mr. John Bardess said that it is premature for the Commission to hold hearings since the Commission will not be able to take any action now.

President Hood clarified that this hearing is for informational purposes only.

Mr. Bardess said that the legislation uses an estimate of 20,000 - 30,000 illegal units. This is a big range to use as a basis for discussion of this issue. He said that the department should provide a background report for the Commission.

Ms. Mary Anne Miller, member of San Francisco Tomorrow and president of SPEAC, said that Supervisors should not get into legislation based on guessing. The pre-amnesty planning should include a survey of how many illegal units exist and where they are located. She said that the City can not disregard the social issues, how the ordinances will affect the community.

Mr. Roger Herrera, Planning Department, addressed the Commission and said that the Planning Department has initiated a pilot survey dividing the city into 14 areas. Mr. Herrera passed around the survey map to the Commission.

President Hood asked how the counting of units will be done.

Mr. Herrera said that staff will walk around a block and use the evidence visible from the exterior such as the number of mail boxes, entrances, etc.

Commissioner Tsang said that counting the number of mailboxes only may not be accurate.

President Hood said that it would be a good start. She told Mr. Herrera to let the Commission know if there is any information that the Planning Department needs from DBI. She said that she would like the environmental report to contain information on the cost of repairs such as the conversion from a two-to three-unit buildings. It will be helpful for people who are looking at that issue.

Mr. Herrera said that he will also be looking into Daly City which had similar program a few years ago.

Mr. Jeremy Paul said that he spends a lot of time legalizing units in San Francisco. He said that he heard from realtors that the program in Daly City had very low response. There were very few who took advantage of the program.

President Hood asked if he knows why very few took advantage of the program.

Mr. Paul said that there was a lack of interest from owners. They also did not want to pay more taxes. He suggested that the Commission looks into reviving the Building Code definition for "housekeeping unit" instead of enforcing R-1 requirements since that might discourage homeowners from legalizing their unit.

c.	Consideration of holding a joint meeting with the City Planning Commission.

Director Chiu said that Planning Director, Mr. Gerald Green, suggested and he agreed, to have a joint-meeting between the Building Commission and the Planning Commission.

Commissioner Vasquez said that he agreed with having the joint meeting. He said that the Commissions need the environmental review report to have more information and a better understanding of the issues.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian said that the joint meeting should be held after the environmental review is completed.

President Hood asked for the time line.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian said that it will take about five to six months.

Commissioner Freeman said that he would want to discuss this issue after the environmental review is completed.

Mr. Herrera said that Planning Department will generate a case report prior to the environmental review.

Mr. John Bardess said that there will be a lot of objections from the public for the BIC to hold joint meeting with the Planning Commission. It would be more difficult to present public comment.

d.	Possible action to formulate strategies on how the BIC can develop a timeline, disseminate information to the public and forward a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

Commissioner Guinnane said that this agenda item will have to wait until the environmental review is completed.

President Hood directed the department to forward an analysis of the code issues to those who are preparing the environmental review report. It is premature to consider recommendation sto the Board of Supervisors at this point.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian explained the process on how legislation gets adopted. She said that under Proposition G, this Commission has the responsibility to recommend and advise the Board of Supervisors on any amendments to the Building Code. Likewise, the Planning Commission has charter responsibility to advise the Board on any change to the Planning Code. Although both Commissions have different jurisdictions and responsibility, it makes a lot of sense to hold a joint hearing for the same issue. Once the Commissions hold public hearings either separately or jointly, the matter will then be referred back to the Board of Supervisors. The Board will also hold committee hearings to debate the merits of both pieces of legislation. From the committee, the legislation will go to the full board meeting for two readings. There will be no testimony there. Once the legislation was adopted, it will go to the Mayor's Office for the Mayor to veto, approve or pass into law with no signature. There will be a 30-day waiting period before the legislation goes into law.

Commissioner Freeman said that there are two sides in dealing with the illegal units, the Planning Code and the Building Code.

