BCNA November 2020 Ballot Endorsements

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We hope that you were able to attend the Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association’s October 4th Ballot Forum with Assemblymember David Chiu and Supervisor Aaron Peskin. You can view the recording on our Vimeo channel here.

The BCNA Board of Directors has met and discussed the local propositions likely to affect our neighborhood and has made selective endorsements reflecting our members’ interests and our organization’s mission.

We hope that our endorsements and the additional resources below will be helpful to you in making decisions about the future of our city and neighborhood when you cast your ballot.

Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association

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SF PROP A: Health and Homelessness, Parks, and Streets Bond

DESCRIPTION:  A $487.5 million bond measure requiring a 2/3 vote, which would allocate:

  • $239 million for parks, open spaces and recreational facilities.
  • $207 million for facilities mental health and substance abuse services, permanent supportive housing and homeless shelters.
  • $41.5 million for seismic improvements to public structures and plazas, installing curb ramps and road repair.

BCNA RECOMMENDS: YES

RATIONALE: This measure funds important housing, public health, open space and streets projects. It would create an estimated 5.93 jobs per million construction dollars during a severe economic downturn. It would provide public open space that is critical to enabling health, safety and social resilience during this and future public health crises. It is a fiscally responsible use of the city’s bonding capacity, constrained to keeping property taxes at or below 2006 rates. Since a new bond debt like this is incurred only when a prior bond is retired, there is no overall tax increase.

SF PROP B: Department of Sanitation and Streets, Sanitation and Streets Commission, and Public Works Commission

DESCRIPTION: It would amend the City Charter to split off Public Works’ street cleaning, sidewalk maintenance and sanitation duties into a new agency, leaving the remaining department to handle engineering, design, project management and other work tied to San Francisco’s public infrastructure.

BCNA: NO POSITION

RATIONALE: Restructuring a city department, as this measure proposes to do, is no guarantee that the department will improve its inadequate performance.

While a commission might help provide some transparency and an opportunity for formal public input on the operations of DPW, past experience in San Francisco has shown that public commissions do not prevent corrupt officials from exploiting their positions and do not necessarily result in more streamlined operations.

By creating a new city department, Prop. B would divert an estimated $2.5 million to $6 million annually toward new administrative costs. That money could instead be spent on initiatives to clean the streets or otherwise improve the operations of DPW.

PROP E: Police Staffing Changes    

DESCRIPTION: Would eliminate the mandate in the City Charter that the Police Department maintain a roster of 1,971 full-duty officers

BCNA RECOMMENDS: YES

RATIONALE: Prop. E would put staffing levels under the purview of the Police Department and the Police Commission, with input from the public. This is a more appropriate place to make department-specific decisions than the City Charter.

A regular evaluation of police staffing levels could lead to better and more efficient distribution of officers based on need, as well as help to remedy discriminatory practices such as over policing in some neighborhoods.  By replacing an arbitrary staffing number with a flexible, adaptive process this measure would enable the city to respond efficiently to the public safety needs of San Franciscans over time.

PROP F: Business Tax Overhaul

DESCRIPTION: Would recalibrate business taxes in a number of ways, phasing out the payroll, tax, increasing gross receipts business tax rates for some businesses and increasing the number of small companies exempted from the business tax. It would allow the city to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue tied up in legal disputes and eventually add about $97 million annually.

BCNA RECOMMENDS: YES

RATIONALE:  Prop F continues the years-long move away from a payroll tax, which discourages hiring, to gross receipts, a truer measure of business size. It is a significant achievement to produce compromise tax reform in the midst of an economic recession, especially when the reform measure would provide targeted relief and manage to raise revenue. Unlocks over a billion dollars to fund critically urgent needs around homelessness and childcare. While the measure does raise rates on many technology companies, it would provide relief to struggling industries and delay rate increases in a way that’s responsive to the health of the economy.

Despite the delays, this measure would ultimately raise business tax rates for many industries at a time of significant uncertainty and economic strain.

PROP H: Neighborhood Commercial Districts and City Permitting

DESCRIPTION: Would require city officials to process permit applications for business uses already allowed under existing zoning rules within 30 days if they are within neighborhood commercial districts. Prop. H would also streamline approvals for certain businesses, including cafes and restaurants.

