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Commission approves transfer of Hunters Point Shipyard parks to Rec and Park; 11-month maintenance funding cleared
Summary
The Commission voted to accept short-term maintenance funding, recommend board approvals and authorize the department to assume long-term trustee and maintenance responsibilities for completed and future Hunters Point Shipyard parks, subject to Board of Supervisors and State Lands Commission approvals.
The Recreation and Park Commission on April 17 approved a set of actions to bring existing and future Hunters Point Shipyard parks into the city's park system, authorizing an 11-month maintenance memorandum of agreement and recommending longer-term transfers and agreements to the Board of Supervisors.
Deputy Director Yael Goran told the commission the package includes a short-term Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for $981,000 to allow Recreation and Park to begin maintenance and operations on June 1, 2025; a long-term Joint Facilities Agreement (JFA) governing obligations for completed and future parks; and a recommendation that the Board of Supervisors approve the no-cost transfer of park properties from the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) to Rec and Park. The JFA and some transfer steps will require subsequent board and state approvals.
Why it matters: Hunters Point Shipyard is a redevelopment area on San Francisco's eastern waterfront. The parks program includes roughly 26 acres of planned open space (19 acres in completed "Hilltop" parks and about 8 additional acres in future "Hillside" parks). Bringing these parks into Rec and Park's portfolio affects operations, maintenance budgets, public-trust responsibilities and programming for a neighborhood identified as an environmental-justice community.
Key terms and funding: Antonio Guerra, director of administration and finance, said the MOA funds reimbursement for the first 11 months of operations (fiscal 2025-26) while the longer-term JFA is negotiated. The MOA budget covers roughly 5.58 full-time-equivalent positions (listed in MOA as reimbursements for 6 positions), utilities estimated at about $206,000 and maintenance materials of about $100,000. OCII and the master developer will continue to manage three parks until final completion certificates are issued; staff expect Innis Court and Hillpoint certificates before July 1, 2025, and the Hillside certificate shortly afterward.
Long-term funding will come from Community Facilities District (CFD) No. 8 for Hunters Point Shipyard, a special assessment on property in the shipyard that will fund park maintenance and public art. Guerra said Rec and Park and the San Francisco Arts Commission expect the CFD to cover ongoing operations and maintenance once the JFA is in place.
Public trust and approvals: Goran explained that a subset of the park lands is subject to California's public trust doctrine and that Recreation and Park would assume trustee responsibilities for those areas after the board of supervisors and the California State Lands Commission approve the transfer. As trustee Rec and Park must ensure uses remain trust-consistent (recreation, open space and environmental preservation) and must report trust revenues and expenditures to the State Lands Commission. The Arts Commission has already acted to accept park public art into its Civic Arts Collection.
The commission voted to: (1) approve the short-term MOA for fiscal year 2025-26 and accept the budgeted reimbursements; (2) recommend that the Board of Supervisors amend the Park Code to apply Rec and Park rules to the completed Hunters Point parks during the MOA; (3) recommend the board approve the no-cost transfer of completed and future parks and the JFA; and (4) accept Rec and Park's role as trustee for public-trust lands and codify hours for the parks at 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Staff and OCII said the OCII commission will consider its approvals shortly and the board of supervisors will act next; the State Lands Commission must sign off on the trust transfer later in the approvals chain.
Public and commissioner comments focused on park programming needs, equitable access and whether the CFD assessments will cover long-term maintenance as the neighborhood's population grows. Mark Slutskin of OCII told commissioners the CFD assessment is billed annually to owners in the shipyard and is designed to fund ongoing maintenance.
The commission approved the package by unanimous vote and staff said they will return with the executed JFA and any administrative exhibits once negotiations on indemnity and insurance language are complete.
