Rules Committee forwards Teresa Imperial to full board for Planning Commission with positive recommendation

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Rules Committee on Feb. 3 voted unanimously to forward President Norman Yee’s nomination of Maria Teresa Imperial — who prefers to be called Teresa — to the Planning Commission with a positive recommendation.

Imperial introduced herself to the committee as an immigrant from Manila who has spent the last decade working on affordable housing, tenant advocacy and community planning. She said she co‑founded a tenant‑assistance program (transcribed as the Bill Soro/Balsaro housing program) and described work on housing‑related campaigns including small‑sites acquisition, anti‑speculation measures and the Community Owned Purchase Act.

“I have been at the planning commission hearings many times,” Imperial told supervisors, adding that commissioners should ask “substantial questions that actually impact the everyday life of people.” She said she would weigh community input alongside planning department analyses when evaluating projects and would defer to neighborhood residents on discretionary reviews affecting existing units.

During questioning, Supervisor Catherine Stephanie pressed Imperial on a figure she cited: roughly 72,500 entitled housing units in the city’s pipeline. Imperial said she would consult the housing balance report to determine where those units are located and pledged to examine infrastructure and transit capacity before supporting zoning changes intended to increase housing production.

Imperial also said she would favor a planning director who brings experience working with communities of color and a racial and socioeconomic equity lens. On regional coordination, Imperial said she is aware of Plan Bay Area and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and would study how the Planning Commission can provide input to regional efforts.

More than a dozen community leaders, tenants’ advocates and labor representatives spoke in support during the public‑comment period. Cynthia Gomez of Unite Here Local 2 said Imperial “brings the lens” the commission needs to consider equity in decisions that affect low‑income residents; community organizers including John Jacobo, Raymond Castillo, Maya Chukov and others described Imperial’s “on‑the‑ground” experience and urged supervisors to advance the nomination.

Chair Supervisor Hilary Ronan said President Yee asked that the item be moved forward as a regular item to ensure sufficient time at the full board. Ronan moved to amend the item language (removing the word "rejecting") and forwarded Imperial’s nomination with a positive recommendation. The committee approved the motion without objection.

The nomination will now go to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration.

Sources: Oral testimony and Q&A at the Rules Committee meeting, Feb. 3, 2020.