Building Inspection Commission
BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION (BIC)
Department of Building Inspection (DBI)
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, December 4, 2006 at 9:00 a.m.
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 400
Aired Live on SFGTV Channel 78
ADOPTED FEBRUARY 5, 2007
MINUTES
The regular meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 10:05 a.m. by President Walker.
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Call to Order and Roll Call – Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified. |
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COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENTS: |
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Debra Walker, President Criss Romero, Commissioner (9:10 a.m.) |
Frank Lee, Vice-President |
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Ann Aherne, Commission Secretary |
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D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES: |
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Amy Lee, Acting Director Carla Johnson, Acting Deputy Director Wing Lau, Deputy Director Taras Madison, Chief Administrative Officer Bill Strawn, Communications Manager Rosemary Bosque, Chief Housing Inspector Laurence Kornfield, Chief Building Inspector, Technical Services Division Raymond Lui, Manager, Structural Safety & Emergency Management Division Alan Tokugawa, Technical Services Division, Secretary to the CAC Sonya Harris, Secretary |
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CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE REPRESENTATIVES: |
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President’s Announcements
President Walker announced the Joint Meeting of the Building Inspection Commission and the Planning Commission to take place on Thursday, December 7, 2006 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall in the Board of Supervisor’s Chambers. President Walker said that the meeting would deal with the coordinated efforts of Building and Planning around permitting and activities that the Departments do together to better coordinate the Departments and the processes.
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Director’s Report.
a. Status of MIS. b. Performance Statistics. Ms. Lee stated that last month there were about 11,000 inspections done and said that there was an increase in activity as people are trying to get things done before the wet weather. Ms. Lee said that the Department is doing a better job with the life safety response time and said that the Department is trying to redefine life safety to not include abandoned buildings, which skew the response time. Ms. Lee said that the inspection turnaround time for building, plumbing and electrical is 97% and said that the Department is trying to reach the goal of 98%. There was no public comment on the Director’s report. |
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Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda. Mr. Tony Fu showed a letter from the Mayor of Redwood City stating that Mr. Fu is an honest, hardworking man. Mr. Fu stated that he has tried to follow that creed, but said that he could no longer stay silent about Ms. Lei’s project. Mr. Fu said that the City Attorney was allowing Ms. Lei’s home to be searched without just cause and without a warrant and stated that the City Attorney has produced perjured declarations. Mr. Fu said that DBI had alleged that Ms. Lei had done a rear extension of 20 by 25 feet and a penthouse on the top floor. Mr. Fu stated that this was not the case and was not true. President Walker said that she believed that this project was actually being reviewed by several other agencies and was now out of DBI’s jurisdiction. Acting Director Lee said that currently DBI was working with the City Attorney as well as with outside Federal authorities. Commissioner Hirsch asked if staff could give a brief description of what this is about. Ms. Lee said that this was not an agendized item and said she would rather not discuss it. Ms. Lee called on Acting Deputy Director Carla Johnson to speak briefly on the issue. Acting Deputy Director Carla Johnson said that there is a long history on this case and said that there was litigation that was filed by the property owner against the City, as well as litigation that was filed by the City against the property owner. Ms. Johnson stated that this litigation ended up going before a judge for arbitration and said that the issue is all about the nature of the permits and the necessary plans that need to be submitted to clear outstanding Code violations. Ms. Johnson said that the plans are currently on hold with the Planning Department and would be going through the Section 311 neighborhood notification process. Ms. Johnson said that she believed that the permit holder was hoping to avoid that notification process. Ms. Johnson stated that this matter is in the hands of the Planning Department and said that the judge ruled on that specific issue. President Walker suggested that the Ms. Lei and Mr. Fu attend the Joint meeting to be held with the Planning Commission on Thursday evening to speak at public comment. Acting Deputy Director Carla Johnson said that this property was finished on the exterior, but said that the interior is actually exposed and that was part of the delay in the whole process. Ms. Johnson said that DBI staff was trying to get the property owner to remove sheet rock to determine if the building was substantially reframed as part of the alteration project. There was no further public comment. |
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Update on DBI’s search for a permanent Director. [President Debra Walker] |
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President Walker said that she was happy to report that the search firm, Bob Murray & Associates, had received around 45 applications for the position of Director of DBI and had gone through the process of evaluating all of those applications. President Walker stated that she had asked a couple of City officials, Controller Ed Harrington, City Administrator Ed Lee and the Director of the Department of Public Works for advice on these applications and the process. President Walker said that Regan Williams of Bob Murray & Associates is in the process of ranking the candidates and will be coming before the Commission to make recommendations. President Walker said that the interviews would probably happen in January. President Walker said that she had requested information from the City Attorney about specific legal requirements and boundaries for the interview process so that the Commission will be in compliance with Sunshine laws and public notice requirements. President Walker stated that she thought that the Commission would interview in Closed Session and would try to do it in one day. Commissioner Hirsch asked if all of the Commissioners would see all of the 45 applications. President Walker said that the Commissioners would see all of the applications, except for those applicants that requested confidentiality at the level of the search firm unless that applicant is included in the top level of consideration. Commissioner Hirsch said that he understood that some applicants had not made the final cut because of some technicalities. President Walker said that it would probably be because the applicant did not meet the minimum requirements. Commissioner Hirsch asked if the Commission could still choose to interview any of those applicants. President Walker said that there are minimum requirements and if people do not meet the minimum requirement then that applicant would not be interviewed. Commissioner Theriault said that he would still like to see the entire list and see what the basis for exclusion was. President Walker stated that the Commissioners would see why people were put in one category or another as the interviews are set up. Commissioner Murphy said that he thought it was important that when the Commission gets down to a final candidate that the vote for a new Director be unanimous.
