Building Inspection Commission
BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION (BIC)
REGULAR MEETING
Wednesday, July 19, 2000 at 1:30 p.m.
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 408
Adopted August 2, 2000
MINUTES
The meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 2:45 p.m. by President Fillon.
1. Roll Call - Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified.
COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT:
Alfonso Fillon, President Mark Sanchez, Commissioner
Debra Walker, Commissioner Rodrigo Santos, Commissioner
Roy Guinnane, Commissioner Bobbie Sue Hood, Vice-President
Esther Marks, Commissioner - excused
D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:
Frank Chiu, Director
Amy Lee, Assistant Director
James Hutchinson, Deputy Director
William Wong, Deputy Director
Ann Aherne, Interim Secretary
Tuti Suardana, Secretary
CITY ATTORNEY’S REPRESENTATIVE:
Judy Boyajian, Deputy City Attorney
2. President’s Announcements.
a. Update on appointments to Access Appeals Commission (AAC), Board of Examiners (BOE), Code Advisory Committee (CAC) and Unreinforced Masonry Building Appeals Board (UMB).
President Fillon said that on the Access Appeals Commission there are currently seven applicants. President Fillon stated that he would like to make appointments for all of the boards and committees within the next month and one half. President Fillon said it was very important to get these positions filled, but it has been difficult getting candidates. The Board of Examiners is short by four; the Code Advisory Committee has six applicants and there are four openings, and the UMB there are three applicants and there are two vacant seats. On the UMB no one has applied for the vacancies of a civil engineer and a tenant living in an UMB building. President Fillon stated that he has been looking for applicants and the other Commissioners on the sub-committees are also doing so. President Fillon said the goal was to fill these vacancies as soon as possible as the boards and committees are not fully functioning. President Fillon asked for any questions from the Commissioners or any public comment.
Ms. Enid Lim introduced herself as a current member of the Access Appeals Commission. Ms. Lim said she was very glad to see this item on the agenda because it has been almost six months since this commission has been able to function properly. There are only three members when there should be five. This means that every member must agree on any vote, as there has to be a unanimous consensus to pass anything. Consequently many plaintiffs are not ready to come before the commission because they know it is very difficult to get the consensus. Ms. Lim stated that meeting after meeting has been canceled and there are many of the cases that need to be resolved so that the accessibility issues can be taken care of. Ms. Lim said that she is disheartened by having to wait another month, but the commission has already waited almost six months to have more representation. Ms. Lim said that she would appreciate any help from the BIC, as it is very wearing on the three commissioners that now serve on the AAC. President Fillon said that he is aware of the problem and is trying to move quickly on this filling the vacancies on this particular commission. Ms. Lim said that she was aware that there are a number of qualified applicants and would appreciate if the BIC would just choose from those and not wait for any other applications.
Mr. Walter Park said that he came to deliver the same message. Mr. Park stated that he had resigned from the AAC in October or November at the request of the City Attorney because of a potential conflict of interest. Mr. Park said that is a long time to leave that position vacant and since that time there is another vacancy. Mr. Park said that this is a case where to delay is to deny because most of the appeals that go before the AAC are cases where there is not access or access is being contested. Mr. Park said that if the commission doesn’t hear a case for three to five months, which has now happened, during that time, the access is not there and there is no resolution of the question. Mr. Park said that in terms of the City generally trying to work with contractors and building owners and managers to resolve these kinds of regulatory issues quickly, they don’t get satisfaction and Mr. Park said that he is getting calls from members of the disability community who are saying they are not getting access, so they are not getting satisfaction either. Mr. Park said that six weeks doesn’t sound fast to him, but at least it is some time period and he looks forward to the BIC moving forward on this issue as quickly as possible with one appointment and then with a full commission.
b. Review of Draft Letter and possible action to send a response to San Francisco Chronicle’s July 11, 2000 article about DBI.
President Fillon said that he did not wish to take action on this item today, as the Commissioners had just received the draft at this meeting. President Fillon said that he wished to send a letter to the Chronicle as he felt the article was misleading, based on conjecture and hearsay and really warrants an official response of some kind from the Commission. President Fillon said that the article appeared on the front page, brought up the FBI and within the body of the article itself it admits that there is no corroboration from the FBI that there is any kind of investigation going on in the Department whatsoever, nor from the executive staff. President Fillon said that the affects of this article can be felt by all staff members within the Department. President Fillon stated that he felt it was important that the Commission take action, step up to the plate and do so. President Fillon said that he did not think this should be done in an aggressive way, but just give the paper some information to straighten out some issues and misunderstandings about the Department. President Fillon stated that he wanted to invite the press into the Department to see how the process works. President Fillon said he would appreciate if the Commissioners would review his draft letter and get back to him with comments by the following midweek.
