>> this meeting of the board of appeals. we will move on to item seven, appeal number 11-078, jeanette harris, vs. department of building inspection, planning department approval, 331 spruce street, protesting the issuance on may 27, 2011 to rae cheng a

permit to alter a building, new mezzanine at 4th floor, new habitable space at 1st floor, seismic upgrade, fire sprinkler mezzanine, new property line windows, new french doors at rear and metal guardrail, remodel kitchens and bathroom, provide four new bathrooms. ms. harris, you have seven minutes. i>> good evening, commissioners. my name is jeanette harris. i am the immediate neighbor of 331 spruce street. i'm here for appeal number 11- 078.

my viewing of the plans and filing of the appeal for application 02011/03/10/1833 wee within the timeframe. i went to mr. duffy's office, but he was not there in the office, and i left the following note. i met with mr. duffy on his office on tuesday, july 11. he was very helpful. we went up to the fourth floor to look at the approved plans. ms. cheng and her architect said they do not have an elevator in the plan. mr. duffy saw the elevator on the master plan and he wrote and attached this correction notice and report after reviewing the plans that day.

mr. duffy also informed me there are other permits and the pipeline. also, i did not refuse ms. cheng's rescheduling request. today is july 13, and at her request we are here now. i viewed the plan is not only on june 10 but again on july 11 with mr. dufty. they are open and on view until july 19, and they have not been in the possession of mr. cheng. thank you for letting me speak with you today. i'm here as a concerned and impacted neighbor. i have tried to get consistent answers from mrs. cheng. i am doing this. i'm here to make sure the quality of life at my home is not impacted. i understand better what is going to happen now that he has

made the changes and corrections. i've understand that each permit has a certain scope and must be followed and overseen by the building department. this allows property line windows. i have brought out existing photos of the property line windows that looke out. in this photograph, what you can see the existing property line windows. bridget you could see the existing property line windows. this is our house next door. the proposed new windows would look into several new bedroom windows in our home. these would potentially invade our privacy. when i asked the reason for the when does, he said to capture the view. we are on a slope and the middle of the block. my longtime tenant does not like the idea of property line windows either.

this permit will allow for four new bathrooms. it states all bathroom vents are too fat to the exterior, providing -- are to vent to the exterior. where are these? i am concerned about the sound and vibration if they are to be next to my master bedroom wall. this is where the air light wells are proposed to be filled in and also where the proposed elevator will go. on page a1-03, there is a proposed alternate exit sign off on by the fire department. there was also habitable space inside the garage. they will fill in the light was on the north facade, which is next to my master bedroom wall. they're going to provide mezzanines and exterior decks at the rear.

all of this is stamped and approved by the d.a. this provides three new fire- rated windows. commissioner hwang: sorry to interrupt you. you are going through a document i don't believe i have in front of me. are you talking about the plans? >> the plans. commissioner hwang: i don't have plans. it was some not -- it was not submitted and i don't have it in front of me. ok, just wanted to make sure what you are referring to. >> i am referring to the plans. commissioner hwang: we don't have them. >> shall i go on? commissioner hwang: continue. i'm just letting you know. >> this allows french doors and guard rails, which must be in anticipation of the new rear deck on the east level. as you can see from my garden

photographs -- these decks will take all of our southern light and sun exposure. they also looked down into our garden, hence the privacy again. there was a pre-permit issuance meeting. we were only notified it and attended a pre application meeting a few days after christmas, during christmas vacation. my whole family attended at 1.5 hour meeting. there were no chairs for us at the meeting ms. cheng did not speak at the meeting. her architect was the only one who spoke. i am also wondering when these other permits will happen. i am assuming we will be notified. i want to be protected in my

home, as does my tenant. i am hoping there is something like a sound or vibration rating or something like that that would make sure that the wonderful quality of life and our home is to remain for generations to come. i am sure that all of you here today would hope for the same outcome from this remodel. again, thank you for taking the time to listen. vice president garcia: ms. harris, it seems to have confused this commissioner, and perhaps others. you're a. -- your appeal seems to be based on an elevator and rear deck, it this calls note for -- get this calls for no elevator or rear deck. >> right. vice president garcia: and then you brought up the issue of baths and whether or not they

are properly vented, and then property line windows, which i think are part of this permit. did i miss something else? what other issues you have with the. that is before us tonight? -- what other issues do you have with the permit that is before us tonight? >> what we went up and saw on the plans is there is a drawing of the master project, and it is marked approved and it shows an elevator and rear decks. that is what the correction was of his. vice president garcia: and mr. duffy will clear that up, but that is not before us now. my question is, you have an issue with the baths and whether they are properly vented, correct? >> yes. vice president garcia: you have an issue with the property line windows that you think will infringe upon your privacy. >> yes. vice president garcia: the question is, are there any other issues with this current permit

