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Board approves Lower Polk Community Benefit District after public hearing, opponents fail to win majority protest
Summary
After a public hearing and ballot tabulation, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to establish the Lower Polk Community Benefit District following a weighted-ballot vote in favor. Supporters said the district will fund cleaning, safety and youth workforce services; one architect objected that the levy privatizes municipal services.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to establish the Lower Polk Community Benefit District on a final roll-call after a public hearing and a ballot tabulation that showed no majority protest.
The board convened as a committee of the whole for the public hearing on a resolution of intention to levy assessments for the proposed property- and business-based improvement district, which would cover approximately 307 parcels on roughly 22 blocks. The hearing included proponents from neighborhood groups, businesses and service providers and a single opposition speaker from a local architecture firm. After public testimony the Department of Elections tabulated returned weighted ballots and reported that 68.23% were in favor and 31.77% opposed, a result board staff said meant there was no majority protest. The board then adopted the resolution to establish the district by roll call vote.
Proponents said the district would fund routine services that neighborhood volunteers and stretched city agencies struggle to deliver. “We have been working with…Larkin Street Youth Services to make young people part of the solution,” said Jamie Fontaine of Larkin Street Youth Services during the hearing. Steering-committee members and small-business owners described community cleanups, graffiti abatement, power washing and youth workforce partnerships already underway and said the district would sustain and expand those efforts.
Some witnesses emphasized quality-of-life and safety goals. Supervisor Kim, whose district overlaps a portion of the area, said she was “glad to see a strong partnership with Larkin Street Youth Services” and welcomed the inclusion of Sergeant McCarley Park in the district boundary so the CBD could help maintain the playground.
An opponent, representing a neighborhood architecture firm, said his business already pays for sidewalk maintenance and feared a CBD could “privatize” services that otherwise should be provided by the city. He also said the additional expense could be unaffordable for his firm.
After the ballot report, the board voted to form the district. The clerk announced the final roll-call establishing the Lower Polk Community Benefit District; the ordinance was adopted with 11 ayes.
The new district’s management plan and specific assessment rates and services will be implemented by the district board and city staff according to the district formation documents filed with the Department of Elections and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
