Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Real Estate Reorg topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SFPUC delays Real Estate Services reorganization after wide public and union pushback
Summary
The SFPUC deferred action on a proposed reorganization of its Real Estate Services division after extensive public testimony from tenants, developers and a union alleging the change would discard institutional knowledge and affect five employees; commissioners asked for a union rebuttal to recent audit findings and continued the discussion to the next meeting.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission agreed to continue public deliberation on a proposed reorganization of the SFPUC Real Estate Services division after an extended public comment period in which tenants, developers and union representatives urged the commission to pause and obtain further information.
Deputy General Manager Michael Carlin presented a reorganization plan aimed at upgrading analytical and contract management capacity to handle large future projects, including Treasure Island, Hunters Point and Park Merced. Carlin said the real estate group currently manages roughly 420 leases and that future master developer negotiations will require added financial and contract expertise.
The proposal drew immediate scrutiny. IFPTE Local 21 union representatives said the change would replace long‑standing civil‑service classifications with generalist series and could affect about five employees; the union described the change as effectively a unilateral restructuring and said it would submit a rebuttal to the auditor’s report. Sharon Jenkins, a Local 21 representative, said the union disputes some audit findings and warned of lost institutional knowledge if positions are eliminated.
Private sector lessees and developers gave broadly consistent testimony in support of the existing real estate staff’s professionalism and continuity. Speakers from Crystal Springs Golf Course, Verizon Wireless, developers working on Sonoma Valley and other tenants described lengthy, complex negotiations that they said depended on the current staff’s experience. A CourseCo letter read into the record praised the department’s lease administration and its contribution to city revenue.
Other commercial speakers and pipeline/right‑of‑way partners (including Caltrans and Chevron Pipeline representatives) warned that removing experienced staff could disrupt day‑to‑day permit work and ongoing multi‑year transactions. Representatives of Hansen disputed several audit findings that questioned lease administration and said the audit overstated potential recoveries; Hansen said it would file a formal response.
Commissioners responded by asking staff and the union to meet and exchange information and by voting to continue the real estate discussion to the next full commission meeting. That continuance allows time for Local 21 to file a rebuttal to the audit and for management and labor to meet under the city’s meet‑and‑confer process. The commission emphasized the public nature of the personnel classification issue and signaled it intended to consider audit findings and both sides’ written materials before acting.
Next steps: the real estate reorganization item will return for further consideration after the commission receives the union rebuttal and staff reports back on labor implications and implementation steps.
