Board establishes Discover Polk community benefit district after narrow ballot margin

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on July 24 voted to establish the Discover Polk Community Benefit District (CBD) after a public hearing and a weighted ballot tabulation by the Department of Elections.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin introduced the item and recited a brief history of business improvement districts in San Francisco, which he said have been renewed by unanimous board votes in other parts of the city after demonstrating value. The board convened the hearing to receive public testimony and to accept the Department of Elections'weighted ballots for parcels proposed for the district.

Chris Korgas of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development presented the city's role in overseeing CBD formation and described the resolution and management plan before the board. Proponents who spoke during the two-minute public-comment slots included Suzanne Markel Fox, the steering-committee leader for Discover Polk; George Yu; Tiffany Yang; Jonathan Fox; Mike Petrica of Academy of Art University; and Chris Schulman of the Lower Polk Community Benefit District. Testimony in support cited street-cleaning, enhanced safety, programming such as farmers markets and corridor activation, and technical support from existing CBDs.

The Department of Elections reported a weighted ballot return of 50.35% in favor and 49.65% opposed, and the clerk stated on the record that there was "no majority protest." Following the tabulation and a procedural rescind-and-retake to ensure…