Planning Department previews FY2021-23 budget, unveils pilot equity assessment

The San Francisco Planning Department presented its proposed fiscal years 2021'23 budget and an initial budget equity assessment to the Historic Preservation Commission on Jan. 20, urging continued focus on recovery, homelessness and racial and social equity while noting major fiscal uncertainty.

Deputy Director of Administration Deborah Landis told commissioners the city's joint financial report projects "a 2 year deficit of $653,000,000," and described department-level adjustments including a proposed $2,000,000 reduction in fees to the operating fund and planned cuts to vacant positions. "We are planning to budget to the pre-pandemic levels," she said while warning that reopening and tourism could be slower than expected.

Megan Calvin, a senior planner in the department's environmental planning division, outlined a pilot budget equity assessment developed over the last 18 months. She said the tool identifies work program areas and contracts that meet two criteria: a focus on the commission's stated priority issue areas and a focus on priority geographies or populations. "This is just 1 iteration," Calvin said. "We're really seeing this as a pilot, and we need to do more work."

The assessment relies in part on a vulnerability map from the Department of Public Health that flags census tracts with high poverty, concentrations of communities of color, seniors, youth and limited-English populations. Commissioners pressed staff on how the map overlaps with legacy-business and landmark-designation priorities, noting apparent underrepresentation of District 5 on the map and asking how the new Community Equity division will coordinate with other departments such as the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

Staff said they selected the Department of Public Health map to capture targeted geographies, that the equity tool will be refined with guidance from the Office of Racial Equity, and that they will follow up with OEWD and housing- and community-development staff about cross-department collaboration and how remaining preservation-fund balances are being prioritized. The department also outlined budget timing: the budget submission to the mayor is due Feb. 22 and the mayor publishes a proposed budget in June.

The presentation was informational and no formal commission action was required; commissioners invited staff to return with more refined data and continued reporting on the equity assessment as it evolves.