Two San Francisco neighbors have been locked in a bitter legal battle for 15 years over a row of windows with spectacular views of the bay, with one resident claiming the windows encroach on his property.
Legal action, mountains of planning documents, restraining orders and even a so-called “bad faith wall” blocking views have engulfed the ongoing battle between Teresa Votruba and Bushra Khan that erupted when Khan moved into the area in 2010. The San Francisco Chronicle reported. On the weekend.
Mr. Khan, a 69-year-old retiree, lives in an apartment at 280 Union St. that has 11 small, rectangular windows facing east that look out onto a neighbor's deck as well as views of Treasure Island and the surrounding ocean.
Votruba's family owns several rooms in the building next door at 218 Union St. in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood, and he has been fighting to have the windows blocked up or removed, resulting in more than 30 complaints to the city's Buildings Department, the newspaper said.
According to court records, Khan said at one point the windows of his home were covered up without his permission with plywood, black tarps and other items. Various signs, including “Neighborhood Watch” and “No Nuisance,” were posted on the windows.
“This is an emotionally charged case that appears to have great implications for both sides,” Planning Department Chief of Staff Dan Snyder told the Chronicle.
“You can feel the passion, emotion and care of everyone involved.”
The conflict was so tense that Khan filed a restraining order against Votruba, 76, in 2015 after his lawyers alleged that Votruba had placed “surveillance cameras” in his window and put up “threatening” and “intimidating” posters, the Chronicle reported.
The restraining order was recently renewed for a further three years.
“It's ruthless,” Khan told the outlet. “It's been going on for a long time.”
According to court documents, Votruba claims Khan's windows and exterior walls extend 3.12 inches into her property line, encroaching onto her property.
She also accused Khan of “running me off the planet” and claimed she was harassing him, according to court documents reported by the Chronicle. She tried to obtain a restraining order against Khan in 2021, but a judge called the legal action “not credible.”
She said in an email to the Chronicle that the windows were covered when Khan purchased the home.
Khan claimed he was denied permission to install the windows months after buying the apartment, but reports say he obtained permission back in 2011.
The two have clashed on numerous occasions in recent years, but Votruba emerged victorious after the City Planning Department approved plans to build what Khan and other neighborhood advocates called a “nasty wall” — a 42-inch firebreak on the deck of his home.
City officials determined the wall complied with building codes, but Khan is appealing the decision.
Votruba built shorter, temporary walls on two other occasions, but they were reportedly demolished after the city intervened.
Khan considered selling the home, but was forced to disclose the ongoing dispute, which would lower the sale price. She bought the property in 2010 for $900,000.
“This is my retirement home. I think about it every day. It makes me depressed. I feel like I have no other choice,” Khan told the outlet. “But I can't continue living like this. I've wasted my retirement time.”
