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Budget committee sends Twin Peaks Petroleum lease to full board after climate, housing debate
Summary
After extensive public comment urging affordable housing and citing the city's climate commitments, the Budget & Finance Committee voted 3-0 to send a proposed 25-year lease for Twin Peaks Petroleum at 598 Petrola Drive to the full Board of Supervisors without a committee recommendation.
The Budget & Finance Committee on Sept. 30 voted to forward to the full Board of Supervisors a resolution authorizing a lease at 598 Petrola Drive with Twin Peaks Petroleum Inc. for an initial 25‑year term at a base rent of $200,000 per year, annual adjustments of 3%, and a one 5‑year option to extend.
The committee sent the item to the full board without a recommendation after a heated public‑comment period that ran more than an hour. Chair Sandra Lee Feuer said she wanted the full board to have a broader discussion about the site, including questions about whether it could support affordable housing.
Why it matters: The site is public land in a transit‑served area that commenters and several supervisors said could be used for affordable or social housing. Opponents argued a long lease that would enable a new storage tank constitutes an investment in fossil‑fuel infrastructure that contradicts the city's climate commitments.
President Yee, speaking in defense of the small business that operates at the site, called Twin Peaks Auto Care a "legacy business" with long ties to the neighborhood and staff who live locally and said the owner had committed to adapt as energy needs change. "He's been operating this particular auto care station for decades now," President Yee said, urging respect for the business's community role.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelmann said he could not support a lease that "contemplates the sale of fossil fuels past the goals that we've established," citing the Focus 2030 climate work and the mayor's electric vehicle road map. Mandelmann suggested a prohibition on fossil‑fuel sales at the site after the city's target date.
Supervisor Shamann Walton urged including a commitment in writing that the site not be used for fossil‑fuel sales past the city's climate targets and said she would consider forwarding the item without recommendation to let the full board resolve details.
Public commenters: At least a dozen callers argued the city should reject the extension and use the site for housing, transit‑oriented development, or EV chargers; others defended the lease as negotiated and argued that the site is small and operationally important. One caller said a new storage tank would need to be installed by 2025 and that would lock in fuel infrastructure; several cited Proposition K as instructive about prioritizing surplus public land for affordable housing.
Action taken: Chair Feuer moved to send the item to the full board without committee recommendation; the committee recorded a roll‑call vote of Walton Aye, Mandelmann Aye, Chair Feuer Aye (3 ayes). The full board will consider the lease, and supervisors signaled they expect to weigh potential lease language changes, including time limits or prohibitions on fossil‑fuel sales.
Next steps: The item will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda (staff said items acted upon are expected to appear Oct. 16 unless otherwise noted). The committee noted that non‑substantive clarifying amendments (e.g., whether the item is a lease amendment) could be made at the full board.
