A ‘lesson learned’: SF property owner hit with $1M fine over code violations, fabrications

A San Francisco man who racked up numerous city code violations while developing two houses in the city’s Miraloma Park neighborhood in 2018 was fined over $1 million after a jury trial, according to prosecutors.

Kevin O’Connor was levied the fine after three others involved in working on the properties at 107 Marietta Drive and 147 Marietta Drive were also found liable for the violations, the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

City inspectors with the Department of Building Inspection issued repeated notices of violation for excavation work that caused damage to an adjacent property’s foundation, and for other work at the property that was done without permits or safety precautions.

The work, which involved building a retaining wall and renovating living space to increase square footage, posed “significant danger” to workers and was performed with permits obtained under false pretenses, City Attorney David Chiu said.

O’Connor was also found to have submitted a forged inspection report. Chiu said that O’Connor “intentionally defrauded the City and put San Franciscans in danger.”

“He recklessly excavated under homes without a permit in order to turn a quick profit. We appreciate the Court agreed this behavior is totally unacceptable and warrants a hefty penalty.”
City Attorney David Chiu

“He recklessly excavated under homes without a permit in order to turn a quick profit. We appreciate the Court agreed this behavior is totally unacceptable and warrants a hefty penalty,” Chiu said.

An attorney listed as O’Connor’s legal representative in court records did not respond to requests for comment.

In court papers, O’Connor’s lawyer, Eunji Cho of the firm Severson and Werson, said the financial cost of fighting the case had already been “severe punishment” and asked the court to show leniency, saying the experience was a “lesson learned.”

“It is the impact of the defendant’s actions to his family which is the greatest punishment along with the regret that comes alongside,” his attorney said.

O’Connor’s fine came after contractors Rodrigo Santos and Albert Urrutia, and their company Santos and Urrutia Associates Inc., agreed to a settlement of more than $1.4 million in June, according to the City Attorney’s Office.