Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Plan Bay Area topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Supervisors press mayor on Plan Bay Area growth, CEQA streamlining and transit funding
Summary
Supervisors questioned Mayor Edwin Lee about the Bay Area—s Plan Bay Area regional growth strategy and the potential CEQA streamlining in Senate Bill 375; the mayor expressed support for regional planning, cautioned that Planning Department questions remain, and called for a transportation funding plan to support Muni.
Supervisor Eric Mar (District 1) pressed Mayor Edwin Lee during question time about the region—s draft Plan Bay Area and potential state-level CEQA streamlining under Senate Bill 375. Mar warned that the plan projects major population and housing growth by 2040 and that CEQA exemptions for transit-priority development could increase displacement risks in San Francisco—s low-income neighborhoods.
Mayor Edwin Lee said the city would work with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on a regional approach, noted the city already has strong anti-displacement and housing preservation policies, and said the Planning Department has outstanding questions about SB 375 streamlining provisions that must be answered before any city use of the new provisions.
Transit funding and operations Lee told supervisors he had convened a San Francisco 2030 transportation task force to provide recommendations to maintain street conditions and keep Muni and other systems reliable. He said the city must build public confidence by ensuring predictable funding for transit operations and that the task force would report to him, Board President David Chu and SFMTA officials.
Supervisor concerns and suggested changes Supervisor Marr urged four measures for Plan Bay Area: (1) an additional $3 billion in operating revenue for local transit; (2) move 5% of projected housing growth from low-income communities to suburban job centers; (3) adopt strong anti-displacement measures such as land banking and preservation of affordable housing; and (4) direct the Planning Department to analyze CEQA-streamlining impacts and mitigation.
The mayor—s response Lee acknowledged regional planning is necessary; he said many of the recommended protections are already in place locally and staff had sent a comment letter to ABAG and MTC offering to work on mitigation. On CEQA streamlining, Lee said the Planning Department had specific technical questions to resolve before the city could consider using the bill—s provisions.
What was not decided No city-level commitment to use SB 375 streamlining was made; the mayor deferred to the Planning Department pending answers from ABAG and MTC. Transit funding proposals were not finalized, though the mayor proposed the task force would produce recommendations for funding and operational priorities.
Provenance: Supervisor Marr's question and Mayor Lee—s responses appear in the transcript during the formal question time for the mayor (see transcript near 00:02:42 to 00:08:12).