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6. | Discussion and possible action to adopt a policy regarding Commissioner attendance at BIC meetings. [President Debra Walker] President Walker said that the Commission had received a directive from the Mayor’s Office regarding Commissioner’s attendance at meetings. President Walker stated that attendance at BIC meetings had not been a problem. President Walker read some of the items on the directive from the Mayor’s Office regarding attendance: All Commissioner’s absences are to be excused in which a Commission Secretary or appropriate representative is notified in advance of the meeting about the absence; A working goal of 100% attendance of Commissioners which shows the critical importance of attendance as a practical matter; Each Commission should have at least 90% of attendance to the regular commission meetings; In order to monitor efforts towards these goals the Mayor is asking that Commission Secretaries submit an annual report to the Mayor’s Office detailing Commissioner attendance each year and asks Commission Secretaries to contact the Commission Liaison if a Commissioner misses a meeting without contacting the Department in advance or has missed three meetings in a fiscal year so that the Mayor’s Office can contact the Commissioner and discuss the issue.
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Status of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DBI and the San Francisco Housing Authority concerning DBI’s Building Code enforcement activities in Housing Authority projects. [Chief Housing Inspector Rosemary Bosque]
Acting Director Lee said that this was an item that was brought to the Commission previously in draft. Chief Housing Inspector Rosemary Bosque said that she wanted to emphasize that the Department’s ultimate goal is to make sure that the residents of the Housing Authority live in a house with safe conditions. Ms. Bosque stated that DBI has powerful tools such as litigation so the Department wants to be of assistance to the Housing Authority, given their limitations on making sure that maintenance issues get addressed for the residents. Ms. Bosque said that this MOU is one step in that direction to make DBI as well as the Housing Authority more accountable to these residents. Ms. Bosque said that a document was transmitted to the Housing Authority last week and DBI did get confirmation by phone that the Housing Authority’s General Counsel’s Office was reviewing it. Ms. Bosque said that she was sure that there will be some suggestions or revisions, but said that the process was moving forward and said that staff would keep the Commission informed. President Walker asked if there was a timeline on this issue. Ms. Bosque said that she would give the Housing Authority until the end of the week to review the document and then call to follow up. Vice-President Lee asked if Ms. Bosque could come back in a couple of months and give the Commission a status of what type of complaints came in and how they were resolved. Ms. Bosque said that she could include that information in the monthly statistics or on a quarterly basis.
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Discussion and possible action to adopt Ordinance amending the San Francisco Building Code by adding Section 102.21 to require official placards to be used to warn of unsafe building occupancies following disasters; and adopt findings (File No. 061211). Sponsored by the Board of Supervisors. [Emergency Program Coordinator Vernon Takasuka] Mr. Vernon Takasuka said that the mission of the Department of Building Inspection after a major event such as the Loma Prieta earthquake is to get people back into their buildings as soon as possible and said that a final component of that process is the placement of official placards on buildings after an assessment has been made. Mr. Takasuka said that the placards clearly identify conditions of buildings to owners and occupants and said that the goal is to propose a formal adoption of these placards to the Commission. Mr. Takasuka stated that in the past the placards had only been a recommendation and this adoption would make them official and enforceable. Mr. Takasuka reported that the California Buildings Officials (CALBO) and the Office of Emergency Services were encouraging all cities to have a uniform placarding system in place throughout the State. Mr. Takasuka said that there is a pool of about 4,000 disaster workers throughout the State that are called upon after a major or regional event and it is important that all of these workers be trained with consistence and uniformity regarding these placards. Mr. Takasuka explained the uses of the yellow, green and red placards.
