Board affirms SFMTA's CEQA exemption for two‑year budget, rejects appeal over Sunday parking meters

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday affirmed the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) determination that its fiscal‑year 2015–16 two‑year operating and capital budget is statutorily exempt from environmental review under CEQA, rejecting an appeal that had sought review of the agency's decision to eliminate enforcement of Sunday parking meters.

The appeal was denied by a 9‑2 roll‑call vote after a multi‑hour hearing that included legal arguments, testimony from transit and planning staff, and public comment from transit advocacy groups. Appellants argued the exemption was improperly applied to a discrete policy decision — the suspension of Sunday metered parking — and pointed to an SFMTA study they said showed the policy produced environmental and traffic benefits.

Appellants led by attorney James Birkland for Livable City and the San Francisco Transit Riders Union contended the statutory “rates, tolls, fares, and charges” exemption (Public Resources Code §21080(b)(8) / CEQA Guidelines §15273) applies where changes are made to meet operating expenses, not to lower revenues or to hide a specific policy change inside an entire budget. Birkland told the board that CEQA “is all about informed decision‑making” and argued the public could not discern whether the exemption was intended to cover the Sunday‑meter decision because the resolution’s attachment listed revenue sources rather than an explicit line for the change.

SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Ryskin and Planning Department staff defended the exemption. Ryskin said the agency undertook “a very deliberative and public process over the course of many months” and described the budget as one that advances the city’s transportation, safety and environmental goals. Planning staff told the board statutory exemptions are absolute — when a project falls within a statutory exemption, CEQA review is not required even if environmental effects could arise — and said the agency had followed the exemption guidance when it approved its budget as a whole.

Speakers for the appellants urged the board to treat the suspension of Sunday meters as a separable action that should have been identified and reviewed on its own. Appellants and supporting organizations including Livable City, the League of Pissed Off Voters and Walk San Francisco warned that suspending Sunday meters would reduce an estimated $11 million in annual revenue and increase traffic congestion and greenhouse‑gas emissions.

Board members split over whether the dispute was a legal technicality or a policy problem in how the SFMTA develops budgets and makes service decisions. Supervisor John Avalos and Supervisor David Chiu (President Chiu presided) questioned whether the budget presentation allowed the public to understand the specific decision to suspend Sunday meters; Supervisor Wiener moved to deny the appeal and asked colleagues not to substitute the board’s policy preferences for the agency's charter authority over transit matters. Supervisor Mar and Supervisor Campos voiced concern that agency governance and transparency problems had played a role in how the issue came to the board.

The board ultimately voted to affirm the Planning Department and SFMTA determinations that the budget is statutorily exempt and therefore not subject to further CEQA review. The vote was recorded as nine ayes and two noes. The board’s action leaves intact the SFMTA board’s budget decision, including the suspension of Sunday meter enforcement as presented inside the two‑year budget package.

What this means going forward: the decision upholds the Planning Department’s interpretation that the restructuring of rates, fares and charges in the agency’s overall budget falls within the statutory exemption cited; it does not itself change SFMTA budget details. The appellants retain other legal and political avenues, but the board’s ruling removes the CEQA pathway for overturning the SFMTA decision.

Provenance: See transcript segments where the appeal and opening statements begin and the final roll call on the exemption.