Supervisors forward $32B capital plan amid heated debate over Hall of Justice jail rebuild

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee on Wednesday voted to forward the city—s proposed 10-year capital plan for fiscal years 2016–25 to the full Board with a positive recommendation after extended debate over a proposed Hall of Justice jail replacement.

The plan, presented by Brian Strong of the capital planning office, totals about $32 billion and reflects roughly a 16 percent increase over the previous plan, driven largely by transportation projects, debt sequencing and enterprise department work. Strong said the plan covers everything from large retrofits (the Veterans War Memorial Building) to Americans with Disabilities Act, HVAC and streetscape work and is required by Administrative Code section 3.2 to be approved by the Board before the budget cycle.

Why it matters: The capital plan sets the sequencing for bonds and long‑term infrastructure investments that affect property-tax capacity and debt limits. Supervisors pressed staff on the-sized Hall of Justice replacement — the draft plan lists a $278 million estimate for a rehabilitation/detention center — and community members argued the city should remove the jail project and reallocate money to housing, reentry and mental-health services.

Advocates who testified during public comment said the proposed jail is unnecessary given declining jail populations and disproportionate impacts on people of color and transgender people. Andrew Zito of the No Jail Coalition told the committee that, "56% of those locked up in SF County jails are black, while the city's population is just 4%." Janetta Johnson of the TGI Justice Project described abusive conditions for transgender people in custody and urged funding for community-based reentry instead of construction.

Officials and staff responded that the capital plan is a planning document, not an appropriation. "The capital plan is just that. It is a plan," Brian Strong said, adding that decision points such as bond sales, environmental review and grant applications occur later. Strong and project staff also said the jail project is being refined with analysis from the controller—s office and that alternatives are under study.

Public Works project manager Charles Hageris outlined options the city is examining, including a 512-bed facility, a 384-bed scenario as a site-driven exercise, repurposing existing CJ2 space and locating the facility at the San Bruno/Bryant Street site. Hageris said logistical and budgetary comparisons of alternatives would be assembled in the next one to two weeks.

Supervisors acknowledged the competing priorities. "We do not want to build a jail that's not the right size," Strong said, noting concerns about program space, seismic vulnerability and the long-term nature of the facility. Several supervisors said they supported forwarding the capital plan now while reserving the right to continue focused hearings on the jail project.

What the committee did: Supervisor Katie Tang moved to forward the capital plan to the full Board with a positive recommendation; the motion was seconded and taken without objection. The committee emphasized that the plan can be adjusted as bond sequencing, grant applications and CEQA processes advance.

Next steps: Staff said more detailed studies and controller updates on population projections are forthcoming; supervisors indicated a separate hearing on jail size and alternatives is expected. The full Board will consider the plan at a subsequent meeting.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the committee transcript.