Supervisors advance limited Board review of certain SFMTA decisions after amendments and public debate

The Land Use Committee on May 7 advanced an ordinance that would create a limited Board of Supervisors review process for some San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency decisions, sending the amended measure to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

The ordinance, sponsored by Supervisor Asha Safai, was revised in committee to clarify which development projects could be exempted and to align the text with Article 1.5 of the Planning Code, which governs certain SFMTA-related parking and loading actions. Safai told the committee she would provide Planning Department staff the final amendment language before the measure is introduced to the full Board.

Why it matters: supporters said the change restores oversight voters intended and gives the Board a check when agency actions affect neighborhoods. Opponents and safety advocates warned that the procedure could delay life-safety projects unless exemptions are explicit.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, a chief co-sponsor, said the new appeal threshold — which requires five supervisors to sign on to pursue a review — was intentionally narrow and described the change as an 11-year experiment in reintroducing legislative oversight. "Only five supervisors can ultimately bring an appeal," Peskin said during committee debate. He urged that the ordinance be carefully limited so it would apply only when an entitlement anticipated an SFMTA application under Article 1.5.

Members of the public were split. Mary Eliza, a member of the public, said, "The lack of trust in the SFMTA is growing" and urged more Board oversight because staff sometimes does not follow the Board's direction. Safety advocates including Jody Maderas of Walk San Francisco and bicycle-safety groups asked the committee to exempt the city's High Injury Network and transit-priority projects from the appeal process, warning that added appeals could stall Vision Zero improvements. "This appeal process could stall our progress when lives are at stake," Maderas said.

The committee also discussed procedural details: whether the ordinance should refer explicitly to Article 1.5 of the Planning Code for off-street parking and loading and whether to add a reporting requirement or pilot/sunset. Deputy City Attorney John Gibner said a reporting requirement could be added but was not part of last week's amendments; the committee agreed to ask for a hearing or report in about a year.

On a voice-consensus motion to accept the committee amendments, the ordinance was sent to the full Board with a positive recommendation "without objection." The sponsor and staff said they expect final drafting work to be completed before the Board hearing.

Next steps: The ordinance will be placed on the full Board of Supervisors agenda; Planning Department staff will review the final amendment language to ensure it ties exceptions to the specific SFMTA actions described in Article 1.5 of the Planning Code.