The partner of San Francisco's openly gay planning department director appeared in court Wednesday, February 26 after allegedly starting a fire and trashing the city's historic fire chief's house where the couple had been staying.

Lance Corey Farber, 47, dressed in orange jail garb, pleaded not guilty to charges of arson of an inhabited dwelling, arson of property, and vandalism of $400 or more, all felonies. He also pled not guilty to a charge of violation of a court order.

Both Connie Chan, a public information officer in District Attorney Kamala Harris's office, and Randall Knox, Farber's attorney, said they didn't know what the possible sentence for the charges could be.

Farber's felony bail was set at $1 million. Knox told reporters outside the courtroom the amount is "excessive" and said he will try to get it reduced at Farber's next court appearance, which is Friday, February 29.

Knox said Farber doesn't have a criminal history. He said Farber is suffering from severe headaches and he wants him to be physically examined.

The charges stem from an incident - first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle - that occurred the evening of Friday, February 22. Farber, the partner of Planning Department Director John Rahaim, 52, allegedly set fire to a mattress and made a mess of the house at 870 Bush Street, where the couple was staying until they found permanent housing, the newspaper reported.

The court order was an emergency protection order that Farber allegedly violated by contacting Rahaim from custody, Chan said. Knox said the alleged call wasn't a threat.

Rahaim started the job in January after moving from Seattle. He had told the Bay Area Reporter in September that he and Farber had been together about four years.

In response to a reporter's question outside court if the two men had quarreled, Knox said that would be an "accurate assessment."

In an e-mail response to questions, San Francisco Police Department Spokesman Sergeant Steve Mannina said police could not comment on what prompted Farber to allegedly trash the city-owned residence.

"I can't speculate on why Farber did this," wrote Mannina.

Rahaim did not respond to a phone message. He is expected to appear before the city's Planning Commission at its meeting today (Thursday, February 28).

Farber was arrested in San Mateo County shortly after the incident was reported for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Citing Mannina as the source, the Chronicle reported that Rahaim was not at the house when Farber called him and reportedly said, "I'm going to burn the house." Rahaim called 911, the paper reported.

Nathan Ballard, spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom, told the B.A.R. Tuesday, February 26 that Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White has asked that the city no longer invite officials to stay in the house. Newsom will respect her wishes, Ballard said.

Ballard also said Supervisor Chris Daly is asking the city attorney to investigate the incident.

"It comes as no surprise that Chris Daly is trying to exploit this private matter in order to score a few cheap political points," Ballard said.

Daly could not be reached for comment by press time.

When asked where Rahaim is now residing, Ballard said he wanted to protect the planning director's privacy and declined to disclose where he is living.

"My understanding is he's taken just a couple days off," Ballard said. "The mayor supports him 100 percent."

Ballard added that "by all accounts [Rahaim] is doing a terrific job."

Ballard said the amount of damages or who would pay for them isn't yet clear. After the police department conducts a "full and fair investigation ... we'll be able to look at how the damages should be paid for," Ballard said.

[Updated: At the Planning Commission's regular meeting on Thursday, February 28, Rahaim thanked commission and staff members for their support over the last week regarding "some personal challenges."

"I'm very grateful for that," he said.

Arriving a few minutes late for the slow-starting meeting, Rahaim declined to comment to the B.A.R. on the case.

Inside the meeting, Rahaim appeared relaxed and fully engaged in business. At one point, as Rahaim mentioned plans to meet with someone on business, one commissioner joked, "No need to give him any Muni service." This was an apparent reference to the city allowing officials like Rahaim to stay in the fire chief's house. Rahaim smiled broadly and appeared to laugh.]

[Second update: Farber appeared in court today (Friday, February 29) in an attempt to get his bail reduced. The bail has been set at $1 million.

The judge did not rule on the bail issue Friday.

Assistant District Attorney Sharon Reardon said Farber is a risk to public safety. But Knox said Farber has no prior criminal history and is not a flight risk.

He said Farber's alleged acts amounted to "vandalism and a symbolic gesture." Farber allegedly set a mattress on fire and the Chronicle has reported that he smeared crushed tomatoes on the walls of the house.

Outside the courtroom, Knox told reporters Reardon's assessment that Farber is a risk to public safety is "unfounded and overblown." He said if Farber were a risk to public safety, that would've manifested itself in some way before this case.

He also said the case isn't like a typical arson case, since Farber wasn't trying to harm someone.

"It's vandalism, that's all it is," he said.

Knox said the structural damage was when synthetic carpet in the house sustained "minimal damage" after burning material from the mattress fell on it.

A motion to reduce bail has to be filed two days before the motion is heard. However, Farber was apparently anxious to get a reduction, and Knox persisted in trying to get the bail reduced.

Outside the courtroom, Knox lightheartedly said to reporters, "Lance would not shut the fuck up," urging Knox to try to get a reduction while Knox was discussing the matter in front of Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi.

Before his case was called, Farber had consulted with Knox for several minutes in the front of the courtroom. Afterward, they talked some more and Farber clasped Knox's hand in his for several moments. In court, Knox said he'd like bail to be reduced to $500,000, but later told reporters that he'd misspoken. He said he doubted that Farber come up with even that amount.

Knox also said that Farber's been suffering severe migraine headaches and that he's trying to get the sheriff's department to take Farber for an MRI.

He said Farber had had the headaches before and was scheduled for an MRI before his arrest, but the headaches have gotten worse.

"I want to make sure his health is taken care of," Knox said.

Joe Goldenson, director of jail health services for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said he couldn't discuss the specifics of Farber's medical care. However, he said that generally, when someone had a medical appointment scheduled before their arrest, officials try to reschedule those appointments "in a timely manner." For security reasons, he said people in custody can't know when their appointment is going to be.

Farber's next court date is March 5 to set a date for a preliminary hearing and to hear the motion to reduce bail.]

Press reports Wednesday quoted fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge pegging the cost of repairing the house at $30,000. Farber's attorney told the San Francisco Examiner that his client would cover the charges.

"The taxpayers are not going to foot the bill for this incident," Knox told the paper, adding that, "the only item that burned was a mattress that John Rahaim and Lance Farber brought with them from Seattle."

Lieutenant Marc Alcantara, press information officer for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, said Farber was stopped on Millbrae Avenue near Highway 101 Friday at about 9:12 p.m. and arrested after he was determined to be driving under the influence of alcohol.

Farber was booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City at 11:25 p.m. and released at about 2:13 a.m. the next day with a promise to appear in court, Alcantara said. He said Farber is due to be arraigned in South San Francisco on March 24 in relation to the DUI arrest.

On a Web site that was copyrighted in 2003, Farber, who Rahaim had said was a holistic chiropractor and nutritionist, referred to himself as a doctor and listed numerous credentials.

He also stated, "I am committed to improving the quality of people's lives, healing the planet."

In a letter to fire commissioners dated Monday, February 25, that was copied to the fire chief and the Department of Real Estate, openly gay Supervisor Bevan Dufty wrote, "It appears that the use of the Fire Chief's Residence ... as temporary housing for City employees is not optimal."

Dufty, who left Tuesday on a sister-city trip to Sydney, Australia and turned 53 Wednesday, wrote that he hopes the commission and Hayes-White "might consider new policies and possible new public usage" when the building's not being used as the fire chief's residence that "could include discussions with the Real Estate Department to solicit interest from nonprofits that would like to partner with the City to restore this historic structure."