Board approves downtown adaptive-reuse fee exemptions, library Mellon grant, bus purchases and multiple grants; supervisors stress housing and transit goals

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a range of measures on March 4, 2025, including an amendment to the planning code to exempt some downtown commercial‑to‑residential adaptive reuse projects from development impact fees, authorization for the public library to accept a roughly $1.9 million Mellon Foundation grant for jail and reentry services and addition of three grant‑funded positions, and multiple grants, contracts and procurement items tied to transit, housing and park improvements.

The board discussed several items in public comment and during introductions of new business, then moved many items under "same house, same call" or on consent. Most measures were adopted without recorded objection. Item 17, a planning‑code ordinance on downtown adaptive reuse, passed with a recorded vote of nine ayes and one no. Several financial and procurement resolutions were adopted to authorize grants, contract amendments, and capital purchases for city departments.

Why it matters: The planning‑code change aims to accelerate conversion of underutilized nonresidential downtown space to housing by exempting certain projects from development impact fees and by adjusting program timing and reporting requirements. The public‑library grant expands reentry support services and adds three grant‑funded staff positions. Several transit and public‑works items — including an amendment to a contract for water‑treatment plant engineering services and purchase agreements for battery‑electric buses — affect capital…