Board upholds ADU permit in Mission after neighbors cite privacy and light concerns

San Francisco — Neighbors in the Mission raised privacy, light, open‑space and neighborhood‑character objections to a proposed three‑story detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at the rear of 1024 Cap Street, but the Board of Appeals on May 18 denied the appeal and upheld the permit.

Appellant Monica Ortega said the project would create "unreasonable privacy impacts" for long‑time residents and disputed the permit holder’s account of neighborhood outreach. She requested modifications including a lower height, a sloped roof and frosted windows to reduce impacts.

Permit representatives and the planning department said the ADU complies with the residential design guidelines and open‑space requirements. Planning’s Tina Tam told the board the ADU is approximately 1,600 square feet, measures 30 feet in height, includes a roof deck setback to minimize privacy impacts and that neighborhood notification and posting occurred in 2021. The department also said buy‑outs were recorded but are not the same as evictions for code purposes and therefore do not bar the ADU.

Neighbor commenters urged a smaller building or a light‑impact study; the permit holder’s representative and the Planning Department noted existing neighborhood context including other three‑story rear buildings and the through‑lot configuration that permits the ADU under current rules.

After discussion, the board denied the appeal 4–0, with Commissioner Chang moving to deny on the basis that the permit had been properly issued. Commissioners cited the Planning Department’s consistency review and the project’s conformance with Article 25/design guidance.