San Francisco issued two Capp St permits 2,416 days after filing | The Locally Times
Published · The Locally Times
Permits filed February 19, 2020 for a dwelling unit and an ADU were issued September 30, 2026.
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection issued two permits on September 30, 2026 for 319 Capp St, 2,416 calendar days after both were filed on February 19, 2020. The first permit, number 202002194874-0, adds one dwelling unit, unit number 8, on the first floor under the city's accessory dwelling unit ordinance, with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, a three-fixture bathroom, and an office. The second permit, number 202002194876-0, covers an infill rear structure serving as an accessory dwelling unit under the first permit. The department's issuance metrics dataset lists both as permit type 3, reviewed in-house, with 1,650 business days to issuance. A third permit, number 201912109122-1 at 51 Wanda St, was issued on October 1, 2026, 452 calendar days after it was filed on July 7, 2025. That permit legalizes an unpermitted structure under complaint number 201964511, adding a horizontal rear addition to a single-family dwelling with a storage room, a bathroom, and a bedroom on the ground floor and a bedroom, a bathroom, and a wooden deck on the second floor. The dataset lists it as permit type 3, reviewed in-house, with 310 business days to issuance. Six and a half years is a long time to wait for permission to add one unit to an existing building. The department's own dataset records the wait, and the wait is the argument. The fair objection is that three records do not prove a system, and the dataset does not say who caused the delay. Applicants can stall their own projects, and a permit that legalizes an unpermitted structure under a code complaint, like the one at 51 Wanda St, can reasonably take longer than a clean application. We accept that. The Capp St applications were reviewed in the department's in-house channel, and the department issued them 2,416 calendar days after filing. The Wanda St application was reviewed in the same in-house channel, and the department issued it 452 calendar days after filing. The objection also proves too much. If three permits cannot establish a pattern, they can still establish a price, and the recorded price for adding a dwelling unit at 319 Capp St was 1,650 business days of review before a single nail was driven. A homeowner who reads these numbers must conclude that the cheapest unit is the one already built, and the most expensive thing a family can do with its own property is ask the city for permission to house more people on it. The city that wrote an accessory dwelling unit ordinance to encourage infill housing should be embarrassed that using it cost a property owner more than six years of calendar time. A unit permitted in 2026 from an application filed in 2020 is a unit the housing shortage waited years to receive, and the dataset does not record a single reason for the wait. The department should set a firm deadline for reviewing small residential permits, including dwelling-unit additions and accessory dwelling units, and should report every application that exceeds it. The dataset already records filing dates, issuance dates, and business days for every permit, so the measurement is done and the accountability is a policy choice. San Francisco should not accept 2,416 days as the cost of adding one home. This editorial represents the institutional view of The Locally Times. Our reporting is separate and follows document-based standards. We welcome disagreement — write to us at editorial@locallytimes.com.