Committee advances $652 million earthquake safety bond to full board; waivers for 1600 Owens purchase deferred

San FranciscoBudget and Finance Committee Chair Supervisor John Avalos on Wednesday moved items 3 and 4—resolutions related to a proposed $652,070,000 Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response general-obligation bond—to the full Board of Supervisors with a recommendation, while the committee continued related legislation proposing waivers of the citycompetitive-bidding rules to a later date.

The measure would fund four principal components: $34 million to seismically upgrade above-ground components of the Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS) including pump stations, tanks and related facilities; $132 million allocated to a set of critical firefighting infrastructure projects (some specific projects have not yet been identified); roughly $236 million for a Public Safety Building (police headquarters plus district station and an embedded fire station); and about $239 million for a consolidated Forensic Science Center and associated facilities. City Administrator Ed Lee and Public Works staff framed the bond as the first in a series of capital investments to address long-identified seismic backlogs.

"This bond has the objective of safeguarding our families, protecting more homes and businesses," City Administrator Ed Lee said, noting the city had not focused a general-obligation bond on…