Supervisors table charter amendment after SFMTA halts plan to extend meter hours

Supervisor Safaie withdrew a proposed charter amendment and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-0 on Nov. 20, 2023, to table the item after the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency agreed to halt plans to extend parking meter hours and days of operation.

The amendment would have allowed the mayor to disapprove in writing certain SFMTA proposals that must be part of the agency’s proposed budget or a budget amendment and would have placed the measure on the March 5, 2024, ballot. Safaie said the proposal was intended to provide “accountability from an elected official for the decisions that affect [residents’] everyday transportation needs,” but she withdrew it after further discussion with transit advocates and the SFMTA.

Public commenters urged action to return oversight to elected officials. One resident said the SFMTA’s unelected department head currently “has the authority to extend parking meter hours, raise rates, raise muni fares, etcetera, with no oversight from elected officials and no accountability to voters.” A second resident told the supervisors that the arrangement was “ridiculous” and said transportation fees disproportionately affect lower‑income residents and small businesses.

In comments during the meeting, a speaker cited Proposition A, noting that voters in February 2007 approved the measure granting SFMTA authority over operations and that, the following year, the SFMTA board delegated sole authority to set parking meter maximum rates, operations, and time limits to the director of transportation. The meeting transcript records thousands of written public comments opposing the SFMTA plan.

After Safaie made a motion to table the item, Supervisor Ronan seconded. The clerk conducted a roll call vote; Supervisors Chan, Dorsey, Engadio, Mandelman, Peskin, Preston, Ronan, Safae, and Walton voted aye. The motion passed and the item was tabled; no date for further consideration was specified.

The measure as introduced would have added an item to the March 5, 2024, election and explicitly allowed the mayor to disapprove certain SFMTA proposals included in the agency’s budget or budget amendments. Because Safaie withdrew the amendment before the board voted on placing it on the ballot, the board’s action on Nov. 20 was to table the item pending any future action.