9 Palm Ave, San Francisco, CA 94118

The two-story, five-unit multi-family residential building at 9 Palm Avenue, owned by the Robert A Tomei 2001 Trust, has undergone several significant safety and code compliance improvements since its construction in 1913. Most notably, the building completed a mandatory soft-story retrofit in 2015 (Tier 3) to enhance seismic safety, at a cost of $50,000. In recent years, the property has focused on fire safety upgrades, including a $14,000 fire alarm system overhaul in 2022 to install low-frequency sounders and replace existing bells with horn strobes, followed by the addition of new horns in units 3 and 5 in mid-2023 to complete the system improvements.

These updates included 24V cell GSM monitoring with Starlink. The building's history includes a cluster of violations in 2005 relating to smoke detectors, emergency exits, and wood stairs, all of which were promptly abated within two months. A complaint in 2020 regarding unsafe work practices and potential lead paint issues was filed but later closed.

Recent 311 calls primarily relate to street-level services such as cleaning and waste removal, with no major building-related issues reported since the 2005 violations. The most recent electrical work, completed in early 2023, focused on fire alarm system compatibility and UL certification. Curb defect complaints were filed and investigated in June 2023, though no issues were found during inspection. While the building's safety improvements and code compliance efforts are noteworthy, the concentration of violations in 2005 and the 2020 lead paint concern indicate past compliance challenges that appear to have been addressed through subsequent improvements.