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9. | Discussion and possible action to adopt Ordinance amending the San Francisco Building Code by adding Sections 106.4.1.3, 105.6.2, 106.3.2 and 1701.5 to create a Crestmont Hill Slope Protection Area, specify the composition of the Structural Advisory Committee for permit applications located within that area, require that the applicant provide substantial documentation that there exists sufficient infrastructure to support the proposed residential development and that the proposed emergency access routes meet standards in effect at the time of the application and to require special inspections throughout the construction process for sites located within the Crestmont Hill Slope Protection Area. (File No. 061109). Sponsored by Supervisor Elsbernd. [Principal Engineer/Assistant Manager of Permit Services Hanson Tom] President Walker introduced Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and thanked him for coming to present this item. Supervisor Elsbernd said that normally he would not get involved in such a project and would let the developer deal with the Planning Code, the Planning process and the environmental process, but said that from listening to neighbors in this area a lot of their concerns revolve around questions of seismic and structural safety. Supervisor Elsbernd said that this situation reminded him of the discussion he had with residents and neighbors in the area of the mountains in the West Portal Area. Supervisor Elsbernd stated that at that time the then Board of Supervisors passed legislation in the Building Code with respect to projects in the Edgehill Mountains and said that he basically copied that legislation for Mount Sutro. Supervisor Elsbernd thanked the Department for their technical savvy and sophistication in drafting this legislation. Supervisor Elsbernd said that the project sponsor was present to speak along with many of the concerned neighbors. Supervisor Elsbernd said that he would be available to answer any questions. Mr. Hanson Tom, Principal Engineer for the Department of Building Inspection, said that Supervisor Elsbernd had given a thorough explanation of the situation and said that there were a lot of similarities in this area to the Edgehill Mountain area. Mr. Tom said that in examining the area with the Code Advisory Committee it was suggested that it would be prudent to create a Structural Advisory Committee review for any new construction or any alterations that involve substantial change in the Mount Sutro area. Mr. Tom stated that the Structural Advisory Committee would consist of a Structural Engineer, a Geologist, a Geotechnical Engineer and Architects. Mr. Tom said that the Department was supporting this legislation. Commissioner Murphy asked if this special Advisory Committee would be triggered for all new construction such as small decks. Mr. Tom said that it would be only large construction projects that would trigger a review.
President Walker stated that the motion would be to adopt the legislation and recommend to the Board of Supervisors that a survey be completed within three months to establish specific boundaries and this would come back through DBI and the Code Advisory Committee for the mapping to be approved; the legislation would then come back to the BIC for final approval of the map. Commissioner Hirsch said that he wanted to make his concern clear with this legislation as he thought that there were two things going on with this discussion. Commissioner Hirsch said that it was good public policy to make sure that a certain geologic, geographic area of the City goes under scrutiny for property development. Commissioner Hirsch said that there is another issue that is unstated and that this is directed to a specific project that is being contemplated. Commissioner Hirsch stated that it seemed from the testimony heard that people who are against this unnamed project are in favor of this ordinance in the hopes that the geologic and geotechnical and hazardous study that will result, will kill the project. Commissioner Hirsch said that he would vote for this ordinance with great misgivings, in the sense that he did not think it good public policy to legislate this sort of thing. Commissioner Hirsch said that he felt that if the Building Code is not strong enough, generically, for the City and County of San Francisco and requires special amendments on a district by district situation, then perhaps the whole Building Code needs review, not just a specific amendment like this.
President Walker asked for a vote on the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
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10. | Status of Seismic Initiatives including Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS). [Manager Raymond Lui, Structural Safety & Emergency Management Division & Chief Building Inspector/Manager of Technical Services Laurence Kornfield] Manager Ray Lui reported that on November 15th and 16th the Department participated in Golden Guardian that was a regional wide exercise conducted at the State level by activating the regional emergency operations center and the local emergency operations center at 1011 Turk Street for response to a 7.9 earthquake on the San Andreas Fault. Mr. Lui said that the Fire Departments from several local jurisdictions participated in urban search and rescue task forces. Mr. Lui stated that DBI did quite a few things well and definitely learned about a few things that need improvement in case of an emergency.
Doing a field inventory to evaluate buildings in order to create a City-wide database. This should be completed sometime in April.
Speaking with other jurisdictions to assess what they are doing with the auto shut off valve. There will be a second public meeting on January 24th.
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11. | Review and approval of the minutes of the November 6, 2006 meeting.
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12. | 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.
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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 public comment.
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14 | Adjournment.
Commissioner Murphy made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Theriault that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously.
RESOLUTION NO. BIC 059-06 |
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Respectfully Submitted, Ann Marie Aherne |
SUMMARY OF REQUESTS BY COMMISSIONERS |
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List of potential members of the Public Advisory Committee for the CAPSS program from Acting Director Lee. – Commissioner Theriault |
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Update on UMB funds being switched for use on other seismic issues. – President Walker |
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Update on process for interviewing potential candidates for the position of permanent Director. – President Walker |
Pages 8-9 |
Update on Memorandum of Understanding between DBI and the San Francisco Housing Authority. – President Walker |
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