Board approves street restoration change, utility‑undergrounding enforcement and parakeet feeding ban; several appropriations adopted

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 5, 2007, approved a series of ordinances and resolutions, including an amendment to the Public Works Code governing street restoration after excavations, a first‑reading ordinance to strengthen enforcement of the city’s utility undergrounding program, and a ban on feeding red‑masked parakeets in parkland.

Supervisor Tom (as listed in the record) Ellsberg spoke during debate on the street restoration ordinance to express concern that some city utilities and transit agencies were exempted from full-block restoration requirements. "While the trains might run better, the street itself looks absolutely horrendous," Ellsberg said, urging the city to consider requiring full-block restoration for more public utilities. Supervisor (recorded as) Mercurini, the sponsor of the ordinance, acknowledged litigation limits on utility franchises but said the board should explore ways to hold the Municipal Transportation Agency and Public Utilities Commission to a higher standard.

On a separate but related matter, the board heard a lengthy presentation on the utility undergrounding program, which the record describes as originating in a 1996 ordinance that designated 42 miles for undergrounding. The sponsor of that item described an amendment declaring properties that refuse to complete required conduit connections a public nuisance and allowing the Department of Public Works to install conduit and recover costs via the property tax roll when owners refuse to act. The sponsor described roughly 8,000 properties in the program with about 3,000 not yet fully converted and said DPW would work with PG&E and property owners to complete work; the measure passed its amendment of the whole and was recorded as passed on first reading.

The board also adopted an ordinance amending the Police Code to prohibit feeding wild red‑masked parakeets in city parks. The sponsor, Supervisor Peskin, cited avian experts and public‑park wildlife management principles, saying feeding can domesticate wild birds and expose them to capture and predation. The ordinance passed after roll‑call vote.

Several appropriations and other routine items on the consent calendar were adopted, including funding for juvenile‑hall replacement work, reimbursements for ballot costs in the Department of Elections, and bonds and feasibility resolutions associated with San Francisco General Hospital reconstruction and nonprofit financings. A package of items on the adoption‑without‑reference calendar (items 37 through 44) was also adopted by roll call.

Votes at a glance

- Item 1 — Ordinance amending Public Works Code street restoration fee and amending section 2.455 to require restoration of all affected lanes for the entire block when 25% or more of the block's length is excavated. Outcome: Ordinance finally passed (vote recorded in minutes as "There are 10 ayes" with one absence noted earlier on the roll call).

- Item (undergrounding ordinance, introduced at meeting and moved as an amendment of the whole) — Ordinance to declare properties that refuse required conduit connections a public nuisance and allow DPW to recover costs (utility undergrounding enforcement). Outcome: Amendment of the whole moved and seconded; ordinance passed on first reading (recorded vote: 11 ayes).

- Item 18 — Ordinance appropriating $2,345,549 for the Juvenile Hall Youth Guidance Center replacement project, Department of Public Works FY 2006–2007. Outcome: Ordinance finally passed (vote recorded as passed in minutes; roll‑call details recorded in transcripts as mixed but outcome adopted).

- Item 19 — Ordinance amending the annual salary ordinance to add 15 positions to the Department of Human Resources for a new HR management system. Outcome: Ordinance finally passed (vote recorded: 10 ayes, 1 no).

- Item 20 — Ordinance amending section 486 of the Police Code to prohibit feeding red‑masked parakeets. Outcome: Ordinance finally passed (vote recorded: 10 ayes, 1 no).

- Item 21 — Ordinance appropriating $953,347 of state reimbursements for additional ballot costs and other current expenses in the Department of Elections. Outcome: Ordinance adopted (roll call affirmative).

- Item 23 — Resolution approving issuance and sale of tax‑exempt bonds by ABAG Finance Authority for nonprofit corporations in aggregate principal amount not to exceed $17,000,000. Outcome: Resolution adopted.

- Item 24 — Resolution finding the proposed reconstruction of San Francisco General Hospital fiscally feasible under Admin. Code, Chapter 29. Outcome: Resolution adopted.

- Item 25 — Resolution concurring with the Controller’s certification that services can be performed by private contractor for lower cost (various airport, port and MTA services). Outcome: Resolution adopted (recorded: 10 ayes, 1 no).

- Items 26 & 27 — Resolutions approving First 5 Commission and SFUSD expenditure plans for public education enrichment funds (FY 2006–2008). Outcome: Resolutions adopted (vote recorded: 9 ayes, 2 noes on one item as recorded in minutes).

- Additional consent and committee items (items 28–34 and items 37–44) were acted upon as listed in the agenda; several were continued, referred to committee or passed on first reading as the minutes record. Where the transcript did not include an explicit roll‑call tally for a given item, outcome is reported as adopted/continued/referred per the clerk's announcement and marked "vote details: not specified."

What the votes mean

- Street restoration ordinance: the board approved stricter restoration requirements for excavations that affect at least a quarter of a block; supervisors debated whether to extend requirements to publicly owned transit and utility projects.

- Utility undergrounding enforcement: the board approved an amendment enabling DPW to treat recalcitrant properties as nuisances and to recover installation costs via property tax bills; the item passed first reading and will return for subsequent readings and further oversight.

- Parakeet feeding ban: the board adopted a prohibition on feeding the city's population of wild red‑masked parakeets in parklands, citing wildlife‑management and public‑safety reasons.

Next steps and context

Several items passed on first reading and will return to the board for subsequent readings as required by city law. The undergrounding change in particular continues a multi‑year program (originally enacted in 1996) involving thousands of properties; the ordinance will be followed by DPW implementation and coordination with PG&E. The public comment record from this meeting included extensive testimony about environmental and health concerns in Bayview Hunters Point; while those comments were taken under advisement by the clerk, no moratorium or emergency enforcement action was recorded as adopted at this meeting.