BCNA RECOMMENDS: YES

RATIONALE: The proposed changes included in this measure would address ongoing challenges that small businesses face when working with San Francisco’s permitting and approvals process, potentially clearing the way for new businesses to open their doors or for existing businesses to pivot to new offerings.

It does allow for amendments by the Board of Supervisors. This provides flexibility to make future changes or additions to the ordinance in response to new challenges or needs from the business community.

The new processes would likely shorten the overall length of time for permitting, conditional use applications and public notification requirements, which would reduce time and administrative costs for both the city and businesses.

PROP I: Real Estate Transfer Tax

DESCRIPTION: Would double the city’s “transfer tax” for big property sales: those valued at $10 million or more.

BCNA RECOMMENDS: NO

RATIONALE: Transfer taxes can be an effective way to offset some of the inequitable effects of California’s property tax system.  However, a healthy housing system also relies on the provision of new homes — and high tax rates can delay or prevent new construction in the midst of a regional housing crisis.

There is no guarantee that Prop. I would fund what its supporters intend. SF has some of the highest transfer tax rates in the state; doubling the rates for high-value properties could lead to unintended consequences for needed housing construction and affordability.

PROP J: Parcel Tax for San Francisco Unified School District

DESCRIPTION: Would enact a $288 parcel tax to generate about $48 million a year for San Francisco Unified School District’s teachers. The city passed a similar measure in 2018, but an ongoing legal dispute over the simple-majority threshold used to validate it is the subject of an ongoing legal dispute.  The new measure would replace the old one if it passes with two-thirds supermajority. (2/3 vote required)

BCNA RECOMMENDS: YES

RATIONALE: Prop. J allows SFUSD to continue providing agreed upon pay increases to teachers and paraeducators while the city is in litigation over Prop. G.  Paying educators more can reduce turnover, increase workplace satisfaction, and improve student success.

The measure includes funding for high-needs and community schools, which are historically and currently underserved.

This replacement tax is smaller than the original proposal, giving taxpayers modest relief during an economic recession.

SF PROP K: Affordable Housing Authorization rules

DESCRIPTION: Would authorize San Francisco to own, develop, construct, acquire or rehabilitate up to 10,000 units of low-income rental housing.  The measure would allow the City to carry out those activities without working with non-profits or companies. The measure does not provide funding for the housing,

BCNA RECOMMENDS: NO

RATIONALE: Prop K is the first step in giving the public sector a far more significant role in producing housing. Do we really want our City government to tie up substantial resources in owning and constructing municipal housing?  A mechanism already exists through inclusionary housing rules and various other programs to produce affordable housing using non-profits and companies.  The City currently funds projects but doesn’t have to tie up its funds in development & ownership as well as incur loans or raise taxes to cover its investment costs.

There is no money to cover administration costs if the program gears up. City Controller says the cost would be significant if the City establishes structure and staff to implement the proposition fully.

We don’t know the rules.  This “social” housing will be defined by legislation at the BOS, and current legislative vehicles are blank vessels with no details.

There is no guarantee that moderate income households will be able to access San Francisco’s social housing.  One of BCNA’s basic policies has been to support including moderate income households like teachers in affordable housing. The voter information pamphlet says this measure will be for low income households, whereas 88 Broadway (now under construction) includes moderate income households at 80-120% of the area’s median income (AMI). BCNA is not the only organization concerned about the need for mixed income residents in City housing requirements.

REGIONAL MEASURE RR: Caltrain Funding

DESCRIPTION:  A three-county sales tax measure to fund Caltrain. The measure, which must also be passed by voters in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, would increase sales taxes by one-eighth of a cent to raise $100 million annually for the rail system. (2/3 vote required)

BCNA RECOMMENDS: YES

RATIONALE:  Caltrain is a key part of the region’s rapid transit network, reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions while increasing access to jobs and services. Measure RR would allow Caltrain to continue operations at or near current levels. Without the increased funding from this measure, Caltrain might need to severely reduce or shut down operations until the pandemic ends and strong demand for service returns.

Currently, the lack of dedicated funding for Caltrain is a major obstacle to reliable operations planning and rational governance. In the past, differing priorities among the three counties have made it difficult to fund regional improvements

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Additional Resources

Endorsements by local political organizations:

San Francisco Chronicle articles and endorsements (as of October 5, 2020)