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Panel advances Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy with amended governance and capital-planning direction
Summary
The committee advanced a resolution creating the Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy with sponsor amendments on board composition and a request that the San Francisco Real Estate Division validate a staff estimate of roughly $50 million in capital needs over 30 years; amendments were accepted and the item was sent to the full Board.
The Government Audit & Oversight Committee on Oct. 20 advanced a resolution creating a new public-benefit nonprofit, the Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy, to assume long-term operating and management responsibility for Yerba Buena Gardens, with sponsor amendments addressing governance and capital planning.
April Veneracion Ng, representing Supervisor Kim’s office, said sponsor amendments respond to committee feedback and a recent report (Harvey Rose) by calling for a community facilities plan, specifying board-composition direction, and incorporating adjacent cultural institutions such as the Museum of the African Diaspora and the San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center into analysis. The sponsor asked the San Francisco Real Estate Division to prepare a plan by March 2017.
A Real Estate Division representative said staff are validating a previously cited $50,000,000 30-year capital renewal assumption using the city’s FRRM capital-maintenance system and recommended the committee treat the figure as approximate or subject to validation until the division’s analysis is complete.
Deputy City Attorney John Givner advised that clauses using 'will' and 'shall' in the draft read as statements of intent rather than enforceable legal requirements for the nonprofit; he suggested the board explicitly state intent or replace wording to clarify legal effect.
Kathy Maupin, director of the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District and chair of the interim Conservancy board, testified in support of the sponsor amendments and described an interim board proposal for a 15-member board with a 9/6 split. John Elberling (The TACO Group) urged attention to operating and capital funding and noted that Central SoMa planning could be a longer-term revenue source pending further approvals.
Chair Peskin confirmed the sponsor amendments including language making the $50 million capital projection 'subject to validation by the San Francisco Real Estate Division' were acceptable; the committee adopted the amendments and sent the item to the full Board with recommendation.
