In the he-said, she-said game between the City and one of its largest property owners, the Academy of Art University, the art school gets a word in too:
"We did not intentionally violate any laws. We care about San Francisco — the city and the community — but there is lot of red tape. This is the city's reputation."
To which the Planning Commission has no direct response in the Chron's story on the matter. However! The city's zoning administrator says neither is it their intention to "walk into the court and start suing them."
The problem has been the Academy's tireless expansion, and their equally tireless violation of code — violations that haven't been fixed years later.
Maybe there's a fair explanation for all of this from the San Francisco's Chamber of Commerce, whose public policy chief says, "I'm sure there's truth on both sides."
Maybe, he says, the Academy just grew too fast and couldn't handle all its new land use responsibilities. Sounds like someone's in for some after-school tutoring, if not detention.
