Oakdale construction riles residents

Photo: Footprints October 21st

What happened to the Berkeley Farms milk carton sign that used to hang from a warehouse building on Oakdale and Selby, near the overpass? For that matter, what happened to the building it hung from?

Those questions were on the minds of community members when they saw that two buildings, representing over 11,000 square feet of commercial space, had been reduced to rubble, and over 800 cubic feet of soil removed.

The work at 2065 Oakdale began on October 17th. A report was filed with the City's Department of Public Works, on October 18th, notifying the agency that demolition was occurring without necessary protections to traffic and pedestrians.

 

But by the next day it was too late. The site was laid bare.

 

More work was performed at the site, despite a stop work placard placed there by a Department of Building Inspection inspector on November 7th.

Dan Dodt, with support from Supervisor Malia Cohen's office and several Bayview residents, is challenging the project through the Board of Permit Appeals. The demolition, their research suggests, was done on the basis of an over-the-counter "Alteration Permit" issued to Jack Tsang on October 9th.

 

The scope of the work, Dan and others say, clearly calls for a "Demolition Permit" which would have required the usual notification of neighbors, as well as more stringent health and safety procedures.

 

A brief prepared for a San Francisco Board of Permit Appeals meeting scheduled for December 5th lists a number of requests, including that the initial Alteration Permit be revoked retroactively, that governmental oversight of such demolition be strengthened, and that a moratorium on new building construction at 2065 Oakdale be put in place.

 

Dan also wants that cool sign back.