| Today's News |
| Sports |
| Entertainment |
| Technology |
| Live Views |
| Traffic |
| Weather |
| Health |
| Business |
| Bay Area Travel |
| Columnists |
| Classifieds |
| Conferences |
| Search |
| Index |
|
| ||
| Trickery Irks Building
Inspectors Bogus notices threaten inspections at S.F. live-work units Bill Wallace, Chronicle Staff Writer |
Friday, August 18, 2000
 | |
|
| ||
|
San Francisco -- Bogus building inspection notices with the forged signature of city Building Inspection Director Frank Chiu have appeared on buildings in San Francisco's South of Market area, prompting an investigation by exasperated city officials. The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection and the city attorney's office are both looking into the notices, and the building inspection department expects to refer the matter to the district attorney for possible prosecution. ``They are forging the director's signature, which is totally inappropriate,'' said Rich Rovetti, a department spokesman. ``Here you are dealing with forgery and with defacing private property, which is serious.'' The notices are drafted on Department of Building Inspection letterhead, complete with the city seal and an official-looking heading. They warn that an inspection will be conducted to determine whether live-work units in the building are actually being used as market rate apartments rather than studios and residences for artists and crafts workers. ``While DBI has no reason to suspect the owners/residents of the building of violations, you are hereby notified that surprise inspections of all units can occur at any time,'' the notice says. Each notice warns of possible fines for each violation found of as much as 10 percent of the value of the property. At the top of the bogus documents is stamped: ``Important Notice: Do Not Remove.'' A number of variations on the notices have surfaced so far. At the top of each, a different inspector's name is given, and at the bottom is a telephone number for a ``Zoning Affairs'' contact. In a bizarre twist, the contact names and numbers are actually those of local journalists, including Chronicle staff writer David R. Baker, Examiner columnist Rob Morse and KRON-TV reporter Bonnie Hitch. In fact, the Department of Building Inspections first learned about the fake notices from Hitch. Hitch told The Chronicle that she had received a message about the postings from an anonymous caller Wednesday morning. A short time later, she got more information about the forgeries from an irate business owner in the area who initially called to complain, thinking that she worked for the city. ``Copies were just plastered all over a building at 3118 18th Street,'' she said. After receiving the second call, she said she phoned Rovetti about the hoax. Hitch told The Chronicle the phony notices really upset her. ``We already get enough calls from people who are angry,'' she said. ``We don't need more people calling us to complain about something we had nothing to do with.'' Rovetti said he went to the building where the notices had been posted after receiving Hitch's tip and found numerous copies of the documents attached to buildings. ``I took off eight of them,'' he said. ``Whoever put them up didn't just tape them on. They used some kind of adhesive cement, so it is almost impossible to get them off.'' Regardless of who is behind the prank, the fake notices are likely to increase the controversy over the hundreds of live-work units that have sprouted up in San Francisco in recent years. Critics say the units -- condominiums that ostensibly are designed to house artists and craftspeople -- are really just market-rate apartments that are being passed off as lofts in order to avoid city restrictions designed to prevent gentrification of low-income residential neighborhoods. E-mail Bill Wallace at wallaceb@sfgate.com. |
· Printer-friendly
version · Email this article to a friend
|