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At a glance: Board of Supervisors passes emergency leave and construction‑utility protections, a CARES Act ESG appropriation and several planning ordinances
Summary
At its Aug. 18 meeting the board approved multiple consent and committee items, including emergency ordinances to require employer public‑health leave and to restrict utility shutdowns that affect residential tenants, accepted HUD ESG‑CV funds and passed several planning code changes and appointments.
The Board of Supervisors considered a large set of consent and committee items at its Aug. 18 meeting. Highlights of actions the board approved (many by unanimous or near‑unanimous votes) include:
- Emergency leave for large private employers (Item 37): The board reenacted an emergency ordinance temporarily requiring private employers with 500 or more employees to provide public‑health emergency leave during the COVID‑19 public‑health emergency. The item passed on a 11‑0 roll call.
- Construction‑utility protections (Item 35): The board adopted an emergency ordinance temporarily prohibiting construction projects in buildings with residential rental units from suspending water or utility service to tenants without providing alternate water or power or an agreement with tenants. The ordinance passed unanimously.
- CARES Act ESG‑CV grant appropriation (Item 18): The board approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for and accept an estimated $43.6 million in U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG‑CV) funds and amended an earlier allocation for Round 1. This item was adopted unanimously.
- Planning code and zoning changes: A number of planning‑code amendments and related ordinances passed on final reading, including measures related to educator housing bedroom counts, additional height for 100% affordable housing and amendments to the Chinatown Community Business District controls to reenact nonretail professional services above the first floor. Several multi‑item packages — notably the Balboa Reservoir project (items 15–17) — were approved on final passage after committee consideration.
- Appointments and confirmations: Multiple mayoral and Board‑sponsored appointments were confirmed without substantive debate, including reappointments and new members for the Board of Appeals and Muni board community representative Sharon Lai (item 25 passed unanimously). (One contested appointment, Jane Natoli to the SFMTA board, failed; that is covered in a separate article.)
- Other committee report items: The board approved dozens of other routine consent items (items 1–25 and 34–37 as noticed) and committee reports on public hearings and reappointments. Some items were the subject of short procedural motions (for example item 11 was duplicated and referred back to committee for further review).
Votes varied item‑by‑item; items explicitly noted during roll call as unanimous included the emergency ordinances and the CARES Act resolution. Where the roll call recorded specific tallies they are reflected in the clerk’s entry for each agenda item in the official legislative file.
The board also received numerous public comments on a range of topics during the public‑comment period; the largest public turnout was for the 2300 Harrison Street appeal (see separate article).
