dbi has had this building many times. it has been an eyesore for many years. it is right in the city center. and the plaza is a bit of a misnomer itself. it as a city street, which is a whole nother problem. right around the plaza, the city has spent $38 million to improve the area. opera house, which is the jewel of the bayview and right next to it. $38 million around the vicinity to improve the bayview, but you do not notice the beautiful infrastructure, because all it goes to is the structure, right in the center of the plaza. it has been there for over 20 years. the department has taken back fines put on the family. i believe like $6,000 worth that were put on the family. congratulations, mr. mccarthy. it is a good day to be here to ask you to put this at the top of your agenda. and i know what you were mentioning earlier, code enforcement, this comes from the building. there will be lots of building done on bayview as soon as this building is addressed. thank you for your attention to it. take a good morning. -- >> good morning. i am a new affordable hous

d dbi at the st. patrick's day festival at civic center. this is an ongoing effort by the department to try to get out in the community more where we can do a little bit of tabling and just speak to the public for any concerns over permitting issues or other building issues. i know some of us also worked the chinese new year festival last month. we had st. patrick's day, and i think we are going to be -- you are going to see the dbi present at almost every single street fair or festival on the calendar this year. i would just like to encourage that beside dbi staffers, and the commissioner who wants to -- has nothing to do on a saturday or sunday and wants to hang out in some of our great festivals can also volunteer. it is actually a good thing to do and gives us time to chat with staff and see the different kind of questions that the public comes up with. i think that is all i have for my announcements today. thank you. >> is there any public comment on the president's announcements? commissioner ma

my counterpart over at the dbi knows that. commissioner mar had some very strong ideas, very passionate about the department and the commissioners can do some outreach and educate the public and get them more engaged in working with us. i like that passion. i like those ideas, and i would like to support commissioner mar on those efforts, and i would like to see him complete them and get them done. commissioner mccarthy: if i may, i would like to make some comments. obviously, we do not have a history of working together, but i did have the opportunity to have lunch with him, and we shared a lot of our values. the one that resonates with me, obviously, we are both from immigrant backgrounds, and he told me the story of his background, and how you progress and how the family progress and how it came out over the years and how it turned out to be such a great family. we share those values. there's a lot of conversation today about us working together. i think one of the main reasons why you have to accept this nomination -- [lau

life safety -- quex my understanding is dbi is taking for the permitting. should that be reported back to you? >> please. >> ok. we have a motion from commissioner fong -- fung. >> the landlord seemed to work pretty hard to satisfy the needs of the tenant. >> the motion from commissioner fung to continue this matter to june 13. the public meeting has been held. on that motion, president garcia, aye. vice-president hwang, aye. commissioner fung, aye. commissioner hillis. aye. >> the last item is 10. appeal no. 12-029. subject property is at 138 fifth ave. appealing the denial on february 28, 2012 of a permit to alter a building, correct the record to show ill -- legal use and occupancy as single family dwelling. you have seven minutes. >> thank you. good evening, commissioners. president garcia. i'm not taking the time to recapitulate all the stuff i submitted in writing. this is a matter of a building that was converted into multiple units without permit and we're trying to correct the record and restore the building. it has been well over a year since anyo

. >> penny, dbi, with an update on the permit tracking system. we give you a hand out on the update. we're 25% done with this 24- month project. everything has been very successful. we are on track. we completed the configuration analysis sessions last month. that involved working with the subject matter experts in building and planning on almost a daily basis. three-hour meetings, walking through requirements for this system. business processes, process improvements. and it has all been documented. we are now -- also, in march, we completed four prototypes. solid 21 tech created prototype systems for some of the documents that have been configured and showed us, based on the requirements in the process improvements, how the system will look for those parts of the work flows. we are currently in the process of enterprise analysis, and that is due this month. we are on schedule. those are extensive sessions with planning and building. we're working out the overall work flows, process improvement. what gets kicked off in planning versus dbi, how th

