building -- i forget the supervisor -- i think it was mirkarimi. when that ordinance was written, dpw was the lead agency for graffiti blight. we are more in a supporting role. we would be more like the broken windows. commissioner murphy: how about overgrown vacant lots? >> it is in our housing code. we can certainly address it. but the lead agency is usually dpw. we could get health involved in it, if it was deemed to be a health hazard. commissioner murphy: so the complaint would come into you, to dbi first? >> generally, yes, it would start at the third floor as a

routine complaint. then it would be routed to the sixth floor, to the building inspector we have assigned to that particular task. >> because we have had a wet spring, through june, i am sure the growth of that, especially on lots that are vulnerable, especially this summer, to brush fires. we normally think about that as outside of san francisco, but is that a possibility, where there might be a higher category of keeping an eye out for these large lots, open lots with weed growth that will ultimately become fire material by the end of summer? >> what comes to mind is

alemany housing projects. it seemed to be a lot of grass fires. you might see something like that in hunters point, around the middle point. if that acreage is not taking care of, certainly, can be a fire danger. the fire department is looking at that. most of that is publicly-owned land, so that would not be in our per view. dpw, fire department, health. commissioner mar: on the list of designations, what does oa stand for? >> order of abatement? we have gone through the abatement process, notice of violation, or we sent a letter

out, no action. we gave a reasonable amount of time and then a second notice of violation. then we set up what is called a director's hearing. what i find for a lot of these owners, they do not show up. sometimes, they are elderly, sometimes they are out of town. we send a letter to where the tax bill is sent, and oftentimes they do not pick up their mail. commissioner mar: if the second part is a registered paid, and there is an oa next to other things, is that another violation? >> from a previous year.

commissioner hechanova: any more questions? thank you. >> is there any public comment on item 3? >> good morning, commissioners. my name is nancy. i live next door to a vacant building that was vacant for 28 months. it was vacated november 2008 before the ordinance went into affect. it was finally registered in may 2010. the owners return to a property in march 2011. i want to give you some background of the problems i experienced with the implementation of this ordinance.

i experienced all the issues of blight that this ordinance addresses, but the code was not enforced. repeated attempts to have the law enforced resulted in nothing. this is a good neighborhood and did not attract the people that would have normally come in. when the police were summoned to shut the doors and inspect the property, there was no posted notice so they could not contact the owner because the sign posting requirement of the ordinance had not been respected. so the current name, address, owner of record, authorized agent, was not noticeable. there was also a notice of default on the property. the lender's name, telephone,

and address was also to be made available. none of that was. if i could get the overhead, i would like to show you some information i have. i would like to mention that the property was not maintained, windows were out. skylights were broken. security was nonexistent. i am concerned about the fact, though there were many reports, the inspectors did not come in deed, come and see these things, nor did they repair them or cite them. i am particularly interested to bring to your attention the fact that there was a complaint that talked about the building not

being approved, windows open, skylight broken, and their rear patio sliding door was unglazed. however, a property owner came and said that the property was listed as a vacant. how can a door that is missing glass, admitting people, vermin and water not be relevant? i just leave you with the thought, from my point of view, i am not sure that this program is being properly implemented. the significance of having a broken window, such as this -- i am not sure how this is being -- here we go. however a broken window can be allowed to be left in the walkway. clearly, it fell off the building. the building is not protected

from the rain. there are lots of examples of this. this is just a single family dwelling. i want to make sure you understand, this is what this ordinance was meant to protect. a simple home with simple repairs and even a piece of plywood was not a fixed. the inspectors must especially get sign posting. they must look at means of the property and must deal with security. just try the not. if it works, we have a security problem. there should be additional action taken. i hope there will be an improvement in how this is addressed at the inspection level. thank you. >> good morning, commissioners. my name is joe butler, an

architect in the city. part of the problem with a vacant building ordinance, when people come to dbi to file a complaint about a vacant building, whether or not it is registered, open to the weather, weather is being squatted, there is no formal intake for a complaint. i fill out a form and hand it to someone and lease. it does not go into a system, no computer record. how can that be? three weeks later you come back and nothing happens. well, nothing is in the record. of course, nothing has happened. nothing is in the record, but i handed in a complaint. when? what day? where did it go? it is not my job once i hand it in. i have a copy but how do they know that the copy was something

