Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transbay Cfd topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board adopts Transbay Community Facilities District resolutions after developers decline alternate payment plan
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Sept. 23, 2014 adopted resolutions to form the Transbay Community Facilities District and call a special election after staff reported developers did not agree to an alternate payment arrangement.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Sept. 23, 2014 adopted a set of resolutions forming Special Tax District No. 2014-1 (the Transbay Community Facilities District), determining the necessity to incur bonded indebtedness and calling a special election to submit the special tax and bonded indebtedness to qualified electors.
City staff told the board that talks with developers had not produced agreement on an alternate payment arrangement the city had explored. "We were not able to receive that agreement," Ken Rich of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development told the board, and staff recommended moving forward with the original set of resolutions.
Nadia Sasse, director of the Office of Public Finance, told supervisors that "the $1,400,000,000 that's referenced in the legislation in front of you ... is the maximum aggregate principal amount that could be issued through the life of the district." She said the alternate payment arrangement previously discussed would have preserved the same net present value to the city but that the city had not obtained unanimous developer support for that option.
Supervisors debated the developers' refusal to accept the alternate payment plan and the risk that one or more developers may file suit. Supervisor Wiener argued the city should proceed and not be "bullied into giving up a huge amount of critical transit money." Board counsel (a City Attorney's Office representative) said that if developers opposed formation or otherwise impeded it, "that would violate the project's conditions of approval" and the city would have remedies under the planning code, developer agreements or other instruments, potentially including withholding occupancy permits or other discretionary permits.
The board made a set of technical amendments, including setting the date for the special election as Dec. 29, 2014, and received an amended and restated CFD report during the meeting. After roll-call, the resolutions were adopted by an 11-0 vote (Supervisor Avalos; Supervisor Breed; Supervisor Campos; President Chiu; Supervisor Cohen; Supervisor Farrell; Supervisor Kim; Supervisor Mar; Supervisor Tang; Supervisor Weiner; Supervisor Yi all voting "aye").
Public comment during the continued hearing included a mixture of opposition and support; one speaker threatened legal pressure on developers and another urged liens. Following the vote, the board proceeded to other business.
Why it matters: The CFD is intended to provide financing for the Transbay Transit Center and related infrastructure through a Mello-Roos special tax. Staff characterized the $1.4 billion amount in the legislative materials as the maximum aggregate principal that could be issued over the life of the district; the board's action starts a process that includes a special election for property owners in the district and preserves the city's financing path unless subsequent legal or administrative steps alter the plan.
