The Petaluma fixer-upper bought by one of the wealthiest men in the Bay Area doesn’t really need fixing up, some of his new neighbors say.

Not if it means letting 80 dump trucks haul away 10,000 cubic feet of dirt for the next year or so to allow the home to double in size and to enable construction of a 4,200-square-foot underground garage and basement, two large walk-in closets and a dining room that can seat 25 guests.

The historic 115-year-old house on Sixth Street, just south of downtown, was bought four years ago by Peter Haas Jr., an heir to the Levi Strauss pants empire, and his wife, Ginnie. Nipping and tucking may run in the family genes, but the alterations to the property have got some of his neighbors feeling bluer than a pair of the family’s iconic trousers.

“We worked hard to come up with a plan to bring a historic house back to its glory,” Haas said. “We want to live in it for the rest of our lives. Petaluma is such a vibrant, thriving community.”

“This project proposes a complete transformation of the original structure to suit the extravagant desires of its new owners,” said Elsa Beatty of Preserve Petaluma, a group opposing the plan.

More from Steve Rubenstein

Posters and flyers proclaiming “Stop the Big Dig” are popping up all over town, in advance of a Dec. 21 meeting of the City Council. There the plan — already approved by planners and the city’s historical preservation committee — faces a final vote.

A peek at the blueprints filed with the city shows the ambitious changes Haas has in mind for the elegant gray two-story Victorian designed more than a century ago by legendary Petaluma architect Brainerd Jones.

Gone will be four of the home’s six bedrooms. Scheduled for demolition are fireplaces, balustrades, roofs, staircases, a chimney and a dormer roof window.

In their place are to be a pair of 10-foot-by-10-foot closets (labeled “Pete’s closet” and “Ginnie’s closet”), a 25-seat dining room, an 11-seat breakfast room, an elevator, a wine cellar, a mudroom, a powder room, a barbecue porch with two grills and a turntable to enable four cars to maneuver into the new basement parking garage.

A proposed top-floor deck that will replace the dormer will offer “unimpeded views into at least six neighboring backyards,” complained Preserve Petaluma on its website.

Haas, 73, grandson of the late Levi Strauss president Walter A. Haas and himself a former president of the company, said he worked closely with his architects and with the city on his plans and cannot understand the controversy.

“Most people look at this and say they support it, or they say what’s the big deal,” he said. ”I understand that a neighbor wouldn’t be happy with construction going on next to his house for a period of time. But when it’s done, it will be consistent with the look and feel of the neighborhood. If you stood in the street, you wouldn’t see anything different.”

Bill Wolpert, the project’s architect, said he suspected that opposition to the renovations, which mystified him, was driven by fears that the house will be “some sort of corporate entertainment house — and it’s not.”

He has already altered his blueprints, he said, to accommodate critics who objected to the sunroom and to the proximity of the barbecue grills to the neighbors’ property.

The renovations, he said, would cost “over $1 million, which is not really a lot of money for a project with this much work.” And he said he knew of no rules against big dining rooms or big closets, if that’s what the client asks for.

In a statement, Preserve Petaluma maintained that the preservation committee and city planning department showed a “complete lack of support for historic and cultural preservation” in approving the Haas plans, which, it said, would “essentially gut and forever change the character of this home and surrounding environment.”

Preserve Petaluma founder Margie Turrel, who is also the Haases’ next-door neighbor, said she and others started the group in July after she and Peter Haas differed over his plan for the barbecue deck that directly adjoined her property.

“I believed smoke and odors would permeate from the cooking area,” she said. “I asked him politely if he would move it and he unpolitely said he would not.”

Turrel added that the plans for the barbecue deck called for it to be raised 5 feet off the ground. That meant, she said, that the feet of the Haases and their guests would be directly opposite the heads of the Turrels on the other side of the fence.

Turrel said she “welcomed the Haases as neighbors,” but believes the size and scope of the renovations are “out of scale with adjacent homes.”

Neighbors seemed divided about whether to let the pants magnate do his thing.

“Some of my customers are for it and some are against it,” said Don Gossage, whose barbershop is two blocks from the project site. “A lot of people don’t care. Some say this guy’s got more money than brains. Most of the time we talk sports around here, not old houses.”

Restaurateur Tara Williams, proprietor of the nearby Cafe Zazzle, said whatever Haas wants to do is OK with her. She said the architect’s drawings for the project don’t appear to alter the house’s looks.

“I feel a lot of the people who are against it are just freaked out by change,” she said. “I don’t live in that neighborhood so it doesn’t really matter to me. And digging to build the underground garage isn’t any deeper than digging to build a swimming pool.”

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF

The post One of many Bay Space’s richest residents purchased a fixer-upper. However neighbors say it does not want fixing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Updated: 5:45pm Wednesday

The following is an update from the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services:

Subway was reopened at approximately 4:30 pm (Wednesday) after verification that the plumbing was repaired.

Previously

The Subway sandwich shop on Fourth Street in Eureka was closed Tuesday after food inspectors found an “inoperable toilet and standing wastewater” in the establishment’s bathroom.

