September 16, 2009
BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION (BIC)
Department of Building Inspection (DBI)
REGULAR MEETING
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 416
Aired Live on SFGTV Channel 78
ADOPTED NOVEMBER 18, 2009
MINUTES
The regular meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 10:37 a.m. by President Murphy.
1. Call to Order and Roll Call - Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified.
COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mel Murphy, President
Reuben Hechanova, Vice-President
Kevin Clinch, Commissioner
Robin Levitt, Commissioner
Criss Romero, Commissioner, excused
Frank Lee, Commissioner
Debra Walker, Commissioner
Ann Aherne, Commission Secretary
D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:
Vivian Day, Director
Edward Sweeney, Deputy Director
William Strawn, Communications Manager
Rosemary Bosque, Chief Housing Inspector
Pamela Levin, Administration & Finance Division Supervisor
Sonya Harris, Secretary
2. President’s Announcement.
President Murphy did not have any announcements.
3. Director’s Report.
a. Update on DBI’s finances.
Pamela Levin, Administration & Finance Division Supervisor said that she was going to talk about the monthly financial report based on expenditures and revenues through August 2009, and said that this report was based on only two months of actuals. Ms. Levin stated that it is very difficult to predict where the Department is going to be at year end, so right now there is a projected year-end deficit of $402,000 that is 1% of the budget. Ms. Levin said that this is a small amount however it did not include any assumptions either in revenues or expenditures for the MOUs that are being discussed at the budget committee in a couple of weeks. Ms. Levin stated that the BIC heard about the MOUs at the last meeting which are with the PUC., the Port, Treasure Island, and the Trans Bay Joint Powers Authority for their projects. Ms. Levin stated that she would like to focus on three categories the first one being revenues where the Department is projecting a surplus of $392,000. Ms. Levin said that the Department looked at what was actually submitted to the Treasure/Tax Collector and said that it looks like this amount might be a little more, but staff does not want to be overly optimistic because there is some uncertainty about new fee charges. Ms. Levin said that there are all sorts of things that could occur in the process of when property tax is collected, but the staff expects that another $580,000 could be collected, but there could also be a shortfall in hotel conversion ordinance revenues by $33,000. Ms. Levin stated that at this point DBI is looking at a shortfall of $152,000 for charges for services and this is based on taking August and doing a ten month projection.
Ms. Levin said that to give a year over year comparison through August the revenues are 29% less than the same time last year, but last year in July and August there was a rush on getting projects in and permits applied for because there was an increase in the fees as of September 2. Ms. Levin stated that everybody was trying to get things in under the deadline so August was a magnificent month, so comparing it to that period of time is a little deceptive and the revenues themselves are not really the issue. Ms. Levin said that the second category is refunds, because last year DBI refunded around $1.3M and three or four of those were very large projects in addition to a lot of small projects. Ms. Levin stated that right now there are refunds ready to go to the Controller's Office for actual issuance of the checks totaling $500,000, and it is a combination of two projects along with some small ones. Ms. Levin said that the Department is continuing to get applications for refunds, but it has slowed down. Ms. Levin stated if the economy improves that a lot of large scale refund requests would not occur, but some of the small ones would continue. Ms. Levin said that given that there are only two months of expenditures the Department looked at the historical trend and said that DBI was projecting a savings of $382,000 in fringes, material and supplies, and some in payments that other City departments pay for work that DBI performs. Ms. Levin stated that the year-to-date expenditures through August are 19% less than last year. Ms. Levin said that some of the large work orders hit in the first couple of months of the fiscal year. Ms. Levin stated that staff really does not know where the Department will be next year, but said that this report was a best guess at this point. Ms. Levin said that no additional revenue has been taken into account that may result from the fee changes that occurred for one and two-family rental units because that is best done as DBI gets closer to half of the year when December revenues come in and the final deadline is due for property taxes. Ms. Levin stated that the MOU's that may come in will help offset the deficit revenues, and may allow the Department to bring back staff so at present no layoff notices have been issued and the Department is making every effort to avoid having to do so this fiscal year. Ms. Levin asked if there were any questions.
Commissioner Clinch said that he assumes the services include the City Attorney fees. Ms. Levin stated that $7.7M includes the City Attorney, the Department of Technology, and the Treasurer/Tax Collector work orders. Ms. Levin said that DBI held the line in developing the budget for services of other departments for the fiscal year so the Department is going to have to be really diligent on continuing to hold the line, especially in terms of expenses for cases.
Commissioner Clinch asked if there was an estimate of what DBI might recover for some of the cases that might be closed this year. Ms. Levin said that she had not included that in her report. Ms. Levin stated that the Department was still looking at last year and how that worked because it comes in at different times of the year and mostly staff does not know until the end of the fiscal year when departments turn over the amount that is recovered. Ms. Levin said that she is trying to get a better handle on the general fund, yet it is a little difficult because of the way the data is reported.
President Murphy asked if code enforcement was profitable for the Department. Ms. Levin stated that code enforcement is actually doing very well this year; in the first month there was an overage of 45% of the budget that had been brought in for code enforcement assessment fees. Ms. Levin stated that staff is also working very hard with them to make sure that the Department gets the amount of money that is due.
