Board upholds DBI permit for vertical addition at 4334–20 Fifth Street over neighbor’s procedural challenge

The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted 4–1 on July 20 to deny an appeal by Lucy Blake challenging the issuance of a vertical-addition permit for 4334–20 Fifth Street.

Blake told the board the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) had violated the code by allowing multiple extensions and issuing the permit 2,227 days after it was approved; she asked the board to revoke the permit and require a new application under current standards, including neighborhood notice and any new discretionary reviews. "The issuance of an expired permit, 2,227 days after it was approved, was clearly unlawful," Blake said in her presentation.

DBI and the planning department countered that the file was submitted in 2014, planning reviewed and approved the application in 2016, and DBI’s building official has discretion to grant extensions under Building Code Section 106A.3.7. DBI representative Matthew Green told the board he visited the site and found minor discrepancies but concluded a new permit was unnecessary; he recommended denying the rehearing request. Planning staff said the later-adopted special-use district rules likely do not apply because the application’s filing date precedes those changes.

Commissioners debated two competing concerns: whether strict enforcement of cancellation deadlines should invalidate long-standing approvals and whether revoking the permit now would be punitive to a permit holder who relied on DBI practice and had already invested in the project. Commissioner Alex Lemberg, voting to deny the appeal, said the zoning and building code grants officials discretion and that DBI’s approach fit existing practice. Vice President Anne Lazarus and several colleagues favored denying the appeal to avoid an unduly punitive outcome given DBI’s historical handling of extensions. Commissioner Lundberg dissented, saying the code’s cancellation provisions are explicit.

The board’s vote leaves the issued permit in effect; DBI officials said they would consider policy changes and website updates to reduce future confusion over extension practice.