1673 Sacramento Street - Notice of Decision

7/24/2019 1673 Sacramento Street - Notice of Decision

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SAN

FRANCISCO

P

LANNING

DEPARTMENT

1 6 5 0

M i s s

S

eptember 0,

015

S u i t e 4 0 0

Sa n F r a n c i

C

A

9 4 1 0 3 -

ng

Jing Li

R e c e p t i o n :

29016th Avenue

4 1 5 . 5 5 8 .

S

an

rancisco,

CA

4118

NOTICE

OF ECISION

4 1 5 . 5 5 8 .

S

F dministrative Code Cha

t e r

41A

hort

Term esidential

Rental

P l a n n i n g

p

n t o r m a t i o n

4

1 5 . 5 5 8 .

Si t e

Address:

1673 Sacra mento

t r e e t

A

s e s s o r s

Block/Lot:

0644/019

Zoning i s t r i c t :

RM-3: e s i d e n t i a l , Mixed Low

ensity

C

omplaint

Number:

2015-006183ENF

H

earing Officer: Audrey Butkus,

415) 75-9129

or

[email protected]

DECISION

T

he

i r e c t o r s

appointed hearing o f f i c e r , Audrey Butkus,

ha s

determined that

Ming ing L i , the owner

f

16783 Sacramento

S t r e e t ha s

v i o l a t e d Administrative Code

hapter 41A o r i l l e g a l l y o f f e r i n g a

dwelling

u

n i t

f o r rent a s a Tourist

or

Trans ient use.

The e t a i l s

of

the v i o l a t i o n

an d

decision

are

discussed

below.

Th i s decision s based

on

he

n t i r e t y of the record

before

the

hearing

o f f i c e r , including

but not

limited to

testimony

of

witnesses

an d

the

responsible

p a r t i e s

an d

information submitted by

Planning

Department

s

t a f f ,

the

responsible p a r t y / i e s , an d

other witnesses.

T h e

record may

be

found

a t

1650

Mission S t r e e t ,

S

u i t e

400,

San Francisco.

Although

f a c t u a l

information from the record i s

summarized below, t h i s

d

e c i s i o n i s

based on he record as a

whole.

DESCRIPTION OF

VIOLATION

The

subject property contains

three dwelling units a s

well

a s

a n l l e g a l l y constructed

bas ement which the

Department of

Building

Inspection

has

determined

i s part

of

the

unit at

1669

Sacramento

S t r e e t .

T he

Planning Department

received

a

complaint

on

May

,

2015,

l l e g i n g that

the property

was

eing used o r

short

term

r e n t a l s .

S t a f f

found

the

property

advertised

online

f o r rent

on

a

nightly

or

weekly

b a s i s

through the websites, Airbnb

www.airbnb.com).

U

NLAWFUL

CONVERSION

C

hapter 41A of

the

San Francisco

Administrative

Code

r o h i b i t s the

o f f e r i n g

of

r e s i d e n t i a l units

f o r

To u r i s t

or Transient

use

(which

i s a

r e n t a l f o r

l e s s

than 30

ays),

unless

the

units

are

r e g i s t e r e d

on

the

S

hort-term Residential

Rental

R e g i s t r y .

Under

dministrative Code

ection 41A.6, f the Hearing

O f f i c e r

d

etermines

that a

v i o l a t i o n

ha s

occurred,

n

administrative

penalty

h a l l be

assessed

as

ollows:

w

ww.s~planning.org


2/4

1661-1673 Sacramento Street

C

omplaint

No.

015-006183ENF

Chapter 41A Notice

of

Decision

S

eptember

10,2015

1

. For

the i n i t i a l v i o l a t i o n , not more than four

times the standard

hourly administrative

r a t e of

121.00

for

each unlawfully

converted

unit,

or

for

each

i d e n t i f i e d f a i l u r e

of

a

Hosting Platform

to

c

omply

with the

requirements

of subsection

g ) 4 ) ,

per day from the notice

of

Complaint u n t i l

s

uch

time

as the

unlawful

c t i v i t y terminates;

2

. For

the

second

v i o l a t i o n by

the

same

Owner(s),

Business

Entity,

or

Hosting

Platform,

not

more

t

han

eight

times the

standard

hourly

administrative r a t e of

121.00

for

each unlawfully converted

u

n i t ,

or

for

each


of

a

Hosting Platform to

comply

with

the requirements of

subsection g ) 4 ) , per

day rom

the

day

the unlawful a c t i v i t y

commenced n t i l

such time

as the

unlawful

c t i v i t y

terminates;and

3

For

the t h i r d and any subsequent

violation

by the

same

Owner(s),

Business

Entity,

or

Hosting

Platform,

not

more

han twelve times

the

standard

hourly

administrative

rate

of

121.00

for each

u

nlawfully

converted unit

or for

each


of

a

Hosting Platform

to

comply with

the

r

equirements of

subsection (g)(4) per

day from the day

the

unlawful a c t i v i t y commenced n t i l

s

uch

time as

the

unlawful c t i v i t y

terminates.

C

OMPLAINT

AND

SUPPORTING

DOCUMENTS.

