Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Space Financing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee forwards resolution to create Dogpatch/Northwest Potrero Hill Green Benefit District
Summary
The committee unanimously forwarded a resolution of intent to form the city’s first Green Benefit District — a 10-year assessment district to fund long-term maintenance and capital improvements in Dogpatch and Northwest Potrero Hill — after DPW and neighborhood organizers presented formation details and petition results.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee advanced a resolution of intent to form the Dogpatch/Northwest Potrero Hill Green Benefit District (GBD), the city’s first assessment district focused specifically on funding green-space maintenance and improvements.
Department of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru described the GBD as a financing mechanism that will raise funds for long-term care of parks and public landscapes, including tree maintenance, irrigation repair, graffiti abatement, trash removal, playgrounds, benches and dog runs. Jonathan Goldberg, program manager for the GBD formation at DPW, told the committee the formation process began in 2012 and mirrors previous community- and business-improvement-district formations: a feasibility study, a petition and petition-threshold step, a property-owner ballot, and contract formation. Goldberg said the proposed district covers approximately 1,382 parcels across two zones (Zone 1: 1,126 parcels; Zone 2: 256 parcels) and that the fiscal year 2015 budget was set at $514,852 for initial services. The district term would be 10 years, with services beginning 01/01/2016 and expiring 12/31/2025, DPW told the committee.
Neighborhood leaders and steering-committee members described extensive outreach, petitioning, and a broad base of support among local property owners and small businesses. Speakers emphasized affordability of assessments for smaller property owners and the community’s desire for local control of park maintenance and capital projects.
Supervisor Malia Cohen moved to forward the resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation; the motion passed unanimously without objection. The next steps in the formation timeline include a Board initiation vote, mailing of ballots by the Department of Elections and a property-owner ballot process; if the ballot returns favor the district, the Board will vote to establish the GBD and assessments will appear on subsequent tax bills.
