This week’s Board of Supervisors featured compromises both elegant and ugly, as a deal was reached in a combative budget process and an extensively reworked housing development bill was finally passed.
The board also declared the June 7 election results final, paving the way for Mayor London Breed to appoint a replacement for recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
Budget Deal Reached
The meeting kicked off early as negotiations over the budget, which began on Monday, extended into the following morning. A quorum of the board approved a finalized budget, based on a compromise between Mayor London Breed and the supervisors, at a celebratory 12:30 a.m. Tuesday meeting.
Housing Bills: Weak Sausage?
Two controversial housing bills were finally passed by supervisors, providing a look at the current ideological divides over development policy at City Hall.
The first, sponsored by District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, bans “micro-unit” efficiency studios in the Tenderloin and Chinatown, to prevent gentrification of those neighborhoods’ stock of single-room occupancy hotels. The second bill, which will legalize more dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods, squeaked by with a 6-4 vote.
The board did, as expected, authorize bond financing for three important affordable housing projects, including:
Boosting Tourism
In 2008, San Francisco established a Tourism Improvement District to tax hotels to upgrade Moscone Center and provide an operations funding stream for the Convention and Visitors Bureau (now known as the San Francisco Travel Association or SFTravel). This week, the board voted to renew and expand the district, approving a resolution by Peskin and Mandelman to hold an assessment hearing on Sept. 13.
Roll Call: Drug Crisis and Monkeypox
New business introduced at Roll Call included items addressing the ongoing drug overdose crisis, foreclosures, regional transit, and monkeypox.
Clock Starts for DA Appointment
Finally, the board approved a resolution declaring the results of the June 7 election.
That election, which featured the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin as the main act, was certified by the Department of Elections on June 22.