Board’s split vote leaves SFMTA hearing officer decision intact in Lung Transportation medallion appeal

The San Francisco Board of Appeals heard an appeal on Oct. 20 from Lung Transportation Corporation challenging an SFMTA decision to issue a notice of nonrenewal for corporate medallion no. 433. SFMTA Enforcement and Legal Affairs Manager Philip Grama told the board that a system‑wide review revealed cumulative transfers in excess of the 10% threshold codified in Transportation Code §11.09(d)(1)(a), which, in SFMTA’s view, rendered pre‑Proposition K corporate medallions null and void when that limit is exceeded.

Ken Lung, a representative of the medallion holder, testified that the medallion was purchased by his father in the 1970s and described the family’s long‑running expectation that the medallion would be retained as family property. He acknowledged some transfers over time but disputed SFMTA’s timing and characterization of those transfers. Grama said the agency sent nonrenewal notices to 316 medallions during its compliance review; 150 resolved, 49 appealed, and 121 received nonrenewal. SFMTA presented stock registers and historical exhibits it said show the ownership transfers.

Commissioners pressed both sides about the legal standard under Prop K and the Transportation Code, the cumulative nature of the 10% test, and whether family transfers within affiliates could affect the outcome. The board debated the equities of long periods of agency renewal followed by enforcement.

Commissioner Anne Lazarus moved to grant the appeal and overturn the hearing officer’s decision (on the basis that this medallion was pre‑Proposition K and transfers exceeded 10% of stock ownership). Voting on that motion produced a split: Vice President Rick Swig voted Aye; Commissioners Jose Lopez and Tina Chang voted No. The board lacked the four votes required to grant the appeal; because the motion failed and no further continuance was made, the SFMTA hearing officer’s decision remained in effect by operation of law and the appeal was not granted.