Board approves bridge loan for Transbay, advances tobacco‑sales limits and green finance rollout; affirms planning exemption after neighborhood appeal

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Dec. 9 approved a series of measures that together aim to keep construction of the Transbay Transit Center on schedule, reduce the local density of tobacco retailers over time, expand options for residential clean‑energy financing and explore open‑source voting technology — and it denied an appeal challenging a Planning Department categorical exemption for work at 2853–2857 Broderick Street.

The board voted to permit the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) to use a bridge loan while it completes draws on federal financing, passed an ordinance that will phase down new tobacco permits in high‑density neighborhoods, adopted resolutions advancing “Green Finance SF” residential PACE‑style financing and an amended resolution urging study of open‑source voting systems, and affirmed the Planning Department’s categorical exemption after a public hearing on a historic‑district property in Cow Hollow.

Why it matters: the Transbay action preserves the schedule for the long‑running Transbay Transit Center project by providing interim construction cash; the tobacco ordinance reflects a years‑long, youth‑led public‑health push to reduce smoking exposure in low‑income neighborhoods; the Green Finance and open‑source voting steps are policy efforts meant to expand local options for energy upgrades and election transparency; and the Broderick decision resolves a protracted neighborhood dispute about permits and CEQA review.

Transbay bridge loan: board clears documents to let TJPA close interim financing

The board, acting both in its legislative role and in its capacity as successor agency to the former redevelopment authority, approved a package of resolutions and an amendment to option agreements that will allow the TJPA to proceed with a bridge loan from Goldman Sachs for up to $171 million. Supervisor Jane Kim, the item’s sponsor, told colleagues the loan is needed because the federally backed TIFIA loan — the long‑term financing TJPA will use to repay the bridge loan — cannot be drawn until certain conditions are met. Tiffany Bohe, director at the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII), told the board the bridge loan is expected to be repaid in about a year and that affordable‑housing requirements tied to the parcels would remain in place even in a worst‑case foreclosure.

Votes: the related resolutions and option‑amendment items were approved by roll call (recorded as adopted unanimously in the meeting transcript); the board also passed companion successor‑agency actions that will go to the State Department of Finance for review.

Tobacco Sales Reduction Act: ordinance on first reading to cap permits and impose 500‑foot buffers

Supervisor Eric Mar led final consideration of a sweeping ordinance intended to reduce the number and concentration of retailers that sell tobacco products. The measure — described by sponsors as the most comprehensive local tobacco license reform in the country — creates a cap (45 tobacco permits per supervisorial district), a 500‑foot minimum distance for any new permit from a school and a 500‑foot spacing requirement from other tobacco retailers, and bars new tobacco sales in restaurants and bars. The policy relies on attrition (no existing retail permit is revoked immediately) and contains narrow exemptions to protect small business owners and certain longstanding cigar bars; supervisors incorporated several technical amendments requested by the Small Business Commission and by stakeholder groups.

The board passed the ordinance on first reading as amended; sponsors said the new rules are expected to reduce tobacco permits by about half over 10–15 years and aim to address public‑health disparities in low‑income neighborhoods. Department of Public Health staff and youth leaders who helped draft…