there are many layers of fees through dbi and the planning department.there are separate fees for the awning covers, replete cent of structures, and of course, if there is wording. these can add up to hundreds of dollars for most -- even the most basic science. this item is simply a fee waiver for the month of may to allow for easier movement forward of awning replacement and insulation of small or pedestrian-level lighting. the fee waiver legislation has been approved and supported by the small business commission. dbi's coded by surry counsel and the building inspection commission and plans department as well. in terms of the financial impact, we believe it will be relatively small. in the last three years, the average revenue for on a permit for dbi in the month of may was $12,000, so it is a relatively small amount. right now, we believe there are an outstanding projects that might be coming in the month of may in the excelsior district, which would be great to have in place. in terms of outreach, which we have often heard from this committee about h

according to the dbi. we're happy enough. >> is there any public comment? >> i work at sotheby's international realty and i'm here to address the board. i've seen this whole thing happened, i was here a month ago when the appeal to place. this neighbor is literally trying to extort money from the sky. last this -- this guy. it is not how this system is -- he will finish up this project and get out of there. it is unbelievable how the system has been abused and i hope you guys deny the appeal. president garcia: any other public comment? seeing none. >> i was absent for the hearing. i did not review the tape. i did refer to hon had read the brief and i feel prepared -- i did refer and have read the brief. i feel prepared unless there is any objection from the party's or my fellow commissioners. thank you. >> their response -- the response by the requestor of the hearing did not provide anything specific. there are certain generalized allegations of nahyan structural compliance. and denounce the new intimation. i except the department's explanation of their du

dwelling as evidenced by documents presented by the appellant and concession by dbi. with that basis, commissioner fung, aye. vice-president hwang, aye. [reading names] >> the permit is issued. >> having c[gavel] who soon >> one item on your regular calendar. item 14, case 20 11.1151d. there's a request for continuance. i have not heard whether or not the project sponsor is in agreement with that continuance. i did not have anything at this moment, so i will ask that you take up this continuance of the call of the item as opposed to right now. i'm not sure if anyone is here to speak to that, but even if they were, i would ask that you take the item of that the call of the item. would you like to allow them to speak on that? >> we can have public, about the continuance itself, but i think that the bulk of it should be discussed at the item. >> at the call of the item. thank you. with that, commissioners, we can move on to your consent calendar. items one through five make up the consent calendar this week. they are continue -- considered to be routine and will be acted

>> joe duffy, dbi. it started back in 2009. we got a complaint. actually, housing went up on a routine inspection, and noticed there was an illegal units. we sent a notice of violation. there was a subsequent permit obtained. that building permit never got signed off. there is no history after that time of an electric problem being taken out, which would have been required as well. in 2012, the enforcement action has gone to the point where -- i do not know why it took so long. we got a director's hearing decision on april 5, 2012. the owner appeared at that. it was a 15 day order. there was an order of abatement issued on the property for the illegal units. there is a building permit in place, and electrical permit in place, and a plumbing permits to remove the illegal units. we are anticipating that will happen. obviously, it did not happen in 2009. i spoke to the cheap housing inspector today. she is aware of that. the department will do everything it can to make the unit legal again. president garcia: were there any life safety issues you have

i got a call from a building inspector about a complaint that one to dbi a month ago. is that i want to clear this up. we made the appointment and went out there and took care of it. i do not agree the building apart is not doing their job. it is not an easy one. there are a lot of buildings that have violations. to clear them up is not easy. i just wanted to clear that up. thank you. >> next speaker. >> i live in this neighborhood. my name is patrick [inaudible] . >> i do not think i am qualified to speak until other people do. can i testify after the project sponsor gives their side? as a resident, i would like to hear both sides before i speak. >> normally these things are heard at the board of appeals. we are only looking at whether the director issued or did not issue a proper written response. it is not about the permit itself. >> the project sponsor can speak in public comment. >> they speak now. in public comment period to . >> bob milky. i have had many dealings with the department of inspection. they're very honest. the overview has been cooperative and helpf

as with any large organization, such as dbi, there is room for improvement. certainly, there needs to be more oversight. there probably needs to be a better system for checks and balances, when people are not doing what they are supposed to do, abating complaints when they can. we have instituted some changes. we have put an extra person in code enforcement to speed the process of notice of violation to order abatement. out of the 5000 orders of abatements, over 1000 are currently order of abatement. when i say that, it is currently the end of the process. there are 80 cases at the city attorney's office as we speak. these are all complex cases. earlier today we spend an hour- and-a-half talking about on painted walls. you can imagine, when it gets into in-laws, things of that nature, they are built and take a long time. the inspection process can be onerous at times. out of the 5000, you have a them over 1000 cases that are board of abatements. a lot of these notices of violation, some of them are code enforcement waiting for a director's hearing. many are s

