Board approves 20‑year lease at 2650 Bayshore for SFMTA tow and operations, 8‑3

The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution authorizing the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to lease warehouse, office and exterior parking at 2650 Bayshore Boulevard in Daly City for its towed‑car operations and other transit‑related uses. The roll call vote on item 10 was 8 ayes, 3 noes.

Supervisor Chu, who led the presentation, said the proposed lease would provide roughly 12.7 acres of space — including about 255,000 square feet of warehouse and roughly 38,000 square feet of office area — and approximately 1,030 parking spaces. The initial lease term is 20 years with an option to terminate at 20 years and two five‑year renewal options. Chu said the existing Pier 70 site is planned for redevelopment and is not suitable for long‑term MTA operations.

Kirsten McGarry, SFMTA senior manager of real estate, told supervisors Daly City completed environmental review and a traffic study as part of its CEQA process. The traffic consultant (TJKM Consulting Group) estimated the project would generate approximately 946 daily vehicle trips on a typical day and about 1,546 trips on Wednesdays (auction days); SFMTA said that is lower than the U.S. Postal Service's earlier use of the site. McGarry said tow operations run 24 hours but put about 25 vehicles into long‑term storage daily and that auctions and sales would be managed to limit peak impacts.

Supervisor Campos and others questioned whether the city should have acquired the property when it sold for roughly $21 million to the buyer who later resold or leased it to Prologis and whether a long lease totaling roughly $70 million in nominal payments over 20 years represented good value. Supporters, including Supervisor Weiner and Supervisor Chu, emphasized timing, procurement constraints and the time value of money: the SFMTA said independent appraisals indicate the lease's net present value is comparable to a $21 million purchase price once escalators and operating costs are included, and that comparable, transit‑accessible sites of this size are rare.

After discussion, the board approved the lease. The roll call was: Ellsburn (aye); Farrell (aye); Kim (aye); Mar (aye); Olague (no); Weiner (aye); Avalos (no); Campos (no); Chu (aye); Cohen (aye) — recorded as 8 ayes and 3 noes.

Speakers quoted in this report appeared during item 10 on the board's adoption calendar.