Planning commission approves San Bruno Avenue conditional use with tenant relocation and monitoring conditions

The San Francisco Planning Commission on May 4 approved a conditional use authorization for the multi‑building complex at San Bruno Avenue (2861–2899), directing staff to monitor implementation of a tenant phasing and relocation plan and to track developer compliance through required monitoring fees and six‑month status reports.

Planning staff said the approvals are intended to undo illegal construction—removing 20 dwelling units that were built without permits, approving a de‑facto demolition of an interior building and modifying the inclusionary housing compliance method from on‑site to an in‑lieu fee. Deputy director Liz Waddy told the commission staff had prepared a tenant relocation exhibit, translated tenant FAQs into Spanish and Cantonese, and would take a proactive rather than complaint‑driven approach to enforcement. Waddy added, "Condition of approval number 17 requires the sponsor to pay us a monitoring fee" and the department would report to the commission every six months until construction is completed.

Tenants and advocates said the owners had created the risk by failing to follow permitting and inspection requirements. Alicia Sandoval of the Housing Rights Committee, who said she has worked closely with tenants at 2861–2899 San Bruno, told the commission "Tenants are at risk of being displaced" and urged the owners to "take ownership of what they have done." Tenant representative Mark Deutschman said roughly 40 tenants — "the majority" — were represented in outreach and that legal action already filed would press the owners to negotiate.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on timing and construction logistics. Project counsel Ryan Patterson said the sponsor had submitted more than 20 plan sets over several years and requested flexibility in construction timing, noting legal restrictions on relocating families with children during the school year. The Department of Public Health Maher caseworker Ryan Casey described historic contamination on a portion of the site—"elevated concentrations of diesel and motor oil and lead" at depths of roughly 2 to 7 feet—and said a site mitigation plan approved in 2014 required a final report that the department has not yet received. Casey and staff said site mitigation and confirmation sampling would be addressed during the building permit review and that the planning department would route permits concurrently to DPH and DBI to expedite review.

Commissioners added amendments clarifying that tenant notices and timeline updates be posted and mailed to tenants and that written records be created for any tenant acceptance or rejection of relocation offers. The motion to approve the project as amended passed unanimously.