Subway is closed until its plumbing is repaired.

“Due to (a) lack of operable toilet available for food employees, the facility must cease operation and (the) permit to operate is suspended by this office,” a report released Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services stated.

Subway has 15 days to request a hearing on the issue.

“A food facility shall not operate if there is sewage overflowing or backing up in the food facility or there are no operable toilets available for food employees,” the report states. “This is an imminent health hazard and major violation that requires reinspection.”

The inspector also saw a “mold-like substance” on the soda machine drainboard. It also noted, “ice buildup in the interior of the freezer” noting servicing was needed.

The post Subway reopens after fixing plumbing issues that closed eatery – Occasions-Normal appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) – A homeowner in Pennsylvania and her boyfriend made a disturbing discovery on her property that explained the many times she could smell a foul odor around her home.

Tracey Douds has lived in her mobile home for about five years.

“I’ve felt weird since I’ve been here, and I didn’t know why or is it just me,” Douds said.

Her boyfriend stumbled upon human remains underneath the home while fixing the plumbing.

At first, she thought he was trying to be funny but then confirmed there were human bones when they went to double-check.

The pair called 911 and police came to investigate.

Douds said she could sometimes smell something but thought it was just a dead animal and didn’t want to mess around with it.

State police said it is unclear how the person died.

Copyright 2022 KDKA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Human stays found underneath house whereas fixing plumbing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) – A homeowner in Pennsylvania and her boyfriend made a disturbing discovery on her property that explained the many times she could smell a foul odor around her home.

Tracey Douds has lived in her mobile home for about five years.

“I’ve felt weird since I’ve been here, and I didn’t know why or is it just me,” Douds said.

Her boyfriend stumbled upon human remains underneath the home while fixing the plumbing.

At first, she thought he was trying to be funny but then confirmed there were human bones when they went to double-check.

The pair called 911 and police came to investigate.

Douds said she could sometimes smell something but thought it was just a dead animal and didn’t want to mess around with it.

State police said it is unclear how the person died.

Copyright 2022 KDKA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Human stays found underneath dwelling whereas fixing plumbing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) – A homeowner in Pennsylvania and her boyfriend made a disturbing discovery on her property that explained the many times she could smell a foul odor around her home.

Tracey Douds has lived in her mobile home for about five years.

“I’ve felt weird since I’ve been here, and I didn’t know why or is it just me,” Douds said.

Her boyfriend stumbled upon human remains underneath the home while fixing the plumbing.

At first, she thought he was trying to be funny but then confirmed there were human bones when they went to double-check.

The pair called 911 and police came to investigate.

Douds said she could sometimes smell something but thought it was just a dead animal and didn’t want to mess around with it.

State police said it is unclear how the person died.

Copyright 2022 KDKA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Human stays found below residence whereas fixing plumbing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) – A homeowner in Pennsylvania and her boyfriend made a disturbing discovery on her property that explained the many times she could smell a foul odor around her home.

Tracey Douds has lived in her mobile home for about five years.

“I’ve felt weird since I’ve been here, and I didn’t know why or is it just me,” Douds said.

Her boyfriend stumbled upon human remains underneath the home while fixing the plumbing.

At first, she thought he was trying to be funny but then confirmed there were human bones when they went to double-check.

The pair called 911 and police came to investigate.

Douds said she could sometimes smell something but thought it was just a dead animal and didn’t want to mess around with it.

State police said it is unclear how the person died.

Copyright 2022 KDKA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Human stays found underneath residence whereas fixing plumbing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) – A homeowner in Pennsylvania and her boyfriend made a disturbing discovery on her property that explained the many times she could smell a foul odor around her home.

Tracey Douds has lived in her mobile home for about five years.

“I’ve felt weird since I’ve been here, and I didn’t know why or is it just me,” Douds said.

Her boyfriend stumbled upon human remains underneath the home while fixing the plumbing.

At first, she thought he was trying to be funny but then confirmed there were human bones when they went to double-check.

The pair called 911 and police came to investigate.

Douds said she could sometimes smell something but thought it was just a dead animal and didn’t want to mess around with it.

State police said it is unclear how the person died.

Copyright 2022 KDKA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Human stays found beneath dwelling whereas fixing plumbing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) – A homeowner in Pennsylvania and her boyfriend made a disturbing discovery on her property that explained the many times she could smell a foul odor around her home.

Tracey Douds has lived in her mobile home for about five years.

“I’ve felt weird since I’ve been here, and I didn’t know why or is it just me,” Douds said.

Her boyfriend stumbled upon human remains underneath the home while fixing the plumbing.

At first, she thought he was trying to be funny but then confirmed there were human bones when they went to double-check.

The pair called 911 and police came to investigate.

Douds said she could sometimes smell something but thought it was just a dead animal and didn’t want to mess around with it.

State police said it is unclear how the person died.

Copyright 2022 KDKA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Human stays found beneath house whereas fixing plumbing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) – A homeowner in Pennsylvania and her boyfriend made a disturbing discovery on her property that explained the many times she could smell a foul odor around her home.