that was handed in? at the bare minimum, you need to look at this process from the start. how does a member of the public register a complaint about a vacant building? how does a member of the public register a complaint about any building? how does that get into the computer system? is it by and intake clark, were senior staff? if it is by senior staff, it does not happen. it is done by an intake clerk, that as part of their job. then you would not wait -- need to wait for senior staff. ok? let us have a process that is transparent. every complaint that comes in is treated similarly. the complaint was made on the larkin street. it went through two nov's, and the building is weathertight. it is not pretty, but it is

vacant. 2514 23rd. that is in various states of disrepair, illegal construction without a permit. open to whether probably still. two buildings, same city, same department, unequal treatment. commissioner hechanova: mr. butler, was there a tracking number when you filed the complaint? >> no, none are given. there is no process. complaints should be given numbers, just as permits are given numbers. then you can ask, what has happened to complaint number -- whatever the date may be. what happened? it is in the system, it is being sent to this person. as it is, no record. commissioner hechanova: thank

you. mr. murphy? commissioner murphy: this ordinance, since it started, this one department has done a pretty good job, spearheaded by john. looking at this, you did a great job. sure, there might be a few kinks that need to be worked out, but you are certainly on the right track. commissioner lee: with the department like to answer back on how the public can report these vacant buildings? >> first of all, starting this week, you can go online. i do not believe you will get a number.

how it happens -- you can go on line and make a complaint starting this week. the process prior to this was either by mail, phone, or coming to the front counter. it is a vacant building, it would be taken and put into a box. there is a senior building inspector that is assigned to that box and he prioritizes it. a complaint like that would go to the sixth floor. it would need to be transported up there. but by the end of the close of business or within a few hours, there is a number given. once the number is given, it is then routed to the district building inspector. if it has permits on it. if it has no permits, it is

issued to a specific building inspector for investigation. if it is a vacant building, it is brought up to the sixth floor, and the process starts there. but a number is given. on 23rd avenue, there have been multiple notices of violation. the first time i knew about the building, i was brought out there as a request for emergency demolition. i turned it down. since then, there has been a great deal of to permit activity, a great deal of complaints. we have been out there 15, 20 times. it is a typical relationship between the two neighbors. we are doing our best. in regards to 1601 larkin, i find it ironic. the owner of the property said he was not treated fairly. i believe there is a lawsuit against the city stating that. i guess it depends on which side

of this question you will look on. any questions? commissioner lee: can the public report any abandoned buildings to 311? when they take the call? >> yes, they would. it may slow you down because it is another step. i would suggest that they call directly. somebody can come to the front counter and aske for a number, but you may have to wait. a clerk has to enter it. it is possible that you stay and say, it is very important to me, i need a number. commissioner murphy: so essentially you have the system in place? >> no system is perfect. commissioner murphy: i

understand, but it is there? >> yes, it is there. >> seeing no further comments. item 4. public comment: the bic will take public comment on matters within the commission's jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda. >> good morning, commissioners. neighborhood san francisco coalition for responsible growth. i have a client who just had a building permit issued for changing their rules profile and some material reconfiguring. when he called to find out how much the permit was, he was told it would cost another $3,000 to get the permit issued. i said, go to dbi and see if you can get it revalued. i am sure they will be reasonable. i just want to read an e-mail

that i got from him. he said it went down to $144,000 from $208,000. that was based on dbi numbers per square foot. renovating two bathrooms and one kitchen. also, he could not have been nicer. everyone was great yesterday. total permits for the project came to about seven dozen $800. that is still at least two to three times more than any other city i have ever renovated in. new york, a minneapolis, boston, los angeles. so i just wanted to report back to you. i am pleased to hear that we have david at dbi who will reevaluate these projects. this is the second time this has

come to my attention. once again, thank you. >> good morning, commissioners. president of san francisco. before the clock begins, i would like to clarify how much time is a lot for public comment. three minutes, unlike the two that i was allowed last time. thank you. ok, unfortunately, this format required that i avoid any noises. you gave her a $50,000 raise not including any bonuses your order for doing such a good job. unfortunately, she exhibited willful neglect to the department of building inspection.

