San Francisco supervisors approve $40 million hotel incentive for Hearst Hotel project; 9–2 vote

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9–2 on Feb. 24 to finally pass an ordinance approving a hotel development incentive agreement with Bespoke Hospitality LLC for the Hearst Hotel Development Project. The ordinance authorizes up to $40,000,000 in financial assistance in net present value over 20 years, to be paid as a percentage of the new transient occupancy taxes the city receives from occupancy of guest rooms in the proposed hotel.

The clerk summarized the ordinance’s provisions in the chamber, noting the agreement applies to a project on certain real property described in the ordinance and includes waivers of Chapter 21G of the Administrative Code and certain sections of the labor and employment code to ratify past actions and authorize future actions in furtherance of the ordinance. The board’s roll call produced nine ayes and two nos; the clerk recorded Supervisors Chan and Fielder as voting no.

No further debate or floor statements explaining the opposing votes were recorded in the public transcript. The ordinance was declared finally passed by the president after the roll call.

The approval makes the city liable for future incentive payments to Bespoke Hospitality LLC to be funded from incremental transient occupancy tax receipts tied to the approved project. The ordinance text available in the meeting packet lists the relevant property description and the specific code waivers; those details were summarized at the board table during the item.

The board did not record amendments to the ordinance on the floor during the item. Next procedural steps for implementation (contract execution, compliance conditions, or timing of payments) are governed by the ordinance and subsequent administrative actions by city departments and were not specified in the oral summary provided at the meeting.