Port Commission approves CEQA findings and DDA for America's Cup venues, advances infrastructure financing planning

The Port Commission voted to adopt CEQA findings and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and to approve negotiating and approving a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) and related approvals tied to the 34th America's Cup (AC34).

Mike Martin, America's Cup project director in the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, described the event schedule and venue needs: world-series regattas in 2012 and the main America's Cup events in mid-2013. City and port staff presented an updated project variant that reduced certain venue footprints, added air-quality mitigations (notably an accelerated shore-power project at Pier 70) and narrowed long-term marina development in sensitive view basins.

Port staff described the DDA framework and the repayment "waterfall" for authority infrastructure work. Jonathan Stern and other staff said the authority would undertake approximately $55,000,000 of core infrastructure work before the match, and that a broader set of pre- and post-event improvements now totals an estimated $105,000,000 (pre- and post-match). Potential repayment tools include rent credits, IFD bond proceeds, long-term lease rights at Pier 29 and participation in future development proceeds; staff recommended a multi-pronged approach to share and mitigate risk.

Brad Benson summarized scopes of work and updated the Commission that the current core event-related construction estimate is roughly $74,000,000 for pre-match work and $31,000,000 for additional post-match seismic and infrastructure upgrades at Pier 30-32, leading to a combined $105,000,000 estimate for the port's pre/post-match scope as presented.

Public comment included broad support from tourism, yacht clubs and labor, and environmental organizations that praised stronger air-quality mitigations while urging robust monitoring and contingency plans. Jennifer Clary of San Francisco Tomorrow said an appeal of the EIR certification had been filed and asked the Commission to defer further action pending Board of Supervisors review; port counsel replied that no properly filed appeal existed that would block the port's action that day.

Commissioners proposed and approved several non-substantive technical edits and an amendment striking a staff authorization clause; the commission then approved Resolutions 11-79 and 11-80 as amended to authorize CEQA findings, the DDA framework and related actions. Staff will continue financial analysis and return with additional materials for the Board of Supervisors and other required approvals, and will pursue an infrastructure financing district (IFD) formation process.