A theory floated by a local content creator who lives in Presidio Heights is that SF’s extremely lenient permitting system when it comes to blocking off street parking for construction activity has led rich residents to game the system.<\/p>\n
It costs $209 a month to essentially reserve a street-parking space in San Francisco, and this could legally and fairly easily be done just by saying that you’re doing landscaping on your property. Local amateur historian Greg Long, who has gained a minor following on Instagram<\/a> mostly for video posts about historic mansions in his neighborhood, recently made a video<\/a> questioning whether this lax permitting system isn’t to blame for why it can be impossible to find a viable parking spot in Presidio Heights most days.<\/p>\n Long quoted a figure of $350 per month per 20 feet of curb space \u2014 that is factoring in an $851 application fee, and renewals every six months \u2014 which in the ledger of a wealthy person is hardly different from $209.<\/p>\n “You don’t even need a construction permit. Landscaping will suffice,” Long said on the post. “Heck, Public Works told me they don’t typically require any submittal documents. No docs!”<\/p>\n Long points out that he clocked 14 of these signs just on one side of a street, taking a bunch of parking out of circulation for months at a time.<\/p>\n This week, the Chronicle took up Long’s parking-rage bait<\/a>, and looked into whether it’s all this easy. City officials, of course, want to project the image that they have control over the situation, but according to Public Works, they investigate any complaints about bogus-seeming permits, and the vast majority are legit.<\/p>\n “We have no reason to believe it\u2019s a rampant issue,” says a spokesperson for Public Works, speaking to the Chronicle.<\/p>\n Furthermore, Public Works says that all residents should call 311 or otherwise register a complaint any time they believe a permit might be bogus, saying that they have a “legal obligation” to investigate all complaints. And, they point out, the tow-away threats on those paper No Parking signs are also complaint-based, so I guess they’re saying you can dare the homeowner to tow you?<\/p>\n Long’s questions about the permit system have also been picked up by other news outlets, like KTVU<\/a>.<\/p>\n For his part, Long tells the Chronicle that he isn’t trying to incite war in SF’s parking-starved neighborhoods, only to alert people that they should be logging complaints with the city if they think something is amiss with a permit that comes with no construction noise, or construction vehicles.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re all trying to get along with one another, and I don\u2019t want to go up and knock on my neighbor\u2019s house and be like, \u2018Hey, are you really doing construction?'” Long says.<\/p>\n