dbi will be providing outreach materials. the board and the mayor will issue support of proclamations. in support of small business, dbi will waive bombing replacement these. i thought that was a great idea. thinking out of the box. also, they are participating in the request to all city departments off to bring in high school in turns as a part of the project full department. building inspectors can get ahead and engineers can get a headstart in understanding the complicated dynamics of how the city works. i know the deputy director is looking forward to it. this is a great idea, and i think it is very good. we should encourage that and send the word out to families that would be interested in that. we have a few recognitions. this one is to msr. freelier price. i am writing today to recognize the job well done by tom on my staff. she was very happy with the service, and the director has sent out a letter stating that. with that, no more public comments. i believe it is the president's announcement. back to you, madame secre

i spend my five hours a day at dbi trying to find solutions to fire protection problems like this. i come to it with that in mind. on the face of it, this permit will be very difficult to accomplish the changes that are "required" for 2323 hyde. removal of the flue -- that is mandatory for the water heater of the building. you cannot remove it. some of the windows that are shown as covered our windows to habitable spaces. -- are windows to habitable spaces. there is required light to those bases. removing those windows does not account for the fact that these are required for those purposes. i think a lot of the reason the plans show the reason to infilled these windows relates to the creation of a new spare serving the roof deck of 1100 -- stair serving the roof deck. this portion is the only portion that is within 10 feet of the 2323 building, and i think that is the portion causing the arctic. i am not sure why it could not be moved in line with the grade, which is more than 10 feet from the windows we are talking about. commissioner fung: can i interrupt you for a second? hold

president garcia: did you want to counterbalance remarks made and put some praise on dbi? [laughter] >> i do not go on the record contradicting pat buscovich whenever i can avoid it. i have nothing but praise for dbi. >> on the motion to grant the permit with all the changes being struck -- commissioner fung: aye. president garcia: aye. commissioner hurtado: aye. >> the permit is upheld with all those conditions and that finding. thank you. >> we can move on to item eight, appealed number 12-005. the property is at 2754 through 2756 beckers street, protesting the issuance to kevin robinson and jake vink a permit to alter a building -- wide in a garage door, reconfigure walls at back of a garage, electrical upgrade for condo conversion, new insulated windows at sides and rear, remodeled kitchen and bath, add new bath, and refurbish existing penthouse. we'll start with the appellant. you have seven minutes. >> good evening, members of the board. my name is jeff -- is geoff wood. hopefully, we have an easier appealed to figure out here. the permit holder wants to do mostly a

that would give someone from dbi an opportunity to go out there and check on life safety issues. i am sure mr. duffy would see that it happens in a timely -- si would support a continuation for the reason raised by commissioner hurtado. and i would so move. do you want to go to june? >> the board is currently calendar ring -- calendaring cases for june. president garcia: the appeal could be withdrawn if the client is ready to move. the board will not be generous about allowing her to remain past the graduation date. can you tell us the time when you think it is going to be? either one of you. i do not mean the day she will graduate. >> mr. president, if i may, with further stipulate a waiver of the rent for the duration of her occupancy. president garcia: thank you. >> she graduates may 19. i am not authorized right now -- i have to evaluate the issues, because that may affect our civil case. i have to think about that. i do not want to be forced to make an agreement that may affect her case later. as far as term moving out, or continuance -- as far as her moving out, or continua

there is a complaint that it complied with the dbi about 2323 hyde st. about these windows and the legality of them. i went to look at the complaint and tried to get myself appointed for today. there is something going on with regards to this easement and the area because the property line is not really shown on the plans. i believe that has gone through some sort of core process at this time. it is the first phase of the work. i do not know whether the building code would require this wall in this location. because this is the first part of the permit. i do not see the rest of the permit. there is not enough information for me to say that. if anyone has any questions, -- president garcia: why was a permit issued for a wall? >> you can apply for a permit like that if you want to spread it out. if you want to build a wall, you can build a wall. it is up to your neighborhood if they do not like that. that is why we are here, i guess. they can do it like that if they want. it is unusual but there is nothing to stop them from doing it. i am concerned about t