before is that you have? >> no, my only issue was if it was on the plans that i saw it mean that it is approved? vice president garcia: "it" meaning? >> whatever was on that plan. vice president garcia: he will clear that up. about but we do not have that permit -- but we do not have that permit before us. there is no permit in front of us that has anything to do with an elevator or anything to do with decks. >> so what you are saying is even know there are stamped "approved" on the plans we saw, they are not approved? the elevator has not been approved? vice president garcia: i don't have a comment on that. i am trying to narrow down the issues that are under the umbrella of the permit that is before us. is it fair to say those issues would have to do with the baths and the property line windows? >> i think that is correct. vice president garcia: i

understand your concern about something that may happen in the future, but i'm just trying to be clear about what we are to deal with tonight. >> yes. vice president garcia: thank you. commissioner hwang: i think some of the issues that you raised will be clarified by the department. >> oh, good. we can hear from the permit holder now. >> my name is bill. i am the architect. originally, my client was going to speak first, but i will. i am going to clarify this. when i start a project as an architect, especially considereh density building, it is an existing building. we were proposing remodeling to let, fairly extensive internal remodeling. the first thing i like to do,

because the building codes are not always clear as regards to the intent to remodeled buildings, there really written for the intent -- sorry, for new buildings. the first thing that i did was to write a letter to the city. we came down. we spoke to both the department of building inspection and the san francisco fire department. what you are looking at was my pre application notes. in order to make sure -- for example, we had questions about the extent of the fire sprinklers, we had issues about the extent of the accident. significant issues, we have a wood stair. one of my concerns was if that would have to be replaced. we had a great number of questions in terms of the safety of the building and in terms of great cost implications, fire sprinklers and the amount of construction. we met with them. a-103 reflects that.

when you submit your subsequent drawings, it is a requirement that we submit that pre application in order to be helped. in order to avoid additional costs, to clarify with dbi, i showed those notes that were signed by them, as well as the plans we used. on those plans, they did have an elevator and they had a light welfare plan, but those were questions. they were never part of the scope of the project. subsequent to that, we had another permit, referred to as 2010, which missed genet knows about. i have five wonderful chairs in my office. i bring them home during thinks giving them back to my office, said that as a not true

statement. we did meet regarding the issues in terms of the back and regarding the light will fill land. the only issue that we spoke of that night, the main issue with regards the elevator. what i said was when and if we ever propose an elevator, i will call you up. in the month that followed, i was sent several e-mails. did not ask about the elevator. i would get emails like, where are your elevator controls? at a certain point, i referred this to my client and said she should be contacting the powers in regards to these issues. i just want to clarify it was never the intent of this permit ever to have a light well fill- in or elevator or any decks, and two of those issues are on another permit, which mrs. harris is aware of. thank you. vice president garcia: i think it got down to an issue of the

baths and whether they are properly vented and property line windows. would you address those issues? >> the issues are up towards the front of the property. they do not look into anybody's window. they do get a nice view, but they're not near remotely any part of her building. if you look at the site plan, she has a rather extensive driveway. the house is pushed back quite far. you really do not start seeing any of her house until we get to the light well quite a distance back. the windows in no way impinge upon her privacy whatsoever, nor was the issue ever raised. buvice president garcia: and the issue of the baths, the funding? -- tghhe venting? >> the bathroom fans they make today are wonderful and relatively quiet. i don't know what to say, if he

cannot have fans, there are a code requirement, there is no way of building without having them. but the only thing i can say, by today's standards, we build wonderful fans. i don't think there will be an issue of noise or vibration. they are inside the house. the house will be well- insulated. second, i think there is one vanity on the property line, the main baths are on different parts of the house, quite far from miss harris' house. i don't think there will be an issue with a lever. vice president garcia: all baths that will be built will be built to code? >> they will. vice president garcia: thank you, sir. >> mr. duffy? >> could i say one thing? i did speak with mr. dufty yesterday. i went down and saw mr. dufty yesterday. it was my understanding that he had called ms. harris and explain to her there is no way

that sperm that -- that this permit, that the elevators or deaths were incorporated into this permit. >> good evening, commissioners. joe duffy, dbi. i met with both sides and i am hoping to clear up issues. there are no decks or an elevator approved on this. that is under appeal. there is a drawing that shows the master plan, as described. it is on there for the pre application purposes. definitely, it would not be permitted to