San Francisco Recreation and Parks to assume Treasure Island park operations; board approves two‑year budget

San Francisco's Recreation and Parks Department will take responsibility for day'to'day operations of parks on Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island beginning in fiscal 2026'27 under a phased plan presented to the Treasure Island Development Authority (TIDA) board on Feb. 12.

The board heard a detailed presentation from Phil Ginsberg, general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, and from Rec and Park staff including Director of Operations Eric Anderson and Director of Finance and Administration Antonio Guerra. Peter Somerville and other TIDA staff described a ramp'up that the agencies say will let Rec and Park hire, train and onboard staff before a full operational transfer scheduled for July 1, 2026.

Rec and Park described a two'year implementation window and an initial staffing and budget plan the department says is based on a parks asset model it has used for other acquisitions. Eric Anderson said Rec and Park's site analysis and a National Recreation and Parks Association'based model produced an initial estimate of 15 positions needed to manage roughly 86 acres that will be in Rec and Park'managed inventory by mid'2026. Anderson said the department expects to place a dedicated parks manager on the island during the ramp'up and to bring other crew members on two months before July 1, 2026, to allow for onboarding and training.

Antonio Guerra presented the two'year budget figures for the ramp'up. He described an initial labor and onboarding cost "a little under" $600,000 for the first year and a first full year operating staffing cost of about $2.9 million for the second year. Guerra also cited planned materials and supplies (roughly $50,000 in year one and $200,000 in year two) and said equipment and fleet needs would be addressed as part of a later-year estimate. Rec and Park staff said they expect to draw on citywide trades and specialty teams (for example arborists, painters and plumbers) as needed rather than station all trades permanently on the island.

Presenters emphasized that Rec and Park will deploy a larger natural resources team than on a typical park because Treasure Island's plant palette and native landscape features will require specialized horticultural care. Anderson said the department created a natural resource specialist classification several years ago and that those specialists will be part of the on'island team to help preserve the native planting approach used in the island parks.

Board members pressed TIDA and Rec and Park staff about interim oversight for the parks before Rec and Park assumes full responsibility. Director Sen and others said many planting beds and stormwater gardens have been in the ground for more than a year and required active horticultural attention to ensure long'term survivability. TIDA staff and Rec and Park confirmed Rec and Park has been active on site since January providing technical guidance, and TIDA staff said monthly memos from Rec and Park horticultural staff will describe near'term maintenance actions and decisions already underway (for example, replacements and removals in Panorama Park).

The board approved TIDA'wide budget documents for fiscal 2025'26 and 2026'27 at the same meeting. The approved authority budget groups city costs (work orders to city departments), subsidy budgets (developer and other subsidies for housing and parks), and the authority'cost budget (operations funded from TIDA leasing and other revenues). During budget discussion the board instructed staff to "seek and preserve any budget savings" and use available surplus as necessary to support the Treasure Island arts program; staff said they would return with draft language and implement the board'directed approach if possible.

TIDA staff said the board'approved budget for the authority was roughly $27 million for the coming year, down from the prior year primarily because of changes in the housing subsidy and the exclusion of a prior capital contribution. Staff noted several upward pressures in the coming year: salary and fringe increases, rising utility costs, and certain departmental work order increases. To balance the budget staff deferred submarine cable debt service to fiscal 2026 and reduced some one'time expenditures.

TIDA and Rec and Park staff said they will return to the board later this year with a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) memorializing long'term roles and responsibilities, a more detailed multi'year staffing ramp plan tied to park build'out, and updated budget forecasts for the later build'out years.

Quotes in this article come from the meeting transcript and are attributed to speakers who appeared during the discussion. Direct quotes used in the text: "We are fully committed to this partnership," (Phil Ginsberg) and "the parks represent, when fully built out, it's gonna be an 8% increase to the Rec and Park managed parks" (Eric Anderson). Where the transcript contained differing timing details, the article notes both statements rather than choosing between them.

Next steps include monthly horticulture memos from Rec and Park to TIDA staff, further summer presentations on long'range phasing and budgets, and a draft MOU for board review in the fall of 2025.