SFPD presents proposed Northern District boundary changes; officials say shift will improve response and consolidate neighborhoods

San Francisco Police Department officials on the Northern District presented proposed changes to district boundaries Wednesday, saying map changes are driven by the creation of a new Southern station at China Basin/Third Street and by the charter requirement to review lines every 10 years.

Chief of Police, who spoke in the meeting as Greg Sarr (an earlier roster line in the agenda also listed a Gregory Peazer), and Captain McEachern described a plan that shifts parts of the Tenderloin and other nearby streets so that police station responsibility better matches geography and response times. "Some of the old police district lines created nooks and crannies and pockets that didn't get good police service," Captain McEachern said, arguing straighter lines will reduce coverage gaps.

Randy McClure of the controller's office described the methodology used with consultant Public Safety Strategies Group, saying the working group reviewed more than 30 preliminary maps and ranked them by criteria including calls for service, officer workloads, response times and neighborhood integrity. The city is in a 90‑day public comment period on the proposals, McClure said.

Officials noted specific effects for the Northern District: the proposal would expand the Northern District westward from Steiner toward Divisadero and south to Market and Castro, and would increase the number of schools in the district from about 32 to 42. "We'll be looking at adding another school resource officer so that we continue to have the resources that are necessary for the children that attend the schools within our area," Captain McEachern said.

Department leaders told the commission that no officers would be lost from the Northern District as a result of the map changes and that as staffing improves — the chief said the department is roughly 300 officers down citywide — personnel would be adjusted to meet needs. Commissioners and staff said an added sector under the plan would bring approximately 24 officers to the deployment mix for the city.

The presentation emphasized operational goals: reduce travel across station boundaries for units responding to nearby calls (for example, public housing complexes located across Steiner Street from Northern Station), consolidate single‑street splits that force residents to interact with different commands on opposite sides of the same block, and preserve neighborhood lines where possible.

The redistricting plan is advisory until the commission and other city decision‑makers finalize it; staff said follow‑on meetings will be held and the public may submit comments in writing during the 90‑day comment period. No formal vote on map adoption was recorded at the meeting.

The meeting concluded with commissioners inviting further questions and offering a follow‑up session to explain implementation details, including staffing timelines and precise sector boundaries.