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Planning staff outlines three revenue options to fund Transbay Transit Center improvements
Summary
Planning staff proposed a three-part financing package for the Transit Center District — a tiered impact fee, a Mello-Roos (community facilities) district and a 1% transfer-tax-style benefit covenant — with projected net present values totaling roughly $700–$850 million over 15–20 years; commissioners raised concerns about market risk and preservation of the TDR program.
Joshua Switsky, a planning department staff member, told the San Francisco Planning Commission that staff is proposing three principal revenue mechanisms to pay for infrastructure tied to the Transit Center District: a tiered impact fee, a Mello-Roos community facilities district and a benefit covenant applied to property transfers.
"The first tier is a $5 per square foot fee," Switsky said during the presentation, describing a three-tier structure. Under the proposal, a $5-per-square-foot fee would apply across a building; a $25-per-square-foot surcharge would apply to all square footage above a floor-area ratio (FAR) of 9:1; and an additional $5-per-square-foot tier would apply to FAR above 20:1. Switsky said the tiers are cumulative.
Switsky framed the proposal as a partial alternative to the existing transferable development rights (TDR) system. He said staff proposes reducing the TDR increment to the difference between a new district base FAR and 9:1 and, where TDR supply is insufficient, allowing…
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