Commissioner Walker said that she knows that there are some financial decisions that have been made on cases that DBI has won where funds are still being held, since Commissioners on the Litigation Committee get that in their report. Commissioner Walker stated that the City Attorney gives the Commissioners a spread sheet of outstanding awards that are still waiting to be paid to DBI. President Murphy stated that the City Attorney is supposed to have an update of that information for the Litigation Committee. Commissioner Walker stated that it would be helpful to know especially with some of the fees that the Department has just assessed, as code enforcement is a really necessary process.
Commissioner Hechanova asked about expenditure recovery. Ms. Levin said that DBI bills other departments for services rendered on a monthly basis, and tries to recover it that way. Ms. Levin stated that there are several work orders from other departments for DBI services, but the amounts are hard to project because the Department does not know if a work order will be filled or not; if DBI does not do any work for another department no money is collected.
Commissioner Walker stated that the Department has done a great job in these tight times, and that thanked Director Day and Ms. Levin for getting the Department through this without having to endure more layoffs. President Murphy thanked the Director and Ms. Levin as well.
b. Update on proposed legislation.
Director Day said that the Department introduced the MOUs at the Board of Supervisors yesterday, and then they will be assigned to a committee. Director Day stated that all four MOUs were introduced: The Trans Bay Joint Powers, the PUC, Treasure Island, and the Port and it is difficult to determine how much money will result from these MOUs due to the fact that some are on an as-needed basis, especially Treasure Island. Director Day said that there is a projection from the PUC stating how much the building will cost, and the MOU for the PUC is based on DBI’s current schedule so staff will be able to determine how much money DBI will receive from that when the project comes in. Director Day stated that this has not been put in the projected budget, because the Department is not sure when the monies will be available. Director Day said that the Trans Bay Joint Powers is a project that is going to proceed over four or five years and as each building comes in, DBI will collect the fees.
Director Day stated that the Department has a projection from Trans Bay of what buildings will come in first, so DBI is collecting fees for a Principal Engineer and another Engineer to attend the Trans Bay meetings; the Department is also doing some preparation work on the Trans Bay project so fees will be collected for that. Director Day stated that the Port project is the Exploratorium, and said that DBI is doing the plan check for the above-ground portion of that building. Director Day stated that DBI will present a chart to the Board of Supervisors as they know more from each department when the projects are ready and then those figures can be folded into the budget. Director Day said that she is sure this will cure the slight deficit that is showing right now and part of the problem.
Director Day said that the vacant building legislation has been passed and will go into effect next month so staff is gearing up for that. Director Day stated that DBI has had several meetings on how to implement this legislation and on how to get the word out to the public. Director Day said that there is a $52 monitoring fee on the code enforcement cases, and the ability to collect fees these fees before the abatement hearing or before the Director’s hearing will allow DBI to be billing on cases monthly. Director Day stated that both in the Code Enforcement and the Housing Inspection Divisions this information will be on any of DBI’s Notices of Violation, so the legislation has been passed and will go into effect next month. Director Day said that the Department is still looking at every fee that has not been addressed in the fee schedule and said that a team has been set up that is reviewing legislation from any other department to make sure that anything that would affect DBI is recognized early in the process before it is approved by the Board of Supervisors.
President Murphy asked if the Department has any jurisdiction over the new Doyle Drive or if
DBI would get any fees from that. Director Day said DBI does not get any fees because Caltrans and the State are doing Doyle Drive. Director Day stated that the Department does not have any jurisdiction over that, so it would be through the Department of Public Works.
Update on the interdepartmental commemoration of the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
Director Day stated Citywide this is going to be called a Shakeout Exercise that DBI is going to be participating in, in conjunction with the E.O.C. center. Director Day stated that DBI will be opening up its own Department operational center and will be teaming up with Public Works and other departments to do a simulated exercise in the field with the staff inspecting buildings as if this was real event. Director Day said that there will also be a Brown Bag luncheon/presentation on the buildings and said that staff is thinking about having it in the public library to accommodate more people. Director Day said that the meeting will be held on Saturday, October 7 so staff members will be attending outreach programs in four areas of the City, and will provide building information. Director Day stated that she thinks the Citywide event will be on the 17th, but the interdepartmental exercise will be on the 15th.
President Murphy called for public comment on item 3c. There was none.
4. Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.
Mr. Jose Morales said that one day soon the majority will decide that this was an extraordinary case of great injustice, and as members appointed by the community it is the Commission’s duty to give justice a chance. Mr. Morales stated that he is going to come every single month begging for justice inspired and established by some great men who he hoped were on this Commission. Mr. Morales said that he is asking for due process with a public hearing because his complaint is about changing the house number 572 A with the illegal house number 574, which was only intended for the brand new unit on the third floor of the building. Mr. Morales stated that the building was converted to a condominium to displace him after 43 years of being a tenant at the age of 79, disabled with osteoporosis, and multiple compression fractured vertebrae. Mr. Morales said that the new house number 574 canceled 572 A which had a lot of history, including saying that the landlord lived there in order to displace him. Mr. Morales stated that landlord rented the lower unit to three different families so how was it possible to take this number away and put 574. Mr. Morales said that he wants DBI regulations to be clearly established, and asked the Commissioners how long he had to wait. Mr. Morales said in the name of Jesus Christ let him have a public hearing to present overwhelming evidence that this is a case of great injustice, and said that it is the BIC’s duty to straighten out his long and painful injustice. Mr. Morales stated through Jesus Christ bless the Commission and their families so that justice will make history, and he thanked them for allowing him a little extra time to speak.
