It's an Emergency, OK?

A postmortem on the recent demolition of a Russian Hill cottage is a tale of policies at odds and, again, of a property owner accused of "willful neglect." An emergency demolition permit was issued over the supposed imminent collapse of the building, as judged by the Department of Building Inspection. Neighbors were not having it, saying the owners purposely let the house rot so they could take it down. Well it turns out, according to a zoning admin, that the "emergency demolition permit supersedes historic preservation and housing preservation procedures." There's a hot tip for you developers. As if you didn't already know, you sly dogs, you. [SFBG, previously]