. >> that would most likely require an automatic door opener and a variance from ddi -- dbi, not having to have the level landing. commissioner fung: yes. >> thank you. is there any public comment on this item? commissioners, the matter is yours. commissioner fung: i would like to ask a final question of the architect. following along the same line of thought, speaking with the department representative -- i was trying to find a solution that would reduce the amount of split sidewalk. it appears, based on your analysis and their analysis, that it is going to be difficult to totally eliminate it. the question is whether we can reduce it. do you see any ways that could be accomplished? >> actually, yes, somewhat. at 11 clement, as you saw, in the warped sidewalk idea -- commissioner fung: actually, we did not see your drawing. we never received it. >> i have it here. commissioner fung: i never saw this. i am sorry. please proceed. >> at 11 clement, we reduced the step in the warped sidewalk so it is only 5 inches. we were able to do that because that portion of the building was raised up.

. >> or grant the appeal but can we delegate to dbi? >> we cannot remaned back to the apartment. the city attorney says that. >> you can make modifications to say -- >> why don't we wait until it is submitted? >> it has been. >> the bay window must be compliant. the permit holder must meet withdbi to develop a plan. there is a penalty imposed for the work that is done. >> you do not have the authority to impose a penalty but you could amend the dimensions of the window if mr. sanchez gave instructions on what they need to be. you'd also have to amend the shed roof. >> and do we have to be specific? >> it is difficult for the board to enforce it is not specific. >> the department has preferred they make specific recommendations otherwise we get into vagueness. they may say set it back in the question later is, how much? we definitely prefer to have specific. another thing was that the structural drawings do not match up with the architectural drawings. this section shows a higher roofline or ceiling inside the building. that is not actually how it is built. clearing that up, makin

able to get an assessment of what those are up front before they engage with presenting their plans to dbi and the planning department, so we are in discussion about combining a tool but will allow businesses to do our rough estimate of what the impact fees are going to be, so tomorrow there is a meeting, and in april i will be providing updates to villaraigosa -- providing updates. i think we will be providing us summer launch. goono updates on the work development plan. i hope to have a presentation of this month, but since we started late, if there is another way to tax businesses other than the payroll tax, so we are holding off on that meeting until april . i cannot officially announced the business -- the position is posted on line, and because this is a civil service position, there is a unique selection process, but the office does not have control over it as we have with other positions, so i will be keeping you --hopefully by the end of march are will be receiving who the top candidates are to interview, so i will keep you posted, and moving on to legislation, it has not been ass

when construction is completed, dbi issues these to to give a final completion. i am not even including any of the p.o's here. supervisor chiu: we have a question from supervisor wiener. supervisor wiener: a couple of things. a question for planning. this also has to do with the report. in previous reports including the complete budget from a couple of months ago, and in previous materials i have seen, when you look at the income breakdown

update on dbi finances. >> i'm with the department of bill the inspection. it will make this short and sweet because i know it is pretty late. we are still seeing a steady flow of revenue from charges for services. we are getting larger projects which tom will go over in his presentation. we are not actually -- we have only received $4.8 million of the $8.5 million because this comes through the property taxes which as many of us know where to last week. next month, we should see better figures on whether that will actually come to fruition. we are projecting it will. as you can see from the chart, 96% of the revenues have already come through. this is based on the budget. in terms of expenses, 75% of the year has gone by and we have an extended in terms of what our largest categories, which is employee salaries and fringes. currently, we have 33 requisitions and we are going for through the recruitment process. we expect to see that as we get the positions filled that number will be extending more, but we are projecting a $1.4 million surplus. the other fig

when construction is completed, dbi issues these to to give a final completion. i am not even including any of the p.o's here. supervisor chiu: we have a question from supervisor wiener. supervisor wiener: a couple of things. a question for planning. this also has to do with the report. in previous reports including the complete budget from a couple of months ago, and in previous materials i have seen, when you look at the income breakdown, 0 to 50 is low. 120-150 middle. 150 and above being general market rate. i noticed today most of it seems to stop at 120 and classified everything above that as market rate. 125% is lumped in with 300% of ami. i wondered about the rationale on the change. >> it is more difficult to attract -- track that, although we can make assumptions. supervisor wiener: i am curious why in previous reports it was broken out. this is academic. i think 150% ami at the top of that is about 100,007 dow -- is about $107,000. it is a key part of any help the economy having people of that income range and it is worth tracking. putting it together,