Tracey Douds has lived in her mobile home for about five years.

“I’ve felt weird since I’ve been here, and I didn’t know why or is it just me,” Douds said.

Her boyfriend stumbled upon human remains underneath the home while fixing the plumbing.

At first, she thought he was trying to be funny but then confirmed there were human bones when they went to double-check.

The pair called 911 and police came to investigate.

Douds said she could sometimes smell something but thought it was just a dead animal and didn’t want to mess around with it.

State police said it is unclear how the person died.

Copyright 2022 KDKA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Human stays found below dwelling whereas fixing plumbing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Video hosted by Fred Mills.

THE MILLENNIUM TOWER was once considered a structural marvel. Opened in 2009, it won awards for its structural integrity, including the American Concrete Institution Award for Construction and the Structural Engineering Project of the Year.

Demand for its luxury condos was so great that owners were reselling their units at two to three times the price they originally paid for them, with the penthouse selling for $9.8M.

It’s fair to say that perception no longer holds true. All skyscrapers settle into the ground over the course of their lives, and the movement is planned for during design, but in 2016, it became apparent that the building was sinking much further and faster than expected. Worse, it was beginning to lean over.

Cue a media storm as developers, engineers, homeowners, and the city of San Francisco all rushed to blame — and sue — each other. With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, that’s hardly a surprise. But what on earth actually happened here?

Above: The Millennium Tower, viewed from street level. Image courtesy Michael Vi.

What went wrong with the Millennium Tower?

Ron Hamburger, the engineer leading the project to fix the issue, blames construction work on a nearby site. While working on the Salesforce Transit Center, crews dug an 18-metre hole and pumped millions of liters of water out of the ground.

According to Hamburger, clearing that much water from the soil created an effect called “soil compaction,” which caused the soil under the tower to start compressing at a far faster rate than predicted. That said, plenty of water was pumped out of the soil directly under the Millennium Tower while it was being constructed, well before ground was broken at the Salesforce Transit Center.

The exact details remain unclear, but what is obvious is that the soil that the skyscraper sits on is not having as expected. While the tower remains habitable and, apparently, safe — as of writing the building is leaning 60 centimeters to the west and 20 centimeters to north — the situation needs to be stabilized as soon as possible.

But what goes into straightening out a 197-metre tall building?

How do you fix a sinking skyscraper?

The plan to correct the tilt looked like this. 52 additional piles — a type of foundation inserted deep into the earth — would be put under the north and south ends of the building, placed through the sidewalk and under the building’s main foundation.

These piles would extend beyond the original foundation, reaching 76 meters to the layer of bedrock below. This is a process called “underpinning”, and it’s fairly common. Hamburger intended these new piles to even out 50 percent of the building’s tilt over the following 10 years, leveling the rest of it over the next half a century.

Work started on the fix in November 2020. But by the following summer, it became clear that it wasn’t going entirely to plan. It was discovered that the installation of these new piles might actually be making the skyscraper’s tilt even worse, contributing to a further 12 centimeters of lean at the top.

The new piles were designed to stop the sinking when they were driven into the bedrock and attached to the skyscraper, an operation scheduled for later in 2022.

However, there are fears the holes that had been dug for the retrofit were causing even more soil movement, and it was later revealed that construction teams had also left a one to four day gap between removing the soil and putting in grout meant to reduce the risk of soil collapse.

Hamburger needed a new plan.

Above: The plan to retrofit Millennium Tower relies on underpinning the building with deep piles.

What’s next for the project?

At a hearing in January 2022, a new scheme for fixing the tower was outlined. The 52 new piles in the original fix would be replaced with 18. These 18 piles would go even deeper underground, and because there would be fewer of them there would be less disturbance to the soil under the building.

This new plan is currently under review and will be decided on by March 2022, it will likely go ahead but further balloon the cost of the fix from US$100M to an estimated US$500M.

Hamburger has claimed that the Millennium Tower would need to lean more than 180cm for it to be unable to withstand an earthquake, a far cry from its current 60cm tilt. That said, the building would be rendered uninhabitable if the plumbing and elevators stop working, and that could occur when the lean gets to 100cm.

So for the engineers it’s a race against time to stabilize the site, one with millions of dollars at stake. But this is more than a case study in what can go wrong — it’s also a reminder of just how robust the engineering of modern megaprojects really is.

Massive buildings with low fault tolerances are built on compactable soil in places all around the world, and virtually none of them suffer from the problems we’ve seen here in San Francisco. And the fact that Hamburger and his team of engineers can even try to un-tilt a 197m skyscraper is a testament to just how far the construction industry has come.

Let’s just hope that for the Millennium Tower, the third time’s the charm.

Video presented and narrated by Fred Mills. Additional footage, audio and images courtesy of NBC Bay Area, KPIX CBS SF Bay Area, Hydrogen Iodide, Google Earth, California High-Speed ​​Rail Authority, and City of San Francisco Government Audit and Oversight Committee. SIDEPROJECTS and San Francisco Business Times were used as data sources.

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The post Fixing San Francisco’s leaning skyscraper appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.