Board roundup: payroll tax change, library and other items pass; taxi and AT&T matters continued

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors handled a broad set of items on May 24, approving several ordinances and resolutions, continuing others for later hearings and scheduling additional public meetings. Key actions included passing a payroll-tax exclusion ordinance, approving several airport and public-health items, and continuing high-profile matters such as a taxi-fare resolution and an AT&T network appeal for further review.

Major approvals and first readings - Item 9: The board adopted an ordinance creating a payroll expense tax exclusion for stock-based compensation as recommended by the Budget and Finance Committee. Roll call: 8 ayes, 3 noes (roll recorded in the clerk’s minutes). - Item 10: An ordinance appropriating approximately $1.9 million from the general fund reserve and $360,000 from the library preservation fund for legal expenses related to the Corona litigation passed on first consideration; the clerk recorded 11 ayes and the ordinance was finally passed per the clerk’s statement. - Items 11–16: A set of ordinances and resolutions including prescription-drug disposal display requirements (item 11) and several airport lease amendments (items 14–15) were adopted as recorded in the roll calls. - Item 13: An ordinance to appropriate approximately $29.5 million to address shortfalls in the Department of Public Health was passed on first reading.

Continuances and scheduling - Item 6–8 (AT&T Network Lightspeed Upgrade appeal): Supervisor Wiener moved to delay consideration of these items until after a scheduled CEQA hearing on a separate Union Street appeal; later Wiener asked for a five-week continuance to June 28 to allow AT&T to present a scaled-back proposal. The Board continued the matter to June 28 without objection. - Item 17 (Housing Element ordinance): Supervisor Weiner moved to continue the item three weeks to June 14 to allow additional conversations; the motion was seconded and the item was continued to June 14. - Item 30 (taxi-fare resolution): Supervisor Weiner introduced a resolution opposing a municipal-transportation-agency fare increase unless service improvements accompany it. Following discussion the board continued the taxi-fare item to the June 7 meeting to allow further work and negotiation. - Item 34 (North Beach Library rezoning): The board agreed to divide the file after deputy city attorney advice so that the task force convening could occur promptly and conflict-of-interest code changes could proceed separately; Supervisor Chu circulated an amendment of the whole and the Board continued the scheduling to June 7 to consider the amended motion.

Adoption-without-committee items - The Board adopted items 29–35 by unanimous roll call except where members severed items for separate consideration (item 30 was severed and later continued as noted). The clerk recorded that those motions and resolutions were adopted and approved.

Other committee items - Item 23 was forwarded as a committee report from the Public Safety Committee and was adopted by the Board during the meeting.

What’s next: Several continued and scheduled items will return to the Board in early June (AT&T on June 28; taxi-fare and the Committee-of-the-Whole hearing for North Beach Library on June 7; housing element on June 14). The Board asked staff and enforcement agencies to provide additional technical reports where noted.