this is manifested itself in nearly completely lack of direction in staff as director. the magnitude of this bill is now reach a point where the department is beyond crisis. without direction, the department has devolved into a state of confusion that is truly monumental. this monumental confusion creates huge cost for customers and the department itself. i must remind you this is a public agency in charge of public safety. public safety is clearly being compromised by allowing this day to be in her position. i have required directives before. i can only assume there are no directives for staff to be produced in her defense. ms. day is therefore charged with misconduct and should be taken away from her position. if you do not dismiss her, it

will be a civic obligation failure. i believe there are additional improprieties that can be exposed. i must remind you that i informed you of this obvious malfeasance. any filly to act immediately on this threat to the health and safety of the people who live and work in san francisco will unfortunately spread the taint of malfeasance. if you are willing to forgo your civic obligations, i cannot strongly recommended that you consider your legal exposure. on top of all else, i urge you to do the right thing. i would like to recommend to all commissioners and city attorneys represented to seek legal counsel regarding this matter. thank you. >> any other public comment? >> good morning. my name is sandra burnback. i am a tenant in an sro.

the problems i have had are extensive. 34 violations of notice and the building in the three-year. period. just to talk about 3 recently. no heat for eight days. no electricity for seven days. no hot water for five days. i have contacted dbi and i have to say the inspectors have been there promptly, they did their job. the issue a notice of violation, and the process stops. nothing happens. i have gone as far as going into ms. day's office after five days without electricity, and that had raised a stink. senior staff finally got out there. they said, a pg&e could not get out there.

well, they were there within one hour once i got to ms. day's office. then they found out they did not have permits for the work. the process does not work. i met with mr. sweeney and his senior staff. they tell me the only thing they can do is issue a notice of violation. they have no way to compel the landlord to make repairs. eventually, they go to a director's hearing and eventually they will be penalized. the penalty they have is nothing. in these three cases, they have not been penalized in any way. if they do not have the ability to force the landlord to make the repair, then we have to do something. we need to get legislation to do it. if you can do it, you have to direct them to do this. these are health and safety

issues. these are not issues of [inaudible] this is health and safety. i aske you, how many days which you like to go without heat, when during that time the high temperature was 54 degrees? i am asking the commission. what is a reasonable time to repair no heat, or no hot water or electricity? commissioner lee: why don't we do this. this topic seems to -- why don't you have a seat and sit in on the next item and see what is being discussed. how we handle the notice of violations.

>>item 5. update on dbi's notice of violation (nov) procedures, including follow up. is there any additional public comment on item 4? seeing none, public comment is closed. we are now on item five. >> good morning, commissioners. ed sweeney. director of inspection services. i will give you a brief overview of the complaints, what generally happens to them. if i can get it up on the

screen. all the complaints, of course, start as a complaint. they can be landlord-tenant, such as the heat issue. it can be neighbor versus neighbor. neighborhood organizations. some people actually self- report building code issues on themselves. there is an emergency call out from police and fire that we get once or twice a week. when a complaint comes in, it is put on a standard form. as i said earlier, the standard form goes to one senior building inspector, housing inspector that is responsible for prioritizing and insuring the

correct person does the inspections in a timely manner. there is also systematic enforcement. that would be the routine housing inspections, the boiler program, condo conversion, sprinkler ordinance, things of that nature. once we go out onto a site with a complaint that has a number, then we ascertain whether or not the complaint is valid. if it is valid, we need to prioritize it. if it is for no heat, they would be given 24 hours to comply. of course, we would have to send letters, phone calls to the owner, manager, if there is one. if the issue is not dealt with

satisfactorily, we give a second notice of violation. a second notice of violation clears the way for a director's hearing. directors hearings are every thursday. at 9:00, room 2001. that is probably where the breakdown occurs. getting them to a director's hearing takes about one week. of course, the building code allows us to go in and actually do the repairs. in my 12 years, that has been almost nonexistent. we are careful not to do that. it is hard to get reimbursed. it is going to take us probably a good deal longer than the

property owner to go in there and do the work. we do not have anybody on call, the way the system works, so we would have to go out and find somebody. once you are in code enforcement and you have an order of abatement against your building, you are given specific amount of time to do the repairs, get a permit, if one is required, and then get it signed off. if not, you get an order of abatement on your property. what an order of abatement will do, the lender is notified, it will be hard to get a loan. it will be harder to sell your property, especially these days. notice of violation, it can be

times 9, work without a permit, times two, work without scope. vacant buildings, 1st 30 days, there is no penalty if you comply. it just depends on the nature of the complaint and the inspector going out there. we try to get reasonable amount of time. people do have to obtain permits, coordinate the work, do the work, and finish it and get the necessary sign-ons and coordinate the necessary inspections. it all takes time. the assessment of cost, penalties. the assessment of cost now goes from the time