Commissioner Walker said that she thought the Commissioners should review any letter sent to the press as a group as it should be voted on. President Fillon asked if Commissioner Walker if she would review the letter at this time. Commissioner Walker said she did not want to review the letter at the meeting as she had just gotten it and this was not a full Commission. Commissioner Walker said that she thought it was something serious enough that it needed more thought.
Vice-President Hood said if the action could not be taken on the letter today, then she would like the Commission to schedule a special meeting because the timing of getting back to the paper is very important. Vice-President Hood stated that she was glad that President Hood had included this item on the agenda. Vice-President Hood said that she wanted to say something stronger than what President Fillon had suggested in his draft letter and said she would get back to him with a paragraph. Vice-President Hood said she wanted to ask the Chronicle how someone who received awards in the newspaper as Susan Sward has, miss the picture completely. Vice-President Hood said if Ms. Sward had really approached the investigation with an open mind as a reporter is supposed to do she would have found the real story. Vice-President Hood said that DBI is a City Department that is doing its job extraordinarily well under unusually difficult circumstances, four times the workload that it has had in the past. Vice-President Hood said that there may be a more accurate multiplier than four times, but it is a huge load and the reason she knows that the Department is doing such a good job is that she looks at all of the other people in the design field, the contractors that can’t be reached on the phone, the structural engineers, Commissioner Santos excepted, that you can’t get to take any new work and no one can get subs out to jobs. Vice-President Hood said here is a Department that has performed during this demanding time and that is the story and how did Ms. Sward manage to miss the boat.
President Fillon said that was the point he was trying to make and said he would like to read the draft letter into the record. Vice-President Hood said that she thought it would be a good thing to read the letter and said then it would be in the record and people in the audience would hear it. President Fillon said that it was a draft letter that had not been approved by the Commission and proceeded to read the letter. The letter was read as follows:
Dear Editor:
As members of the San Francisco Building Inspection Commission, we were shocked by the inadequate characterization of our department and staff in the July 11th article, "FBI Probes S.F. Building Inspectors." This article is a disservice to our employees, to our customers and to the citizens of San Francisco.
By the author’s own admission, allegations of an F.B.I. probe of the department could not be substantiated by either the FBI or department staff. Unfortunately, your article has caused a great deal of anguish among department staff, who have been unjustly vilified by nothing more than hearsay and conjecture on your part.
The real story about the Department of Building Inspection is how successful it has been in improving customer service in the past several years.
In 1995, the building inspection function was removed from the Department of Public Works and became a separate department, the Department of Building Inspection. In our first two years, we concentrated on streamlining our functions to reduce the time for issuing construction permits. We have also revised our procedures for conducting inspections and permit review t better serve the public. And, in 1996-97 the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury’s Report concluded that our department made outstanding progress in these areas. Last year, the department issued over 55,000 permits and conducted more than 150,000 inspections. The Department is able to accomplish its mission without funding from the City’s General fund.
It is surprising that a reporter who has attended so many Building Inspection Commission meetings could be so misinformed about the issues and operations of our department. If the author had made the effort to understand the permit approval process, she would know that the department has an inherent system of checks and balances in place. Prior to issuing a building permit, the process often includes multiple review agencies, various plan check staff review, and quality control from our One Stop Division. After a permit is issued, the department has a separate review by our Inspection Division. Additionally, in some cases senior staff will perform spot checks. The Commission and Staff continue to search for ways to improve the efficiency of the permit and inspection processes as our primary goal.
We invite you to meet with the director and his staff so that you may better understand the permit and review process. Hopefully, this will allow more accurate and informed newspaper reporting about the operations of our department and the challenges that are faced daily.
President Fillon said that was the draft letter without any changes or input from the other Commissioners.
