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SFPUC authorizes request for Board hearing on Bay Tunnel easements after commissioner recusal
Summary
The commission authorized staff to ask the Board of Supervisors to hold a public hearing on a resolution of necessity for subsurface tunnel easements needed for the Bay Division pipeline reliability upgrade (Bay Tunnel). Commissioner Moran recused himself from voting because of a perceived conflict of interest.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission authorized the general manager to request the Board of Supervisors to schedule a public hearing to consider a resolution of necessity related to permanent subsurface tunnel easements for the Bay Division pipeline reliability upgrade, known as the Bay Tunnel project.
Noreen Ambrose of the City Attorney's Office explained the step is a precautionary legal procedure to start eminent‑domain notice if voluntary agreements with three property owners (Cargill Inc., Midpeninsula Open Space District and SamTrans) are not finalized before contract award. "In order to start that notice process, we're asking you to act today, to authorize the staff to request the Board to provide that notice, to schedule a public hearing for the public and for these property owners at the Board of Supervisors," Ambrose said.
Commissioner Moran disclosed a business relationship with a landowner and asked to be excused from voting; the commission accepted his recusal by voice vote before considering the motion. Commissioners then moved and approved the request to initiate Board of Supervisors hearing procedures as a precaution to avoid construction delays in December.
Staff said negotiations with property owners were ongoing and that court action would be a last resort; the action authorized initiating the formal notice and hearing process should voluntary acquisitions not conclude in time.