Mr. Henry Karnilowicz of the San Francisco Coalition for Responsible Growth (SFCRG) said that the Technical Services Division has been dismantled, and now customers have to go to the 4th floor to get information. Mr. Karnilowicz stated that people have to sign in to get answers from the inspectors, but he noticed recently it has been changed and now Spencer Gosch is at the information counter on the 1st floor. Mr. Karnilowicz said that he was pleased to see that now customer have a place to get answers.
Discussion and possible action to approve and swear in William Scott Ellsworth to the Access Appeals Commission, Construction Seat on the recommendation of the Appointment’s Sub-Committee. Seat to expire 11/01/10.
President Murphy asked if there was any discussion from the Commissioners on Mr. Ellsworth’s recommendation. Commissioner Levitt said that he wanted to speak on behalf of Ellsworth, and said that he has known him for over a decade now. Commissioner Levitt stated that Mr. Ellsworth is a licensed California architect, has been practicing in the City for over 35 years, and is a very conscientious person that knows the Code really well. Commissioner Levitt said that Mr. Ellsworth often deals with the sorts of projects that come before the Access Appeals Commission involving small businesses, and so forth. Commissioner Levitt stated that he thought that Mr. Ellsworth would be of great service on the AAC, and said that he encouraged him to apply for the opening.
Commissioner Walker said that she did not receive a copy of Mr. Ellsworth’s resume. Secretary Aherne stated that the information was previously given at two different meetings, but once it was delayed because the item was continued and the other time Mr. Ellsworth was not available. Commissioner Walker asked Mr. Ellsworth if he could talk about his experience with disability access.
Mr. Ellsworth stated that he has been an architect since 1972 and there are a lot of little projects that he does, such as small-scale cafes and restaurants. Mr. Ellsworth said that these projects have disabled access issues, and are in existing buildings so he generally solves the problems pretty easily, and he has been doing this for a long time.
President Murphy said that Commissioner Levitt spoke highly of Mr. Ellsworth..
Commissioner Levitt made a motion, seconded by President Murphy, to appoint William Scott Ellsworth to the Access Appeals Commission. The motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION NO. BIC 045-09
President Murphy administered the Oath of Office to Mr. William Scott Ellsworth.
Mr. Ellsworth accepted his appointment, and the Commission congratulated him.
6. Commissioner’s Questions and Matters.
a. Inquiries to Staff. At this time, Commissioners may make inquiries to staff regarding various documents, policies, practices, and procedures, which are of interest to the Commission.
Commissioner Lee asked if Director Day could give an update on 855 Folsom Street, and let the Commission know what progress has been made. Secretary Aherne said that an update would be given during an Abatement Appeals hearing.
Future Meetings/Agendas. At this time, the Commission may discuss and take action to set the date of a Special Meeting and/or determine those items that could be placed on the agenda of the next meeting and other future meetings of the Building Inspection Commission.
Secretary Aherne stated that the Ethics training is now online so the meeting that was scheduled for the 30th is no longer needed, and said she would send the Commissioners the link with the information. Secretary Aherne said that she also received information that the Commissioners will need to take a sexual harassment training every other year, and there is an online course that will have to be completed by December 31. Secretary Aherne stated that the September 30 training does not have a date attached to it, and there is no form to fill out or turn in.
President Murphy asked if the fifth floor construction was complete, and when would staff be officially moving there. Director Day said that it is scheduled it for October 1, but the purchase order for the computers got held up, so she is hoping to have them in by the end of the month.
Commissioner Lee asked when the next Abatement Appeals hearing would be, and if there were any other cases. Secretary Aherne said that so far just the report on 855 Folsom, and three months from now the BIC will be looking for a report on 135 El Camino Del Mar. President Murphy said that he asked at the last meeting about bringing some clerks back, and asked Director Day if she had heard any update on that. Director Day stated that DBI was working with the Department of Human Resources to bring some clerks in before the end of the year.
Secretary Aherne stated that the next regular meeting will be on Wednesday October 21, and said that if anyone had any items in the meantime they could get them to her or President Murphy.
Adjournment.
Commissioner Murphy made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walker that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously.
RESOLUTION NO. BIC 046-09
The meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
_______________________
Sonya Harris
Assistant Secretary
Edited by
______________________
Ann Marie Aherne
Commission Secretary
SUMMARY OF REQUESTS BY COMMISSIONERS OR FOLLOW UP ITEMS
Update on 855 Folsom Street. - Commissioner Lee Page 7
Report on 135 El Camino Del Mar to be updated in three months – Secretary Aherne Page 7
