Committee approves six‑month behested‑payments waiver to help fund Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park renovations

SAN FRANCISCO — The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on March 6 voted to amend and forward to the full Board a six‑month waiver of the behested‑payments ordinance that will allow the mayor’s office and the Recreation and Park Department to solicit private donations for a planned renovation of Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park.

The amendment passed unanimously and the committee recommended the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

The waiver authorizes specified city officers and Rec and Park staff to solicit donations for a public‑private partnership to “reimagine” the parks surrounding the Ferry Building. Lisa Branson, director of partnerships for the Recreation and Park Department, told supervisors the plaza’s brick paving and the Valencourt Fountain “are at the end of their useful life,” and that the department estimates “it would cost millions” to repair the plaza and about $10,000,000 to update the fountain.

Branson said the department and private partners aim for a total project budget of $27,000,000 to $32,000,000, with $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 in public funding and a private fundraising goal of $10,000,000. “If this rough schedule holds, we’ll need to have funds in hand for construction in the next 18 months or so,” Branson said.

Vice Chair Supervisor Sauter introduced amendments that narrow who may solicit donations and add accountability measures. The amendments, approved by the committee, specify that soliciting authority will include the general manager of the Recreation and Park Department; the department’s partnerships‑division director and staff; and several senior mayor’s office officials listed in the amendment (chief of staff; chief of infrastructure and an assistant chief of infrastructure; chief of housing and economic development; director of public affairs; and a policy advisor). The amendment also requires the authorized department or office to submit reports to the Board within 60 days after the six‑month waiver expires.

Supervisor Jackie Fielder, chair of the committee, said she welcomed the reporting requirements as a transparency safeguard. “I am really pleased to see the reporting requirements and just more specificity of whom this waiver applies to,” Fielder said during the meeting.

Two speakers during the public comment period voiced support. Robbie Silver, identified in the record as president and CEO of the Downtown Asset Partnership, said his organization is the fiscal sponsor named in the memorandum of understanding and that private fundraising will be necessary to meet the $10,000,000 target. Bernadette Kim, a resident and Gateway Tenant Association external committee member, called the project a “creative solution” to revitalize downtown and urged supervisors to allow the public‑private partnership while ensuring oversight and protections for resident quality of life.

Branson said the project team has begun community outreach and held its first community meeting the evening of March 6; final design and programming will be determined through that process. She also said the proposal came to Rec and Park from a private developer, which the department has discussed in preliminary terms with staff.

The committee approved the amendment and then voted to forward the amended resolution to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation. The roll calls on both motions show three ayes and no noes or abstentions.

Next steps: the item is expected to appear on the full Board of Supervisors agenda for March 18, 2025, unless otherwise noted.