Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Real Estate topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee accepts many grand jury findings on city and school district property use, asks for follow‑up and forwards one item to full Board
Summary
The GAO Committee reviewed a civil grand jury report urging improved transparency and use of publicly owned real estate. City staff demonstrated a new property mapping tool and said chapter 23A cleanup and an integrated database are planned for early 2014; the committee continued the hearing on one item and forwarded the companion item to the full Board.
San Francisco — The Government Audit and Oversight Committee reviewed a civil grand jury report on optimizing publicly owned real estate and signaled support for the report’s intent while asking for further steps and legislative cleanup.
Tom Walker and other civil grand jury members described examples of underused or blighted public properties and recommended creation of a consolidated online property map and database, regular reporting under Chapter 23A of the Administrative Code, and stronger procedures to move underutilized assets toward productive uses.
Representatives from the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Real Estate said a consolidated mapping system is in beta and that full implementation of an integrated property information database is targeted for early 2014. John O’Keefe, Director of Real Estate, demonstrated online mapping features intended to give the public address‑level information, planning documentation and a department contact for each city property.
David Golden, the school district’s Chief Facility Officer, said the district maintains a capital plan and an inventory of its properties, described recent transactions and reuses (for example, the sale of 700 Font Boulevard and reuse of other sites) and explained limitations imposed by state education law on how the district may use sale proceeds. He said the district will not implement every recommendation as written but noted ongoing work to repurpose assets and a recently activated Real Estate Working Group.
Supervisors agreed with portions of the grand jury’s findings and asked staff to pursue Chapter 23A legislative cleanup and further analysis about incentives for departments to identify and dispose of surplus property. The committee voted unanimously to continue the hearing on item 5 to the call of the chair and to forward item 6 to the full Board for consideration.
What’s next: The Mayor’s Office and Real Estate Director will continue implementing mapping and data transparency initiatives with a planned roll‑out in early 2014; the committee will continue oversight on the one item and the forwarded item will appear on the Board agenda.
