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LAFCO updates: battery storage study underway, green bank planning includes $300k legal and $740k CEO pre‑opening estimates, Midtown Park engagement begins
Summary
LAFCO staff reported Arup is conducting a battery storage code study with a March first‑phase target; the green bank effort prompted a City Attorney ordinance request and preliminary pre‑opening cost estimates (about $300,000 for outside legal counsel and roughly $740,000 to prehire a CEO for 12 months); the Midtown Park Apartments tenant engagement begins with six meetings and a property conditions assessment.
Executive Officer Jeremy Pollock and policy analyst Samurai updated commissioners on several LAFCO‑led studies and initiatives.
Battery storage study: Pollock said LAFCO contracted Arup International to review San Francisco codes and compare them to other cities (New York City, Austin, San Jose, Fremont, Chicago). Arup’s team, including fire‑safety engineers, has completed a first draft comparing local rules to peers; the project aims for a first‑phase deliverable in March and a final study in April.
Green bank and green finance study: Samurai said Supervisor Preston requested that the City Attorney prepare an ordinance to create a San Francisco green bank. LAFCO’s green finance working group now includes MOHCD and the Department of Homelessness Services. Samurai summarized preliminary pre‑opening cost estimates needed to draft corporate documents and position the city to access greenhouse gas reduction funds: approximately $300,000 to hire outside legal counsel to prepare ordinance and corporate documents; roughly $740,000 to hire a CEO on a 12‑month pre‑opening basis (estimated $400,000 salary plus $200,000 benefits and a 35% placement fee); additional consultant costs and staff capacity increases were estimated as well. Samurai said staff will refine these estimates and continue outreach to coordinate federal and state funding channels.
Midtown Park Apartments study: Samurai reported LAFCO issued an RFP and awarded the Midtown Park study to Steve Suzuki and Fernando Marti with subcontractors. The scope includes six tenant meetings to develop a collective agreement, a property conditions assessment, and public documentation to be posted on a Midtown page on the LAFCO website; the first tenant meeting was scheduled for the following morning at Gateway High School.
Pollock also reviewed the forward calendar, including a March 15 meeting for proposed budget and work plan approval, a presentation on Direct Pay/Inflation Reduction Act coordination, a final battery storage report in May, and the FY24–25 budget approval in May.
Commissioners had no substantive objections; public comment was not offered.