Commissioner Santos said that he agreed with Vice-President Hood that although he liked the content of the letter, he did not think it was strong enough. Commissioner Santos said his suggestion would be to request a formal apology from the Chronicle. Commissioner Santos said that the article was a personal attack on Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Pada and that should not be tolerated. Commissioner Santos said that he has worked with Mr. Hutchinson for over fifteen years and finds him to be one of the most outstanding members of the San Francisco Building Inspection Department. Commissioner Santos said that he was absolutely certain that Mr. Hutchinson will be exonerated and said that it is important that once Mr. Hutchinson is exonerated, the San Francisco Chronicle should have an article on the front page stating to the citizens of San Francisco that there was absolutely nothing illegal about his activities regarding his involvement with this particular permit. Vice-President Hood stated that this article should not appear on a Saturday, but in a Monday thru Friday edition. Commissioner Santos agreed and stated that the exoneration should not be covered on the back pages behind the Macy’s underwear commercials, as this should be front-page news. Commissioner Santos said that this was character assignation and it should not be tolerated. Vice-President Hood said that she would like those paragraphs added to President Fillon’s letter. President Fillon said that there is a better chance of having the letter published if it is not too long. Vice-President Hood stated that President Fillon, as President of the Building Inspection Commission, could insist upon getting a full letter published and said she felt that the Chronicle would be happy to publish such a letter. Vice-President Hood stated that because of the President’s position, it would require the Chronicle to fully air those grievances. Vice-President Hood said that it should not be redundant, but a paragraph needs to be written about the continuing attacks on two people with no verification of wrong doing whatsoever and it borders on slander.
President Fillon stated that his concern is the fact that the article mentioned the FBI and appeared on the front page, yet a connection was never substantiated that there was indeed an FBI investigation of the Department. President Fillon said that this affects all of the employees, the rank and file, not just the inspectors mentioned, but everybody in the Department. President Fillon said it soils the name of the Department and all staff and he felt the Commission could not allow this to happen without speaking to the issue. President Fillon said he liked the approach of saying to the Chronicle, that once the employees are exonerated the Chronicle should pay as much attention to that. President Fillon said he knows this is a long shot. Vice-President Hood said that President Fillon could require the Chronicle to do so, asking them to put a box around such an article. Vice-President Hood stated that the Chronicle has a policy for correcting their mistakes. Commissioner Santos stated that the reporter comes to the Commission meetings and the Commission can remind her once a month, while she is taking pictures of the Commissioners. Vice-President Hood said she was very disturbed about the fact that the FBI has investigated the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and it was about very specific things such as government contracts, and they were investigating about how there might have been violations of the law. Vice-President Hood said there were very specific charges, but the concern about this particular headline is that it said the FBI is investigating the Department and the article did not contain anything about what the Department might be doing. The article mentioned people who were being brought up over a $500.00 matter and regardless of the outcome Vice-President Hood said she did not believe the FBI would become involved in a $500.00 matter. Vice-President said this was yellow journalism of the worst sort, just a slow news day and things were blowing up that were totally meaningless. Vice-President Hood said that the letter should ask what basis the Chronicle has for saying such things. President Fillon said he was bothered because the article was such a broad slap and the sort of article that says there are a lot of people saying there is a lot of this happening and this is unsubstantiated and not specific. President Fillon said this is just bad reporting as far as he is concerned. Vice-President Hood said if there was something specific that was considered wrong doing the Commission would be requiring that such activity be investigated. Vice-President Hood said she had not heard of any such wrongdoing taking place.
President Fillon thanked everyone for their comments and said when the Commission gets to the item on the agenda that talks about agenda items for future meetings, the Commission could discuss if there should be a special meeting about this item.
President Fillon asked for public comment.
Anastasia Yovanopoulos said that three months went by so this journalist has to make a splash in the papers. Ms. Yovanopoulos said that she felt that the Chronicle wanted to sell newspapers so they put this article in. Ms. Yovanopoulos said that Frank Chiu answered it well in the article by saying if the FBI wants to come to the Department, let them come. Ms. Yovanopoulos said that if the Commission lets the Chronicle get under their skin, they are only going to affect the Department more so the Commission should not play it up anymore. Ms. Yovanopoulos stated that if there is anything that is being investigated, then they are investigating.
Mr. Eamon Murphy introduced himself as a homeowner and apartment owner. Mr. Murphy said that he noticed in a more recent article that Commissioner Esther Marks said she was a Commissioner on the Board of Permit Appeals. Mr. Murphy said this was incorrect, as she was a Planning Commissioner. Mr. Murphy said that the reason he remembered she was a Planning Commissioner was because recently he saw her parking pass in her car over on Potrero Hill right next to a fire hydrant. Mr. Murphy said that individual has not been very good about stating the full facts in any article. Mr. Murphy thanked the Commission.
