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Committee advances conditional street vacation and trust exchange tied to Millennium Tower repairs
Summary
The Land Use & Transportation Committee forwarded resolutions and ordinances that would vacate below‑grade portions of Mission and Fremont streets and authorize a public‑trust exchange so structural repairs to the Millennium Tower at 301 Mission can proceed, subject to State Lands and settlement approvals.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Feb. 3 advanced a package of measures that would allow substructure repairs at the sinking Millennium Tower at 301 Mission Street by vacating below‑grade street parcels and arranging a trust exchange with the state.
Public Works staff said the measure is a legal‑technical approach rather than a conventional street vacation. Javier Rivera of the Department of Public Works told the committee the proposal splits the public right‑of‑way vertically: the sidewalk and surface would remain public while the city would vacate the below‑grade parcels (to roughly 300 feet depth) needed for structural work, then grant easements to the building owner for the substructure work. Rivera said the construction period is expected to last roughly 18 months to two years.
The package is conditional. Rivera and City Attorney staff said the vacation would not become effective until three things are complete: the proposed public‑trust exchange is approved by the State Lands Commission, a settlement ordinance resolving the 301 Mission litigation is finalized, and the Board approves easements for the structural elements. Byron Rhett of the Port of San Francisco described the trust‑exchange plan as a swap of Transbay streets (Beale, Fremont, Mission) out of the trust with Fisherman’s Wharf streets (Beach, Hyde, Bay) into the trust, subject to appraisal and state approval under the Burton Act. Rhett said the Port Commission authorized an executive director to sign a trust‑exchange agreement conditioned on Board and State Lands Commission approval.
Chair Erin Peskin set a committee‑of‑the‑whole hearing date of March 3, 2020 for the accompanying resolution declaring intent, and the committee sent the items to the full Board as amended. Item 2 (the ordinance ordering the below‑grade vacation) was referred without recommendation because it requires a public hearing; related trust‑exchange language will move forward for Board consideration pending state sign‑off and the yet‑to‑be‑finalized settlement ordinance.
The committee took no substantive public agency objections on the record during the hearing and moved the items to the full Board with the procedural conditions noted above.
Next steps: the items will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for further consideration; State Lands Commission action and finalization of the 301 Mission settlement are prerequisites before any vacation becomes effective.
