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Committee clears six-month donor-solicitation waiver for India Basin Waterfront Park
Summary
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee forwarded a resolution granting a six-month waiver to allow mayoral and Rec and Park staff to solicit donations for the India Basin Waterfront Park Initiative, including reporting requirements and limits on which staff may solicit donors.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on March 20 voted to forward a resolution that would allow certain members of the mayor’s office, designated Recreation and Park Department commissioners and staff to solicit donations for the India Basin Waterfront Park Initiative for six months, notwithstanding the behested payment ordinance.
Lisa Branson, director of partnerships for the Recreation and Park Department, told the committee partners aim to leverage roughly $125 million in public funds alongside more than $75 million in private funding for the India Basin Waterfront Park project, and that partners are committed to at least $15 million in programs and projects guided by an equitable development plan (EDP). Branson said about $2.4 million remained to be raised to support contingencies and EDP projects and programs.
Branson said the project has completed toxic-soil remediation of a former shipbuilding site and opened the first section of the new park to the public on Oct. 19. She described the initiative as guided by a community-developed plan to prioritize local benefits including arts and culture, youth opportunities, workforce and business development, connectivity, and housing security. Branson said the partners expect to begin construction on the final section of the park in the next few months and to open that section in early 2028.
Committee Chair Jackie Fielder introduced amendments limiting the waiver to a narrower specified list of Recreation and Park staff and adding a requirement for a report to the Board of Supervisors 60 days after the waiver expires; those amendments were adopted. Branson said the department is posting donor disclosures on the India Basin website in compliance with the city’s Sunshine Ordinance.
Three members of the public — representatives of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and local community organizations — spoke in favor of the project during the meeting’s public comment period, telling the committee the park would deliver jobs, training and park space for the Bayview–Hunters Point neighborhood.
The committee forwarded the amended resolution to the full board with a positive recommendation on a roll call vote.
