Four Seas Investment Corp. v. Board of Permit Appeals

The appellant Board of Permit Appeals of the City and County of San Francisco (hereinafter Board) and real party in interest International Hotel Tenants’ Association join in this appeal from a judgment of the San Francisco Superior Court in favor of Four Seas Investment Corporation (hereinafter Four Seas). The procedural background is as follows.

On May 12, 1976, Four Seas filed a petition for a writ of mandate seeking to annul the Board’s order of March 17, 1976, ordering the Department of Public Works (hereinafter Department) to deny Four Seas a permit to demolish the International Hotel. After hearings, the trial court ruled that the Board’s order was in excess of its jurisdiction, and on October 7, 1976, granted a peremptory writ of mandate nullifying the order. The instant appeals followed.

Reduced to relevant essentials, the factual context is as follows.

On January 19, 1974, the City and County of San Francisco filed an action against Four Seas’ predecessor in interest to abate the International Hotel as a nuisance. An order to repair or demolish followed, and Four Seas, electing to demolish, applied on January 17, 1975, to the Central Permit Bureau of the…