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Shattuck Developer Violates Order, Council to Take Action

By Matthew Artz
Friday November 21, 2003

Oop, she did it again. Berkeley developer Christina Sun violated a stop work order issued by the Planning Department when under the guise of weatherizing the roof at her 3045 Shattuck Ave. building, she had construction workers proceed towards finalizing the project. 

City inspectors slapped Sun with a notice of violation last week, after they determined that instead of installing plywood boards with plastic sheathing above to fend off winter rains as authorized, she attached black felt paper to the plywood, which is not used for weathering but as a base for laying shingles. 

Neighbors contend Sun did even more to her unfinished roof including reworking and leveling rafters and finalizing the framing, but when building inspectors responded they only found evidence of the black felt paper. 

The city won’t order her to take down any of the improvements to her roof, said City Planner Debra Sanderson. 

To guard against future violations, Sanderson gave one neighbor a building inspector’s cell phone number to immediately report any future violations. 

“There’s been a problem with her truthfulness or lack thereof,” Sanderson said. “We want this all out in the public.” 

The property entered Berkeley’s pantheon of disputed developments earlier this year when neighbors—concerned that Sun had jacked up her 1.5-story house to three stories with a ground floor shop without a use permit—fought the development. 

An investigation showed that Sun had lied on her application, classifying the building as a single-family dwelling, instead of a group living accommodation, for which remodeling would have required a use permit. 

In July, the Zoning Adjustment Board declared the building—presently a cottage perched above two stories of wooden beams—a public nuisance. Sun has appealed that ruling to City Council which will hear the case in December. 

Should Council rule against her, Sun could either file suit against the city, or submit new development plans. She did not return telephone calls to the Daily Planet. 

Robert Lauriston, a neighbor and opponent of the project, said he was annoyed the city failed to stop Sun from completing the improvements, but thought that the issue was minor. 

“It doesn’t really make a difference,” he said. “If she wins in Council she can finish the project. If she loses she’ll have to take most of it down anyway. It’s just that this sort of thing keeps happening.”