The Weekly Digest (July 9, 2023)

Written By Bill Jackson

Happy Sunday, Brionies! Here’s what you need to know about San Francisco politics this week and beyond:

City Hall

  • Tuesday, July 11 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here) 

    • ‘Tis budget season in our fair city, and there are a lot of eye-watering sums being allocated hither and yon for various infrastructure projects (Hetch Hetchy, Wastewater, and Power – oh my!). Below, however, we’ll focus a bit more on the small-ball expenditures, some of which should actually be celebrated.

    • Item 1 – Ordinance creating a temporary amnesty program for unpermitted awnings. Again, this is a small item, but we appreciate when the Board of Supervisors puts forth anything that helps to remove onerous regulations, especially on the small businesses that are still struggling in our city. 

    • Item 2 – Ordinance governing reporting requirements for nonprofits. This includes restoring the city administrator as the sole collector of that information, and requires it to be shared publicly.

    • Item 4 – Ordinance to eliminate permit fees for Curbside Shared Spaces (aka parklets) for the next year.

    • Item 24 – Ordinance to continue waiving certain first-year permit, license, and business registration fees for specified small businesses.

    • Item 31 – Resolution concurring with the controller’s certification that some department services can be performed by a private contractor for a lower cost than by City and County employees.

    • Item 40 – Resolution approving the addition of $31 million to the Mid-Market Foundation (MMF) to pay for another year of community ambassadors (Urban Alchemy and the like) in the Tenderloin. (This just in from the Smoke-Filled Room Desk: On March 14th of this year, Dean Preston announced a proposal to spend $10 million on ambassadors in response to Mayor Breed’s overtime-for-cops proposal. One week later, an amendment adding $10 million to the MMF deal was put forward. This proposal tacks on another $31 million and extends the time frame.) 

Happenings around town

What we’re reading

  • As mentioned above, it’s budget season, and our fearless leaders have agreed on a budget and everything’s great! (Please don’t look behind that curtain where we keep the future… nothing to see there, folks.) The final tally: $14.6 billion.

  • And the hits to downtown keep coming: Meta and Red Hat cancel their conferences at Moscone Center in 2024. 

  • We all believe that food critics probably rank pretty high on the smugness meter, right? What with their talk of “mouth feel” and ingredients only 16 people have heard of, they are the epitome of haughtiness. So what happens when they turn that condescending gaze toward the political realm? See for yourself. Our take: This column is way too salty. 

  • The City recently rolled out a new system for reserving a spot in a shelter, one of the many steps aimed at helping bring San Francisco into compliance with Martin v. Boise. In another indication that urban homelessness policy will be in front of the Supreme Court at some point, the 9th Circuit declined to hear a challenge to a ruling that cities can’t clear encampments (this particular ruling was made in a case originating in Grants Pass, Oregon). 

  • It probably isn’t fair to blame the lack of office workers downtown entirely on that neighborhood’s struggles with crime and public disorder – after all, sweats are comfortable and nobody’s reheating fish in your microwave. Still, having more people commuting, working, dining, and shopping downtown would help cure a number of ills. To that end, Mayor Breed is proposing tax breaks to entice more employers to force their workers to put on some real pants and head into the office.

  • Dean Preston, the top contender for San Francisco’s worst public servant, has his first challenger in next year’s race for supervisor in District 5.

  • Hot off the presses: A Civil Grand Jury has released a report detailing some of the problems the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing has vetting and monitoring the non-profits with which it contracts.

Quick Hits

Palate Cleanser

Bill Jackson
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