Supervisors approve UCSF ground lease for new research building after parking concessions

San Francisco — The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a lease-disposition and development agreement and a 75-year ground lease with the Regents of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) to build a new research building adjacent to San Francisco General Hospital.

The board approved the LDDA and ground lease after supervisors pressed UCSF and the Department of Public Health on mitigation for the loss of on-site parking during construction and long-term parking access for patients and staff. UC agreed to provide a $10,000,000 parking reimbursement contribution to the city and, during the meeting, UCSF committed in writing to permanently reserve 30 parking spaces for its faculty and staff at Mission Bay to offset spaces removed from the San Francisco General campus.

Why it matters: The research building is part of a long-running redevelopment of the San Francisco General campus that city and university officials say will support research and clinical care. Supervisors said they backed the development but insisted on concrete mitigation for parking and traffic impacts near the hospital, which serves low-income and medically fragile patients.

City staff told supervisors the project would be built on the BC lot immediately south of the old hospital. According to the LDDA summary presented to the board, UCSF will pay an initial base rent of $180,000 a year, and the Department of Public Health (DPH) is authorized to accept the $10,000,000 contribution upon delivery of the ground lease.

Supervisors repeatedly questioned how the city and UCSF would replace roughly 130 parking spaces currently used by patients and staff on the BC lot. UCSF and DPH described a multi-pronged mitigation approach: off-site parking (Mission Bay and other lots), expanded shuttle service, a transit-demand-management (TDM) plan developed with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), and use of the $10,000,000 contribution to fund mitigations. Greg Wagner, chief financial officer for DPH, told the board they had explored a revenue-bond option backed by parking revenues but that a viable financing model had not yet been found.

DPH Director Barbara Garcia told supervisors the department had ‘‘the dollars’’ and that the $10,000,000 contribution would be segregated and dedicated for the intended parking mitigations. UCSF’s Barbara French said the university and DPH had held about 22 community meetings since 2013 and that the $10,000,000 number was based on a market assessment of replacement cost for the parking spaces.

Supervisors sought firmer commitments before approving the LDDA. Councilmembers pressed DPH and SFMTA to return with progress reports: SFMTA agreed to meet with DPH and report to the board on mitigation progress; DPH said it could not complete all details in 30 days but offered quarterly updates, and, after discussion, committed to returning with progress within 30 days and ongoing updates thereafter. UCSF supplemented its earlier statements on the record: Vice Chancellor Barbara French said UCSF would permanently remove 30 spaces from the garage as an additional mitigation step, a pledge lawmakers amended into the ordinance before the final vote.

The board approved a motion by Supervisor Hillary Ronan to amend the ordinance to require UCSF to permanently maintain 30 parking spaces for its faculty and staff at Mission Bay to offset the spaces removed from the SF General campus; the amendment was seconded by Supervisor Katie Tang and accepted unanimously. On the final roll call the ordinance as amended passed unanimously (11-0).

What happens next: The LDDA and ground lease proceed with the recorded amendment and the $10,000,000 contribution placed in a segregated DPH account, subject to subsequent appropriation by the board. Supervisors requested regular reports from DPH and SFMTA on the TDM and parking plan and said any substantial spending of the contribution should come through the budget process so the board and public can review priorities.

Key quotes

"We do have the dollars that the department is putting up," DPH Director Barbara Garcia told the board when asked about the realism of the TDM plan, adding that the university’s $10,000,000 and other sources are being combined to focus on staff parking and to prioritize patient access.

"If it’s of help to the parking plan, UCSF would commit to permanently remove 30 spaces out of the garage," UCSF’s Barbara French said during the hearing; the board inserted that commitment into the ordinance as an amendment.

Ending note

Supervisors said they support the research building but made clear they expect continued oversight: DPH, SFMTA and UCSF must deliver a more detailed TDM and financing plan and report back as they implement mitigation measures.