Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Libraries topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mayor says Ocean View library site lacks consensus and enough funding; supervisor presses for Brotherhood Way location
Summary
Supervisor Safaie asked Mayor London Breed to commit to building a new Ocean View library at Brotherhood Way and Orizaba; the mayor said there is not consensus on location and insufficient funding for a new building, but committed to working with the community and to using rehabilitation funding if the community wants work to proceed quickly.
Supervisor Ahsha Safaie told Mayor London N. Breed on Dec. 12 that residents of District 11 have long sought a new Ocean View library at Brotherhood Way and Orizaba, and asked the mayor to commit to the chosen site.
"The community I represent wants to see this library project move forward now. It's been over four years. They deserve this much needed resource," Supervisor Safaie said, describing the existing branch as less than 9,000 square feet and too small for the area's population of children and seniors.
Mayor Breed replied that the record of decisions and available funding do not support moving forward immediately on a new library at that site. "There is not consensus. There isn't sufficient revenue to move this project forward," the mayor said. Breed added that initial funding allocated in 2018 was earmarked for a rehabilitation of the existing branch and that a new building would cost substantially more — she said the project's cost has increased about fourfold since earlier allocations.
Safaie countered that, prior to the current budget cycle, city staff had worked on an interdepartmental land transfer and that the community had design work and traffic studies supporting the Brotherhood Way site, and she told the mayor that "there's over $30,000,000 in reserve" that could be used to advance the design and site work. Safaie asked what changed between September 2022 and June 2023 that caused the library to reverse course on the Brotherhood site.
Breed said community divisions over the location and pandemic-related delays have complicated the project, and reiterated that the original rehabilitation funds remain available. "If they want to move quickly, we have the resources to do the rehabilitation work that we committed to for the existing library," Breed said. She added that building a larger, brand-new library at Brotherhood Way would require additional funding and consensus.
Why this matters: District 11 supervisors and residents described the current branch as undersized for a neighborhood with many children and seniors. The discussion touched on interdepartmental land transfers, traffic and pedestrian safety studies, existing reserve funds, and the city's budget constraints.
What was not decided: The mayor did not commit to building a new Ocean View library at Brotherhood Way. She offered to work with the supervisor and community but said that an entirely new facility at that site is not feasible now due to funding and lack of consensus. The board did not vote on a site or re-allocate funds at the meeting.
Meeting context: The exchange came during the mayor's scheduled appearance and included back-and-forth on planning, funding and the timeline for community participation. Supervisor Safaie pressed the mayor for precise reasons for the apparent change in city stance between prior site selection steps and the current hesitation.
Ending note: Both the mayor and supervisor signaled willingness to continue discussions; the mayor said rehabilitation funds are available immediately if the community opts to proceed with a smaller-scale plan rather than a new building.
