Board of Appeals

Mission

The Board of Appeals is a quasi-judicial body that provides the public with a final administrative review process for appeals relating to a wide range of City determinations.  Originally created under the Charter of 1932, the Board strives to provide an efficient, fair and expeditious public hearing and decision-making process before an impartial panel as a last step in the City's permit issuance process.

The Board hears and decides appeals involving the granting, denial, suspension, or revocation of permits, licenses, and other use entitlements by various City commissions and departments. The granting or denial of variances and other determinations by the Zoning Administrator, and discretionary review decisions and downtown building authorizations of the Planning Commission are included.

Members of the Board of Appeals

Board Member Profiles 

Michael Garcia, President

Michael Garcia serves as an arbitrator with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest independent regulator of security firms doing business in the United States. He is a former equity and options trader on the Pacific Stock Exchange, was Vice President over sales, marketing and operations for Polo Carpets, and worked as an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco and Loyola University. Mr. Garcia has served on boards and committees of a wide range of organizations, including the Board of the YMCA, Saint Stevens School Board, the Board of the Merced Manor Home Owners Association, and was a delegate to the West of Twin Peaks Central Council. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University and received his MBA from Loyola University. Mr. Garcia currently resides in San Francisco’s Merced Manor neighborhood with his wife and daughter. His son is an officer with the San Francisco Police Department. After serving as a Board of Supervisors appointee to the Ethics Commission from 2002 to 2005, Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Mr. Garcia to the Board of Appeals on March 22, 2005, and reappointed him on August 10, 2010. His term expires July 2, 2014.

Chris Hwang, Vice President

Chris Hwang is a partner at the San Francisco office of Leonard Carder, LLP, an employment and labor law firm representing workers in class action wage and hour cases, public and private sector unions and union employee benefit plans. Her practice focuses primarily on representing Boards of Trustees of pension and welfare funds for unionized workers and their families. Ms. Hwang also represents unions in all matters of litigation, including arbitration. She is a former staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and worked for the Contra Costa County Public Defender on death penalty matters. She has served on the Board of Directors for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and as co-chair of the Civil Rights Committee for the Asian American Bar Association. Ms. Hwang was raised by Korean immigrant parents in a small town in Missouri, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College and U.C. Hastings College of the Law. She lives in the Bernal Heights District of San Francisco with her partner and two children. Ms. Hwang was appointed to the Board of Appeals by Board of Supervisors President David Chiu on May 12, 2010. Her term will expire July 1, 2014.

Frank Fung, Commissioner

Frank Fung is President and Founder of ED2 International, a planning, architectural and interior design firm headquartered in San Francisco. Mr. Fung received his undergraduate and Master’s of Architecture degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Born in Qingdao, China, Mr. Fung immigrated to the U.S. in 1952, and later served in the U.S. military. Mr. Fung is a founding member and first president of Asian American Architects and Engineers, and has served on boards and committees of many other organizations, including the Board of Architectural Examiners, Northern California Export Council, Fort Mason Foundation, Council of Asian American Business Associations, Asian, Inc., and Asian Neighborhood Design. He was a delegate to both the White House Conference on Small Business and the California Conference on Small Business, was a San Francisco Planning Commissioner from 1992 to 1995, and a guest lecturer at the University of California School of Environmental Design. He lives with his wife and two children in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. Mr. Fung was first appointed to the Board of Appeals by Mayor Dianne Feinstein on January 30, 1986 and served until June 8, 1988. Mayor Gavin Newsom reappointed Mr. Fung to the Board on October 19, 2004, and again on July 25, 2008 to a term that will expire on July 1, 2012.

Rich Hillis, Commissioner

Rich Hillis is the Executive Director of Fort Mason Center, a non-profit arts and cultural center located on San Francisco’s waterfront. The Center, a partner of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, supports a campus of 28 venues, including theaters, exhibit halls, museums, non-profit and retail spaces. Previously, Mr. Hillis served as Deputy Director of the San Francisco Department of Economic and Workforce Development, where he led the City’s efforts on a variety of major development projects including the acquisition and development of Treasure Island and the creation of a strategy for the development of the Octavia Boulevard corridor. In addition, Mr. Hillis has served in senior management positions with the San Francisco Assessor’s Office, Port and Mayor’s Office. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago and lives with his family in the NOPA (North of the Panhandle) neighborhood of San Francisco. Mr. Hillis was appointed to the Board of Appeals by Mayor Edwin Lee on February 8, 2012. His term will expire July 1, 2012.

Arcelia Hurtado, Commissioner

Arcelia Hurtado is Deputy Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a national legal organization committed to advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families. Prior to joining NCLR, Ms. Hurtado was Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates, a non-profit legal organization dedicated to expanding economic and educational opportunities for women and girls. She is a former public defender with the State of California, as well as with Santa Clara and San Francisco counties, and has served as an adjunct professor at San Francisco Law School and New College School of Law teaching courses in Constitutional and Criminal Law. Ms. Hurtado has served on the boards of numerous professional and non-profit organizations, including San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association, Our Family Coalition, and Women Defenders where she founded a fellowship to support law students pursuing careers in indigent criminal defense. In 2010, Ms. Hurtado was named a Pioneer in Justice by the Levi Strauss Foundation, which recognizes leaders shaping the next wave of social justice work. She lives with her family in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco. Ms. Hurtado was appointed to the Board of Appeals by Board of Supervisor President David Chiu on February 23, 2012. Her term will expire July 1, 2012.

Note: The Board of Appeals was previously known as the Board of Permit Appeals.  Appeals of real property assessments are handled by the Assessment Appeals Board.