Mr. John Bardess said that there should be separate public hearings.

6.	Report, discussion and possible action to forward a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on a proposed ordinance sponsored by Board President Barbara Kaufman amending Section 723.3 of the Public Works Code to provide that appeals from sidewalk and encroachment permit decisions related to building construction, rehabilitation or maintenance may be appealed to either the Building Inspection Commission or the Board of Supervisors, and that appeals to the Board of Supervisors waive the right of appeal to the Building Inspection Commission.

Deputy City Attorney Dick said that this ordinance was proposed by Supervisor Kaufman and will be heard at the Committee Meeting of November 20, 1997. This proposed ordinance addresses the conflict between the Board of Supervisors' authority and the Building Inspection Commission's authority over sidewalk and encroachment permits, specifically their respective appeal powers. She said that under this ordinance, the appellant may choose to appeal to either the Board of Supervisors or the Building Inspection Commission. The appellant may only appeal to one of the two bodies. They can not appeal the same decision to the other body. It also clarifies the limit of the BIC's jurisdiction on sidewalk and encroachment permits to those permits tied to the issuance of a certificate of completion.

Commissioner Vasquez moved, seconded by Commissioner Guinnane, to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance sponsored by Board President Barbara Kaufman amending Section 723.3 of the Public Works Code.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-086.97]

President Hood directed Commission Secretary Banico to write the recommendation letter to Board President Barbara Kaufman.

Deputy City Attorney Dick said that the letter should be sent to the Clerk of the Board.

7.	Report, discussion, and possible action to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve an ordinance amending Section 10.135 of the San Francisco Administrative Code to increase to $300 the amount of cash permitted to be in the Central Permit Bureau's revolving cash fund.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that this matter was before the Commission in March 1997. Based on the recommendation made by the Controller's Audit Division, the department requested the City Attorney's Office to draft an ordinance amending the Administrative Code to increase the authorized revolving cash fund from $100.00 to $300.00. The department is also joining in the Office of the Treasurer's Cash Difference Fund and Overage Fund.

Director Chiu said that this cash fund is strictly used for giving change to customers, not for purchases.

Commissioner Vasquez moved, seconded by Commissioner Guinnane, to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve an ordinance amending Section 10.135 of the San Francisco Administrative Code to increase the amount of revolving cash fund to $300.00.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-087.97]

8.	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 Freeman said that the Commission got some comments from the BCAC on the illegal units and suggested that the Commission acknowledge their efforts.

President Hood asked if Commissioner Freeman will meet with the BCAC to discuss the role of this Commitee.

Commissioner Freeman said that the meeting will be held on Thursday, November 13, 1997 at 9:30 a.m.

Commissioner Vasquez said that the ordinance for exterior lead paint ordinance will be at the Board of Supervisors' committee hearing on November 13, 1997.

Commission Secretary Banico said that the BIC Unlawful Residential Demolition Committee will have its first meeting on Thursday, November 13, 1997 at Room 2002, 1660 Mission Street, at 1:00 p.m.

9.	Review and approval of the Minutes of the BIC Regular Meeting of October 1, 1997.

Commissioner Vasquez moved, seconded by Commissioner Guinnane, to approve the minutes of the Meeting of October 1, 1997 as prepared.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-088.97]

10.	Discussion and possible action with respect to those items that could be placed on the agenda of November 19, 1997 BIC Regular Meeting and other future meetings.

President Hood said that due to time constraint on today's agenda, the MIS report has been postponed until the next meeting.

Deputy Director Wong said that there will also be the Abatement Appeals Board hearing.

President Hood said that the Commission may also have a report from the Unlawful Residential Demolition Committee.

11.	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 public testimony received at this point in the proceedings.

12.	Adjournment.

There being no other business, and on a motion made by Commissioner Guinnane, seconded by Commissioner Freeman, the meeting adjourned at 03:00 p.m.

The motion passed by unanimous vote. [Resolution No. BIC-089.97]

________________________________

MARIA BANICO

Commission Secretary

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