Ms. Tuti Suardana introduced herself as a Principal Clerk in the Customer Services Division at the Department of Building Inspection. Ms. Suardana stated that she wanted to let the Commissioners know that ever since the articles, the Department has received several calls; she personally received one, with inappropriate remarks. Ms. Suardana said that she feels that the Commission should know that this article affects all of the employees. Commissioner Santos asked Ms. Suardana if these calls were threatening calls. Ms. Suardana said the calls were not threatening they were just inappropriate wordings that employees are powerless to respond to as City workers. Director Chiu said that since the article printed he has gotten several calls after a Department Inspectors issues a NOV or citation to a property owner or contractor asking what they have to do, call the FBI, to get the inspectors off of their backs. Director Chiu thanked the Commissioners who are supportive of the Department by saying that this article is a disservice to the community and the Department because there are many professionals on the staff that are doing a good job. This kind of article without facts can destroy morale and anytime that the Department takes actions, whether it is to issue a permit or a NOV, people are making fun of the Department. Remarks are being made by the public as to what it takes to have the Inspectors stop harassing them when staff is just trying to do their jobs. Director Chiu said that anything the Commission could do to show support to the Department’s good employees for doing their job is appreciated. Vice-President Hood said that as a result of hearing this testimony and in seeing that the agenda allows possible action on this item, she would like to make a motion that President Fillon go ahead and write the letter in the spirit in which it was started taking into consideration the remarks that have been made by Commissioners and staff. Vice-President Hood stated that the article has generated bad treatment of people trying to do their jobs. Vice-President Hood said she would like to see a letter go out as soon as possible because the sooner it goes out and the Commission works to counter this, the less this will feed on the public’s imagination. Commissioner Guinnane seconded Vice-President Hood’s motion.
Deputy City Attorney Judy Boyajian said that the Commission should ask for any further public comment before voting on this motion.
Hanson Tom, a DBI employee, stated that he is glad that the Commission is looking at this matter. Mr. Tom said that he is Manager of the Plan Check Divisions and wanted to point out that his plan checkers can stand up to any testimony and any investigation where people want to learn about the permit process. Mr. Hanson said that the permit process goes through many, many layers of reviews. The Department processes permits in such a way that makes sure that the minimum code is abided. Mr. Tom said that permits have interagency reviews and there are checks and balances in the field inspections. Mr. Tom stated that he is very proud of the work that comes out of DBI and invited the Commission to contact him if they wanted to learn more about the permit process.
Assistant Director Amy Lee said that since she came to DBI in the past two years, she has been very proud of what she has seen. Ms. Lee said that the Department has a large, very talented staff that works very hard and is paid City dollars, not the high dollars that are paid in the private sector. Ms. Lee said that an article like this affects everybody from rank and file. Ms. Lee said that personally when she goes out to dinner with friends, they make comments and jokes about bribes being taken even by her. Ms. Lee stated that she resents this because she works very hard for the Department and works with integrity and honesty and this of article is a disservice to everyone and really hurts morale. Ms. Lee said that it affects people in terms of their personal lives as well. Ms. Lee said she is sure she is not the only one, in terms of Department staff, who people make fun of because of this article. Ms. Lee said that people don’t listen to staff’s comeback and wants the Commission and Department to fight back because if there is no comment the Chronicle will keep doing this and it should not be tolerated. Ms. Lee said DBI is a great department that is always working toward improvement. Ms. Lee said that blatant attacks affect everyone, not just the inspectors.
President Fillon said that he agrees with Vice-President Hood that upon hearing public testimony, he would like to take action on sending a letter to the Chronicle as soon as possible. President Fillon asked for a vote on the motion.
