Commission approves temporary amnesty approach to legalize unpermitted awnings

The Building Inspection Commission voted unanimously May 17 to support a temporary amnesty program designed to legalize existing unpermitted awnings, streamline review and waive most permit fees and penalties for qualifying businesses.

DBI Communications Director Patrick Hannan explained the program would pause enforcement for affected owners, extend the compliance window through June 1 and waive many fees associated with corrective work. DBI will accept an initial online, dimensioned photo that staff can review to determine whether a desk review is sufficient or whether further corrective work and a building permit are required; in the latter case, permit fees associated with the amnesty would be waived though some state surcharges and board-of-appeals surcharges would remain.

Speakers from the Code Advisory Committee and community representatives praised DBI’s approach, noting a spike in anonymous complaints earlier in the season and concentrated impacts in neighborhoods such as Chinatown and Tenderloin. Commissioners and the city attorney discussed safeguards against deliberately installing new unpermitted awnings to exploit amnesty; the city attorney noted that newly installed awnings would not receive grandfathering under the planning code and so would not qualify for nonconforming status.