San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie will use his new legislative powers to open a long-planned behavioral health facility at 822 Geary St., his office confirmed Wednesday.
On the campaign trail, Lurie promised to declare a fentanyl state of emergency on his first day in office. He couldn’t legally do so, as “emergencies” need to be unforeseen — and the fentanyl crisis has been unfolding in public view for more than a decade.
Instead, Lurie passed legislation at the Board of Supervisors to bypass oversight of contracts and allow private fundraising in response to the drug crisis. The Geary project, which was set in motion under former Mayor London Breed, is Lurie’s first use of his newfound powers to cut City Hall’s notorious red tape.
The facility at the Geary site will provide police with an alternative to San Francisco General Hospital as a destination for people experiencing a crisis, Lurie said Wednesday on KQED’s “Forum” show. During the program, Lurie touted 822 Geary St. and his deal with the supervisors.
“If you go to SF General any day, there are people in the throes of addiction lined up in the hallway,” he told KQED. “This is going to help us stand it up much more quickly without going to board approval.”
Lurie said 822 Geary St. will open in April.
Lurie signed the fentanyl legislation on a City Hall balcony Wednesday, surrounded by a bevy of supporters. When The Standard asked if and when he will reveal the private donors he’s seeking to fund his emergency fentanyl plans, the mayor said transparency was the watchword.
“When we get a donation, the Board of Supervisors are going to know and the public is going to know, that’s my commitment,” Lurie said.
While the ability to expedite projects may make an impact down the road, it’s not clear how much the project will benefit from Lurie’s greasing of the skids, which was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The purchase of the property doesn’t need to be accelerated; the city bought it in 2021, under Breed’s administration, with early intent to use it as a safe injection site, though it was later reconceived as a behavioral health center. Lurie’s powers allow contracts for service providers to bypass the competitive bidding process, but that doesn’t apply in this case, as the Department of Public Health has almost solidified deals.
After the bidding process to choose a provider, Lurie, under his new powers, will be able to skip Board of Supervisors approval of the service contract to staff the site. But the mayor’s emergency fentanyl powers give the supervisors a “shot clock” of 45 days to step in on projects when they feel the need.
Many similar projects have been approved by the board within two months.
Former Supervisor Aaron Peskin said the Geary project won’t benefit much from the new law, noting that he was among the supervisors who voted to approve construction at the site within just three weeks, on Jan. 30, 2024.
“The Board of Supervisors reviews and approves virtually all of these agreements and contracts in less than 45 days. Respectfully, this is a solution looking for a problem,” Peskin said.
According to a review of project agreements in the city’s legislative database, a grant agreement between the Department of Public Health and a service provider to staff bridge housing was introduced to the board last year on March 12 and approved April 2; a grant agreement by the Homelessness and Supportive Housing Department was introduced to the board May 21 and approved June 11; and a lease for permanent supportive housing was introduced Sept. 10 and approved Oct. 1.
“We would’ve had to go to the Board of Supervisors up to 50 different times” to move forward with plans on similar sites, hiring police, and creating more shelter beds without the legislation, Lurie told KQED. “This allows us to move with speed and urgency.”
The Department of Public Health has since 2021 stressed the urgency of getting 822 Geary St. up and running. The city moved to purchase the site shortly after Breed’s infamous speech touting the need to end leniency against drug users, to be “less tolerant of all the bullshit.”