Time's up at Doubletime: S.F. halts unpermitted excavation at Mission St. gas station

"The notice of violation posted by the city found that the work - including digging below five feet to get to fuel tanks and installing "shoring" retaining beams in the ground - was done "without the benefit of a building permit nor was an OSHA permit provided." The notice ordered the business to "Stop all work.""

"Doubletime had "authorization" from the city's fire and public health departments "to remove the tanks" and had proper shoring in place, wrote Patrick Hannan, the building inspection department's spokesperson. But there was no building permit, which is "required to install the new tanks," Hannan continued."

"Former longtime building inspector Christopher Schroeder said, for his part, that digging without permits can constitute "a life safety threat." In mid-December, a gas station at 16th and Guerrero streets shot a column of smoke into the air after an explosion caused by an excavator rocked the area."

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection cited Doubletime gas station in the Mission District for performing unpermitted work. The violation involved digging below five feet to access fuel tanks and installing retaining beams without obtaining a building permit or OSHA permit. Double AA Corporation, which operates the station and over a dozen other gas stations in Northern California, did not respond to requests for comment. While the company had authorization from fire and public health departments to remove old tanks, a building permit was required for installing new tanks. Building inspection officials stated they were communicating with the project engineer to obtain the necessary permit. Former inspector Christopher Schroeder noted that unpermitted digging poses life safety threats, referencing a recent gas station explosion in the area.

Read at Mission Local