Board approves wide slate of routine measures; several items continued or tabled after debate

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the bulk of its consent and adoption calendars on Nov. 4, 2008, passing routine ordinances, resolutions and final maps by roll call while several higher-profile items were tabled or continued for further work.

Among the items adopted or passed on first reading were dozens of consent-calendar measures (items 1–20) described by the clerk as routine; an ordinance assigning numeric point values to bidders’ good-faith outreach for public works and related contracts (item 23); an amendment to the annual salary ordinance to add one Project Manager I at the Port of San Francisco (item 24); an operations-and-maintenance waiver and five-year contract for Bombardier Transportation to run SFO’s AirTrain in an approximate amount of $57,000,000 (item 25, passed on first reading); a resolution authorizing up to $2,500,000,000 of SFO second-series revenue refunding bonds (item 26); an ordinance authorizing a settlement with Factory Mutual Insurance Company and Bombardier Transportation for about $2,700,000 (item 27); and a resolution adopting the county plan for the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act and the Substance Abuse Offender Treatment Program for FY 2008–09 (item 28).

The board also passed an ordinance prohibiting formula retail uses in the Visitor Retail District and imposing conditional-use review in certain Chinatown and residential neighborhood commercial districts (item 30), motions approving several final maps (items 51–53) and routine adoption-calendar resolutions (items 47–49, 50) after committee-origin reports. Several of these were adopted "same house, same call," meaning they were approved collectively by roll call.

Not all measures moved forward. Item 21, an ordinance appropriating approximately $498,000 from the General Fund Reserve for high-risk youth violence prevention in the Mission District (FY 2008–09), was tabled by motion of Supervisor Ammiano after staff reported that many community requests had been resolved through reallocations and other efficiencies. Item 31, a resolution directing negotiation of an MOU related to retrofit and potential closure/reuse of the Potrero Power Plant units, was tabled after supervisors said the board had not received a full project description, environmental review, or a completed MOU. Item 32, an ordinance revising public-works rules for sidewalk flower stands (revocable permits, assignment restrictions, fees and penalties), failed on roll call (5 ayes, 6 noes) after extended debate over permit transfers, alleged sale of abandoned permits and whether the measure unduly restricted small vendors. Item 22 (ban on new general advertising on street furniture and on exteriors of city-owned buildings) initially passed on first reading (6–5) after debate, but later the vote was rescinded and the item continued to the Nov. 18 meeting for amendments and further discussion.

Votes recorded on the floor matched clerk roll call tallies. Where items were continued or tabled, supervisors who spoke called for clearer project descriptions, completed memoranda of understanding, or additional outreach and amendments before final action.

Ending: The board concluded with introductions, recognitions and a series of procedural rescissions/continuations; several items will return to the November 18 agenda for further consideration.