On May

,

2015,

Planning

Department

t a f f

received a

complaint

that the subject

property

was perating

as

an

unauthorized short-term r e s i d e n t i a l r e n t a l . S t a f f

was provided

the

l i s t i n g s

by

the complainant

advertising

numerous rooms

n

the building on

he

website

www.airbnb.com for

short term r e n t a l s .

NOTICE

OF COMPLAINT

AND

APPARENT VIOLATION

On

une 30, 2015,

t a f f

issues a

Notice

of

Complaint to the

property

owner

by

e r t i f i e d

and non- c e r t i f i e d

m

i l .

O

n

uly

1, 2015, t a f f

posts a notice

at

the subject

property

notifying the property owner

nd

a l l

interested

pa r t i e s of the hearing.

P

RE-HEARING SUBMISSION

O

n

May

8th,

2015,

Hooshmand Law

Group

submitted,

on

behalf of

Katieanne Moran enant of 1669

Sacramento S t r e e t , a document

etailing

the alleged

violations

in

each

room of

1673

Sacramento S t r e e t .

Additionally,

printouts of

i s t i n g s

through Airbnb

were

submitted.

O

n May 5th, 2015,

DBI

nspector

Christopher

Grady ubmitted

photographs of

the

n t e r i o r

of

1669-1673

Sacramento Street demonstrating

that

individual

rooms

had been converted

to

separate s hort-term

rental

u

n i t s

at the

basement level

of

1669 as well

as at

1673.

A

DMINISTRATIVE

HEARING

On August

12,

2015, the hearing o f f i c e r

convened the administrative

hearing. All

t e s t i f y i n g witnesses

were

sworn

n

and the

hearing

was

udio recorded.

The

earing

was

ttended

by he following

people:

s.

Audrey

utkus, Hearing

Officer

r.

Matthew

itto,

t a f f Planner

r.Ming ing L i ,

property

owner

r.

yson

Redenbarger, epresentative

for

the complainant the

tenant at

1669 Sacramento

t r e e t )

SAN

FRANCISCO

LANNING

DEPARTMENT


3/4

1661-1673

Sacramento

Street

C

omplaint

No.

015-006183ENF

Chapter 41A

Notice of

Decision

S

eptember 10,2015

.

Ditto,

the

case

planner,

presented the

information

summarized

in the t a f f report

for 1673 Sacramento

St r e e t

including:

/1/15:

S t a f f

received

a

complaint

against

the

subject

property from the

Department

of

Building

I

nspection

(DBI),

alleging

the

conversion of

1673 Sacramento

Street

to

unauthorized

short-term

rental

u n i t s .

/8/15:

t a f f was

provided

documentation from

Hooshmand

Law Group on

behalf

of

Katieanne

ran, tenant

of

166 9 Sacramento S t r e e t ,

which

outlined the alleged

violations

and

provided

printouts

of

online

i s t i n g s for 1673 Sacramento

t r e e t .

/15/15:

S t a f f

was

provided

photographic

evidence from

DBI

etailing

unpermitted

construction

t

o

convert the

individual rooms to short-term

rental

u n i t s ,

and discovered

f i v e active

online

l

i s t i n g s

for nightly

stays at

1673

Sacramento t r e e t .

/2/15: T h e

property

owner submitted

aShort-Term

Residential

Rental

Registry

application for

1673

Sacramento S t r e e t ;

however, the

application

was

missing

some required

documentation,

and

emains incomplete as

of August 2, 2015.

/30/15:

t a f f

issued

a

Notice of

Complaint

to the

property

owner

of

1673 Sacramento

Street via

b

oth USPS

e r t i f i e d Mail

and USPS

tandard

Post.

t a f f

received

a

return

receipt

of

delivery for

t

he

Certified

Mailing, signed by the property

owner, indicating

t h e i r receipt

of

the

Notice

of

C

omplaint.

/1/15:

t a f f placed a Notice

of Hearing on he

subject property.

/6/15:

S t a f f

was

contacted

by

the property

owner

regarding

the Notice

of Complaint.

The

property

owner ndicated a desire to come

nto

compliance

immediately by

removing the

l i s t i n g s

a

nd

ancelling future r e n t a l s .

/7/15:

S t a f f found that

the online

l i s t i n g s were removed .

No

onfirmation of

the

future r e n t a l s

b

eing

cancelled had

been submitted

as

of

the

hearing

date.

M

.

L i ,

the property

owner,

ave

the following testimony:

he

onducted

a onth

ong remodel

of the

building which concluded

in January of

2015.

After

t

he

remodel

concluded

she had two

short-term

rental

l i s t i n g s

advertising the

building. She

received the

Department s

Notice of

Complaint

on

June 3 0 t h ,

2015

and applied

for

a

r e s i d e n t i a l

s

hort-term rental e r t i f i c a t e with the

Planning

Department

on

une

2,

2015.

.

Redenbarger,

representative for the

complainant,

ave

the following

testimony:

he

complainant i v e s at

166 9 Sacramento

Street

which

i s the

ground

f l

oor unit

of

the

three-unit

building.

l l e g a l

construction

and

excavation

at

166 9 Sacramento

Street resulted

in

the

creation

of

abasement level which

the

Department

of

Building

Inspection

has

determined

i s

part of

unit

1669.

