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 all supervisors present could vote, the board adopted the resolution to establish the Discover Polk CBD. The final roll call was recorded on the dais as nine ayes.

Speakers and proponents said the proposed district would cover roughly 535 parcels on about 14 whole or partial blocks (as described in the management district plan and the engineer's report on file with the board). The management plan proposes assessment-funded services including supplemental street-cleaning, safety ambassadors, marketing and corridor activation, and administrative expenses for eleven years beginning with fiscal year 2018'19 if the board authorized formation and there was not a majority protest.

Speakers (attribution whitelist) - Chris Korgas, Senior Program Manager, Office of Economic and Workforce Development (government) - Suzanne Markel Fox, Discover Polk steering committee (citizen) - Tiffany Yang, Discover Polk steering committee (citizen) - George Yu, property owner/steering committee supporter (citizen) - Mike Petrica, Vice President, Campus Safety, Academy of Art University (business) - Jonathan Fox, property owner/resident (citizen) - Chris Schulman, Board member, Lower Polk Community Benefit District (nonprofit) - Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Board of Supervisors (government)

Authorities - {"type":"resolution","name":"Resolution No. 171-18","citation":"Board resolution of intention adopted 05/22/2018, No. 171-18","referenced_by":["discover-polk-cbd-2018-07-24"]}

Actions - {"kind":"resolution","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"63","resolution_number":"not specified"},"motion":"Establish the Discover Polk Community Benefit District and order the levy and collection of assessments","mover":"Supervisor Peskin","second":"n/a","vote_record":[{"member":"Kim","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Mandelmann","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Peskin","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Ronan","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Safaie","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Stefani","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Yi","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Brown","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Cohen","vote":"yes"}],"tally":{"yes":9,"no":0},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Weighted ballot tabulation: 50.35% for, 49.65% against; no majority protest; board adopted resolution to form the district."}

Clarifying details - Weighted ballot results reported by the Department of Elections: 50.35% in favor, 49.65% opposed; Department of Elections tabulation reported no majority protest. - Proposed district coverage described in the management plan: approximately 535 identified parcels across about 14 whole or partial blocks (details in file). - Term: proposed assessments to be levied for 11 years commencing FY2018'19, subject to the management plan and board findings.

Discussion vs. decision - Discussion: Public testimony included multiple speakers in favor describing specific planned services and local business support; one public speaker spoke in general terms about citywide equity concerns during the CBD hearing but the clerk limited comments to CBD-related testimony. - Decision: The Department of Elections tabulated ballots and the board adopted the resolution establishing Discover Polk CBD based on the tabulation and absence of a majority protest.

Proper_names [{"name":"Discover Polk Community Benefit District","type":"other"},{"name":"Office of Economic and Workforce Development","type":"agency"},{"name":"Lower Polk Community Benefit District","type":"organization"},{"name":"Department of Elections, City and County of San Francisco","type":"agency"}]

searchable_tags:["CBD","Polk Street","OEWD","business_improvement_district"],

provenance":{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"s=3780.57","local_start":0,"local_end":228,"evidence_excerpt":"The first 3 o'clock special order are item 62 and 63 being called together...pursuant to a resolution adopted on 05/22/2018 number 171-18 for a public hearing to consider establishing a property based business improvement district to be known as the Discover Polk Community Benefit District.","tc_start":"00:63:00","tc_end":"00:69:48","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"s=8516.92","local_start":0,"local_end":36,"evidence_excerpt":"The returned weighted ballots voting for the Discover Polk Community Benefit District was 50.35%, and the return weighted ballots voting against the Discover Polk Community Benefit District was 49.65%, further indicating there was no majority protest.","tc_start":"02:21:56","tc_end":"02:22:32","reason_code":"topfinish"}] },