The cover story of today’s San Francisco Examiner looks at a group of Bernal Heights neighbors who have been living in an unpermitted warehouse space on the 900 block of Peralta, in the southeast corner of Bernal near the Alemany Farmer’s Market. Michael Barba from the Examiner writes:
The artists, who are in danger of losing their home in the wake of the deadly Ghost Ship fire in Oakland late last year, cut windows and a second door into the mostly metal warehouse on Peralta Avenue ahead of a meeting with fire officials Tuesday.
“We did it ourselves,” said Nathan Cottam, a dancer and choreographer who is one of eight tenants living in the vibrant warehouse called the Sunspot.
Cottam is just one of many people who have lived on the lot behind the Alemany Farmers Market for about a decade, he said. But their occupancy only became an issue after a fire killed three dozen people who were trapped in the Ghost Ship warehouse Dec. 2, 2016.
Since then, building and fire inspectors have visited the Sunspot warehouse, and the owner served the tenants with an eviction notice back in December.
City agencies have been on heightened alert for fire safety hazards in commercial spaces where people are living and the SFFD has experienced a rise in complaints regarding the illegal use of warehouses, according to fire officials.
The Examiner adds that the City has issued an abatement order for current tenants to vacate the property because it is not permitted for residential use. Meanwhile, the property owner has been planning since 2001 to build housing on the site, with a proposal unveiled last July that would create 49 units there.
Bernalwood 
Isn’t that where Diamond Dave Whitaker lives? KPOO host and Dylan’s first producer:
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No .
The tenants and the owner are all full of it. The tenants loaded a huge truck and moved all of their stuff outta the building the nite before the fire inspection. This building has been a blight and a nuisance on this side of the hill for a decade plus some! Btw. the illegal rave parties, graffiti strewn buildings and sidewalks, and the collection of junk cars/vans/buses, these people have never been good neighbors and don’t deserve to continue living there. Good riddance!
Is this where the grocery outlet like store was back in the early/mid 80s?
Yes, it was. It was called the Farmer’s Market Arcade. It was at that site for a long time. In the 70’s, I recall they had a butcher shop, a small dairy section with freezers full of ice cream, dry and canned goods and a fruit and vegetable stand right out front in the area where the skateboard park currently is. My brother and I used to get sent down there often, shopping list in hand. We were allowed to get a popsicle, so we were always eager to help our mom out! They were quite busy weekends, as you can imagine.
What is it with the Planning Dept and with this city? One has to wait 15 years to get a permit to build bona fide permitted units but it’s okay to let tenants stay in these warehouses that are not supposed to be occupied by residents for the same amount of time?
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