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SoMa West steering committee wins petition support; supervisors advance formation to full Board
Summary
Committee members and consultants told supervisors that outreach to ~2,700 property owners produced about 589 returned petitions (30.28% in favor) and a near‑$4 million district budget emphasizing clean/safety programs; supervisors moved the resolution of intention and related ballot authorization to the Board with recommendation.
The committee considered a resolution of intention to form the SoMa West property‑based community benefit district (CBD) and to levy a multi‑year assessment on parcels in the proposed boundary.
Chris Corgus of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development introduced the proposal and recognized steering‑committee volunteers who led outreach. Consultant Aaron Lehi of Urban Place Consulting described the process: outreach since 2016, three surveys, about 35 steering‑committee meetings, and petitions mailed to roughly 2,700 property owners. Lehi said approximately 589 petitions were returned representing about 30.28 percent support — a level the steering committee viewed as sufficient to proceed to a special election.
Lehi described a proposed district budget of nearly $4 million, with about 80 percent of the plan focused on clean, safety and beautification programs (foot/bike/vehicle patrols, pressure washing, graffiti removal, a sidewalk clean team, possible security camera program, public space activation and art initiatives). He said marketing and advocacy would be roughly 7.5 percent of the budget and administration roughly 9 percent, with contingency funds for nonpaying parcels.
Multiple steering‑committee members and neighborhood residents testified in support at public comment, describing exhaustive outreach and a long effort to build consensus. Supervisor Kim thanked volunteers and moved the item forward; the committee recommended both the resolution of intention (item 2) and a related resolution authorizing the mayor to cast ballots on behalf of city‑owned parcels (item 3) to the full Board without objection.
The committee also heard a separate staff presentation authorizing the mayor or designee to cast assessment ballots for 18 city‑owned parcels that would constitute about 4.64 percent of the weighted vote if approved.
Because the resolution advances to the full Board for a public hearing and special election (the Department of Elections was directed to mail ballots with a hearing scheduled for Feb. 5, 2019), proponents said the next steps are finalizing the management district plan and engineer’s report and preparing ballot materials and outreach.
