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Community Pushes Police Commission to Move Southern District Line from Sixteenth to Mariposa
Summary
At a Police Commission community meeting on Southern District redistricting, residents, neighborhood groups and businesses urged shifting the proposed boundary from Sixteenth Street to Mariposa to keep Mission Bay intact and simplify event policing; commissioners heard repeated requests but made no decision.
The San Francisco Police Commission met with residents and stakeholders in South of Market to present a data-driven proposal to redraw Southern Police District boundaries and to solicit public input. President Susie Loftus opened the meeting and emphasized that no decision would be made tonight and that the commission sought community feedback.
The map presented by Captain DeFilippo and the controller's office would place the new Southern District around Third Street, Mission and include Piers 48 and 50; the proposal as drafted set the southern boundary at Sixteenth Street. "This process is designed for us to hear from you and factor that in," President Susie Loftus said at the start of the meeting.
Neighborhood leaders and businesses repeatedly urged the commission to move the boundary to Mariposa. "We wholeheartedly agree with removing the shopping center from Southern," said Katie Liddell, president of the South Beach Rincon Mission Bay Neighborhood Association, adding the one change the group requests is "to move that southern boundary to Mariposa from Sixteenth Street." Jason Beck, representing Alexandria, and Corinne Woods, chair of the Mission Bay Citizens Advisory Committee, likewise asked that Mission Bay be kept whole and moved into the Southern Station district.
Speakers cited operational and community reasons: keeping University of California properties, hospitals and life-science employers in a single district; simplifying policing for large venues including the ballpark and the planned Warriors arena; and avoiding splitting small, interrelated neighborhoods across districts. Catherine Sharp, director of community affairs at Biogen, asked that "all Mission Bay and all of the life science community" be included in one area.
Commissioners and department staff said the map reflected a year of data analysis and stakeholder interviews. Randy McClure of the controller's office described the objective to achieve workload parity, minimize response times and preserve neighborhood integrity. Chief Gregory Peasey noted that where the line is drawn often reflects a cleaner street boundary; he said lines could be adjusted based on compelling local input.
On the practical impacts, Chief Peasey stressed officers' duties would not immediately shift: "At the initial onset when these lines move, no police officers are going to move. Just who they report to changes," he said, adding, "please, do not think that you're going to lose any of your police officers." Several speakers worried, however, that wholesale line changes could create confusion for event policing and coordination across district boundaries.
The meeting produced no vote or formal decision on boundary placement. Public comment closed after dozens of speakers urged the Mariposa alternative, requested clarity about specific block inclusions, and asked that the commission ensure Southern Station is adequately staffed if the boundaries change.
The Police Commission said it will hold additional meetings, continue to collect written comments and present final recommendations later in the redistricting process.
