Supervisors approve certificates of participation; Preston presses city on delayed $20 million for life‑safety housing repairs

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved three ordinances on first reading authorizing certificates of participation (COPs) and related financing measures on Tuesday, measures the city says will provide capital for multiple infrastructure and affordable‑housing projects.

The measures — described to the board as roughly $275 million of refunding certificates of participation and an additional roughly $146.8 million in new certificates to finance and refinance capital improvement and affordable housing projects — were taken together and passed on first reading after a hearing in which Supervisor Matt Preston urged faster release of a $20 million life‑safety fund intended for repairs in public housing and HUD‑subsidized buildings.

Why it matters: The financing package funds a mix of capital projects and affordable housing initiatives that the mayor and board negotiated last year. Preston said the COPs transaction is a necessary step to unlock previously agreed program dollars but warned that one critical component — the $20 million earmarked for emergency life‑safety repairs — had not yet been…