Commissioner Walker said that she would like to comment. Commissioner Walker stated that she is 100% in support of the staff of DBI and that is why she agreed to sit on this Commission. Commissioner Walker said she also takes very seriously any appearances of inappropriateness or impropriety and would say that the Commission is in that position at this point with the Department and thinks that it serves all of the staff and all of the Commission to make a statement of 100% support for those committed to serving the City as employees, and also that the Commission is open and willing to cooperate if there are any investigations going on. Commissioner Walker said that she doesn’t know what’s happening or where this comes from, but thinks it would not serve the Commission nor the people that the Commission is responsible to, to say anything other than that. Commissioner Walker stated that she says this with 100% support of the staff of DBI. President Fillon said that in response to Commissioner Walker’s statements he did not think that by endorsing this letter Commissioner Walker would not be compromising her position in any way because the problem with the article is what it said, how it went about saying it and the way it was done. President Fillon said the problem is not how the Commissioners feel about any individual investigations or proving or disproving allegations. President Fillon said the problem with this article is that there are no facts and whenever something comes up as damaging as this that is based on so little, the Commission has a responsibility to the staff to come out against it and set the record straight and that is what his intention is. President Fillon stated that this is why he wrote his draft letter with the language toned down. It is the people that work in the Department who were slandered and President Fillon said that it is the Commission’s responsibility to come out and say that this is wrong. President Fillon said that he would not comment on who did something wrong or who did what, he would like to comment on the article itself and its unjustified negative portrayal of Department staff. Commissioner Walker said that since the Commissioners just received the draft letter today, she would like to look at it and give her comments to President Fillon at a later date. Commissioner Walker said she was not comfortable having the letter put before her along with other items to deal with, such as appeals and whatnot and just expect that action can be taken. Commissioner Walker stated that she supports the staff 100%, but that is not the issue. Commissioner Walker said she would like a little time to review what it is that the letter says, that is going to have her name on it. Commissioner Walker said that if the Commission wanted to vote on this today, she would not vote to accept the current letter, but would write her own letter and feels that she has that right. Commissioner Walker said that she would not have her name put on the draft letter as it is today. Vice-President Hood said that she felt strongly that the Commissioners needed to speak as a Commission and that President Fillon’s letter needed to go out stating that he was speaking for the Commission. Vice-President Hood said that Commissioner Walker was not in the majority and said that the Commission needs to be very, very clear that the Commission thinks this letter is slanderous and that it is rumor mongering and the Commission is devoted to ferreting out any wrongdoing as is the Department’s management. Vice-President Hood said that to imply anything otherwise with no basis in fact is just a great disservice to the people who try to do a good job.
President Fillon asked for a roll call vote. President Fillon asked if there should be further public comment. Deputy City Attorney Boyajian said that public comment had been closed because no one else came forward to speak.
President Fillon once again asked for a roll call vote.
The Commissioners voted as follows:
Commissioner Sanchez No
Commissioner Santos Yes
Commissioner Guinnane Yes
Commissioner Walker No (on this letter)
President Fillon Yes
Vice-President Hood Yes
The motion carried.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-038-00]
President Fillon asked the Commissioners to contact him with any comments regarding the contents of the letter. President Fillon asked for this input by early next week so he could incorporate the Commissioners’ comments into the letter to be sent to the Chronicle.
3. Director’s Report. [Director Chiu]
a. Update on DBI’s Budget 2000-2001.
Director Chiu said that as everyone probably knew be reading the newspaper, that at the last Board of Supervisors’ meeting the Department’s budget was adopted. Director Chiu said that the Department had good news because both the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors approved almost every position that the Department had requested. Director Chiu said that 20 new positions were approved and a few positions were not approved as the Mayor and Board of Supervisors felt that they were not justified, but Director Chiu said the Department could live with those decisions. The Department is getting 6 new cars and 12 cars to replace existing cars, so technically there are 6 more new cars coming. Director Chiu said that money was approved for capital improvement of the annex addition. Director Chiu said that the 1% reduction in the surcharge was adopted. The only item that stood out at the Budget Hearing is that President Ammiano had requested the Department and Commission to discuss setting aside approximately $200,000 to fund the City Attorney’s investigator to investigate SRO musical rooms. That amount was put in a reserve fund, but Director Chiu said that the proper procedure will be for the Commission to calendar this item for a future agenda item and invite the City Attorney’s Office to discuss with DBI how to use this money to staff a person and demonstrate to the Department how this money is to be used. Director Chiu said essentially the news is good in that the Department got almost everything that was asked for. Director Chiu thanked Amy Lee and Taras Madison for doing a great job and spending a great deal of time with the Mayor’s budget office. Director Chiu said that dealing with Harvey Rose, the Board of Supervisors’ Budget Analyst is not an easy task, but they did a great job. Director Chiu asked for any questions on the budget issue.
Vice-President Hood said that she would like to reiterate the Director’s thanks to Amy Lee and her staff. Vice-President Hood said it is very different from the way it used to be and is one of the main stays of getting everyone doing the right job by getting the right budget approved for the Department. Commissioner Walker also expressed her thanks.
b. Response to public inquiry about replacement of metal trashcans in Park Merced.
Director Chiu said that at the last meeting, public member Robert Pender requested the Department to investigate the matter of trashcans at Park Merced. Director Chiu said that he had the Housing Inspector staff look into the matte