Mayor Breed gives 1-year update on downtown revitalization, urges tax reform

Mayor London Breed, mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, told the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 13 that a one-year update to the city's downtown roadmap shows measurable early recovery and urged the board to consider tax reform to sustain momentum.

Breed said the city's nine-strategy plan to revive downtown'including conversions of vacant offices, filling empty storefronts, fee reductions for new housing, and incentives for businesses'is beginning to show results. "In 1 study released last week, San Francisco saw 1 of the largest increases in people returning to downtown last year, a 23% increase from 22 to 23," Breed said. She said the city has also made it easier to convert offices to housing, reduced fees tied to housing and retail, and changed planning rules to help small businesses.

The mayor framed the next major issue as tax reform, saying city economists and the treasurer'controller have produced a report outlining options. "We have to make bold decisions. We have to incentivize, and we have to do everything we can to not only attract new businesses, but to retain the ones we have now," Breed said, adding that the city cannot continue to operate under the pre-pandemic assumptions reflected in zoning and office development policies.

Why it matters: Downtown activity affects tourism, business investment and city revenue. The mayor argued the combination of legislation, programmatic activations (such as the Vacant-to-Vibrant storefront program and street festivals) and private investments are producing early improvements but said further steps, including a tax reform package, will be necessary to sustain and accelerate recovery.

Details and context: Breed highlighted ongoing efforts by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to activate storefronts and support nightlife and said a large private investment (described in the presentation as a $1,000,000,000 investment involving the Transamerica Pyramid) is helping renew major downtown assets. She also discussed plans to collaborate with the University of California system and historically Black colleges and universities to explore downtown campuses to bring students and research activity into the core.

The board's president, Aaron Peskin, thanked the mayor after her remarks and said he and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman expect to work with the mayor and her team on the tax reform proposal later this year. No formal vote or ordinance was taken during the mayor's appearance.