Portola property owners seek permit for illegal apartment units

Ownership group wants to legalize 27 units, after getting fined for cramming 29 units into site approved for just 10

2861-2899 San Bruno Avenue (Google Maps)
2861-2899 San Bruno Avenue (Google Maps)

The owners of a Portola property are seeking a permit to legalize 27 of the 29 apartment units they were already fined for building, on a site approved for just 10 units.

A permit application was filed for the property, which was part of a corruption probe involving San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection.

The property, 2861-2899 San Bruno Avenue may be partially demolished and modified into a 27-unit apartment building, city records show.

The ownership group headed by Yin Kwan Tam was fined $1.2 million in July for cramming the 29 units into the site.

The owners are now seeking a conditional use authorization to legalize most of the apartments in the property, with just two units set for demolition. The project, with the alternate address of 90-98 Woolsey Street, is also requesting a density exemption. The current zoning for the area only allows for a 14-unit property.

The city’s Planning Commission has recommended the approval of the project with certain conditions. Yin Kwan Tam could not be reached for comment.

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The illegal units were manufactured through the conversion of commercial space and the unpermitted partition of existing units, according to local news website Mission Local.

The property was one of several flawed projects investigated by City Attorney Dennis Herrera, according to a previous report from the San Francisco Chronicle. The probe led to the resignation of Bernard Curran, the senior inspector who approved the project.

At the time of the probe, the building had collected multiple building code violations.

These relate to kitchens and bathrooms that were built without permits and the lack of a second exit in case of a fire. The owners also reportedly violated city housing laws by failing to add affordable units to the project.