unlike the last case, there is no determination yet by the dbi that this is an amigo unit. there is a presumption that it is illegal but the inspector has yet to complete her research. this case has been open for four months. ms. dhillon has been searching. the problem is her income is limited, so so security. she is hearty paying more for her -- already paying more for her rent. if the owner is unable to legalize it, or it is too expensive, she needs time to move. she needs time to find something. it is one thing to put yourself on waitlists, apply for senior housing. as you know, is difficult to get in because there are some people who need the housing. she suggested she could have the kindness to submit some craif -- craigslist things. she has no car and the ideas she is going to move into some unit is not going to work. she does not know anyone there. she needs to stay in san francisco if at all possible. i would also point out that there is no evidence, even though the attorney says there is hazards, there is no proof of that. i have been to this unit. i think you know

dbi, supervisor cohen is whispering in my ear. code abatement, issues with liquor stores. there is a multi-city department effort. we have the arts commission that i met with for an hour, suggesting what they are doing at the opera house and the plaza. the opera house has a vibrant operation int he pla - -i- in the plaza. we want more events in the summertime, that is going to happen. it is right at the focal point for everybody. safety, security, making infrastructure changes. the folks that live and work there, they want change. they want cops there, so i have resources galore. knock on wood, we haven't had shootings or gun issues in the plaza for the last 90-120 days. i think that is directly attributable to the enforcement and visibility. i hope answers your question. >> i think the interagency approach makes sense, and you. >> i might ask you something that is near and dear to my heart. the community ambassador program, how do you feel about that? >> wheat keep mixing and matching. we keep mixing and matching, the office of immigrant affairs. we have a lot of city bur

a discussion on what dbi can do to help small businesses put a plan in place. >> good morning, commissioners. i'm the deputy director -- i would like to mention that we always enforced title 24, but that is including about 9% of the requirement. starting this year, we will enforce the requirement but we have to upcoming training regarding the requirements. it is a five-day training. we also have a technical service to help the public regarding the requirement. generally for small business, what we feel is on bourbon street, most of them is due to certain people complain about the requirement for entrants even if they don't have construction. we may have upcoming when we have more training for brown bag lunch to the public. i don't know what else the commission want update on those -- >> i think one of the issues that came up among small businesses in different communities is there has been a lot of lawsuits in richmond and my neighborhood -- i think it is a small group of people going in filing lawsuits with different businesses. one of the problems as they have had to hire private specialis

when it was revoked, that was correct, and it was revoked for a dbi reason, not a planning reasons. [bell rings] if i may continue? commissioner mccarthy: we have to give equal amount of time for both sides. thank you. at this time, public comment is closed. it is back to the commission. at this stage, i guess, i will hold my comments for now and open it up for the commission. >> i certainly appreciate the rights and responsibilities of the public for appealing permits if they feel that there are issues. however, appealing permits is not in our jurisdiction. these permits and these issues all are appealable to the board of appeals. as in the sand it, the issue before us is only one of whether or not the director appropriately or inappropriately did not issue a written response -- as i understand it. i have seen nothing as far as evidence one way or the other about it, and and the clock -- inclined to deny that appeal. the other issues brought before us may well be issues. it feels that it is not in our jurisdiction to be deciding on them. commissioner mar: i just wanted to say i thi

joseph duffey, dbi. the permit was applied for and properly obtained under -- over the counter. two dwelling units. the only thing i see, it is done on 3 units on that. that is probably not accurate but just for tax purposes. i do not see anything in the brief but is it legal occupancy. as far as i'm concerned, it is a two-unit building based on the permit. if anyone has any questions, i would be happy to answer them. >> is there any public comment? seeing none, commissioners, the matter is submitted. president garcia: i guess the reason it would matter whether or not it was a legal 3 units, if they were to evict this tenant and go to two units, it would represent a dwelling unit merger. different processes would have to take place. there has been no evidence presented that this is anything but two units. there is no evidence presented that anything was not done that should have been done in terms of the notice. i personally look forward to the comments, but i see no reason to grant jurisdiction. commissioner fung: i am in concurrence with that. president garcia: i would move th