Prior to

the

construction

the

basement was

not

E u l l y

excavated

and was

ot

livable

space;

nstead

used

for

storage

but always

connected

to

1669

according

to

his

c l i e n t .

After the

c

onstruction

of

the

basement,

approximately i x to eight

individual

rooms

were

created

and were

advertised

on Airbnb.com for

short-term r e n t a l s .

A

itchen and other

living

rooms

were

also

c

reated at

the

basement e v e l .

After the

remodel

of

1673

the entire

unit s

l a i d

out i k e a

hotel with

ndividual

rooms

numbered down a

hallway.

Each of

these

rooms

are

available

for

rent short-

term. The

omplainant has

spoken

to

guests who

ave

stayed in these rooms

hort-term.

he

complainant has

observed

t h i s

short-term

rental

a c t i v i t y

at

1669-1673 Sacramento

occurring

since

2014 and

t h i s property i s

not the

property owner s only

short-term

rental

property.

The

SAN FRANCISCO

LANNING

DEPARTMENT


4/4

1661-1673

Sacramento t r e e t

C

omplaint

No.

015-006183ENF

Chapter

41A

Notice of

Decision

S

eptember 10,

2015

c

omplainant

does

not know f

1673

i s

Ms. Li

permanent

residence.

T ' h e

complainant

found

ac t i v e

l i s t i n g s for

1669-1673 as

a t e

as

July

7,

2015.

POST

-HEARING

SUBMISSIONS

T

he

representative f o r

the complainant,

Mr.

Tyson

Redenbarger,

submitted a

packet of

additional

nformation

on

August

18,

015.

ummary

f

the

submittal s

below:

i s t i n g s

dated July

6, 2015 showing

the various

rooms f o r

short-term r e n t a l a t

1669-1673

S

acramento S t r e e t ,

hosted

by

Ming

ing L i .

T

he

property owner,

Ms. Ming

ing

L i ,

submitted a packet of

additional

information

on

August

18,

2015.

Asummary

f

the

submittal s

below:

Proof of

cancelled

bookings o r a l l

advertised

rooms o r any stay

which

would

occur

E o r l e s s than

3

0

ays, as

well

as

proof of

some

f her

stays during

the

course

of

the enforcement

period

were

f

or

at

e a s t

3 0 days.

F

INDINGS

B

ased

on

he

review

of

the

record

as a

whole,

he hearing

o f f i c e r

finds as

follows:

1. That

two dwelling

u n i t s

a t

the subject

property

were

offered

f o r

Tourist or

Transient

use

u n t i l

a t

l

east

July

6, 015.

2

.

T ' h e

property

owner, Ming

ing L i ,

has provided

evidence that both

the unit

a t

1669

Sacramento

S

t r e e t

and the

unit

a t 1673

Sacramento S t r e e t

are

no

onger

being

used

for

t o u r i s t or

t r a n s i e n t us e

a

s of July

6,

2015

based on ooking

c a n c e l l a t i o n s

and

confirmations submitted by

Ms.

i .

C

ONCLUSION AND

ORDER

B

ased

on

he

above

findings

and

the evidence

in

the

record

as

a whole,

the hearing

o f f i c e r

determines

that

t

wo dwelling

u n i t s a t the

property

were

offered f o r Tourist or

Transient

through at l e a s t

July

6, 2015 in

v i o l a t i o n of

Administrative

Code

hapter

4 1 A .

Because t h i s i s an n i t i a l

v i o l a t i o n ,

the hearing

o f f i c e r

may

as s e s s

administrative

p e n a l t i e s f rom the

date of

the

Notice

of

Complaint

(here

June

30,

2015) n t i l

the

da t e the

v i o l a t i o n

i s

cured (here July

6,

2015) on

both a

per diem

and per

unit

b a s i s .

Thus, by

t h i s

d

etermination

the hearing o f f i c e r

assesses

administrative

p e n a l t i e s

against

the property owner

o r a t o t a l

of 14

days seven

day s

per

two

units) t a r a t e of $484

per day.

Accordingly,

administrative

p e n a l t i e s f o r

t

he t o t a l

amount of

6 , 7 7 6 . 0 0 ,

i s now

due

to

the Planning

Department.

Please

submit

a

check

for

the

t

o t a l

amount f

6 , 7 7 6 . 0 0 ,

payable to Planning

Department Code

nforcement

Fund

immediately.

T

h i s

decision

only

concerns the

v i o l a t i o n

of

Chapter 41A of

the

San

Francisco

Administrative

Code

and

d

oes

not

resolve

any other

outstanding

v i o l a t i o n s under

the

Planning

Code, uilding

Code,

or any other

municipal

code.

S

i n c e r e l y ,

C

Audrey tkus

Hearing O f f i c e r

Cc

Matthew

D i t t o , San

Francisco Planning

Department

SAN

FRANCISCO

NNING

DEP RTMENT

1673 Sacramento Street - Notice of Decision

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