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LWV League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Smart Voter
San Francisco County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
Proposition D
Financing Pier 70 Waterfront District Development Plan upon Board of Supervisors' Approval
City of San Francisco
Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required

Pass: 226,513 / 68.07% Yes votes ...... 106,228 / 31.93% No votes

See Also: Index of all Propositions
Results as of Jan 24 10:41am, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (580/580)
Information shown below: Fiscal Impact | Yes/No Meaning | Arguments |

Shall the City provide funds to develop Pier 70, based on new City hotel and payroll expense tax revenues from the development, if the Board of Supervisors approves a financial and land use plan for Pier 70?

Fiscal Impact from City Controller:
Should the proposed charter amendment be approved by the voters, in my opinion, it would in and of itself have a minimal direct impact on the cost of government. The amendment allows for creation of a development district and plan at Pier 70, a 65-acre site on the southern waterfront. A Pier 70 development plan will require significant expenditures by the Port, however, new and increased revenues resulting from the development, including property tax increment financing, lease revenues, and payroll and hotel tax increment financing would pay for these expenditures.

The Port currently projects that expenditures for infrastructure such as roads, utilities and repair of historic structures for the Pier 70 project would total approximately $635 million in current dollars and would support approximately $2.0 billion of private investment over a 15-20 year period.

The amendment provides that the Board of Supervisors can appropriate to the Port up to 75% of increased payroll and hotel tax revenues that are attributable to the Pier 70 development for a 20-year period. The remaining 25% of increased payroll and hotel tax revenues, as well as other increased tax revenues resulting from the development, would remain available for any public purpose. The Controller and the Tax Collector would determine the base tax revenue amounts and the projected incremental tax revenue amounts resulting from the development.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No
A YES vote on this measure means:
If you vote "yes," you want to change the Charter to provide City funds to develop Pier 70 if the Board approves a financial and land use plan for Pier 70.

A NO vote on this measure means:
If you vote "no," you do not want to make this change to the Charter.

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Arguments For Proposition D
Historic Pier 70

Pier 70 is a 65-acre brownfields site on San Francisco's Central Waterfront. For 150 years, this site has been used for shipbuilding and repair. Pier 70 is poised to become one of the City's most unique new neighborhoods, preserving the history that helped make San Francisco a world-class waterfront city.

The Port owns the largest floating drydock on the West Coast. The Port's ship repair operation occupies a 16-acre portion of Pier
70. This Port tenant provides hundreds of high-paying skilled jobs.

The California Office of Historic Preservation determined that Pier 70 has 40 historic structures eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Many Pier 70 historic resources, including the Union Iron Works Building, are condemned. Without new funding, these resources could be lost forever.

Proposition D provides the Port Commission, the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors with tools to promote adaptive reuse of Pier 70, while preserving existing ship repair operations:

An option for the Board of Supervisors to approve a Pier 70 land use and financial plan, developed through a two year community planning process;

An optional new financing tool to pay for public improvements to Pier 70 such as:

    • waterfront parks,
    • environmental remediation,
    • historic rehabilitation of Pier 70 buildings,
    • solar panels, rainwater recycling, and natural stormwater management, and
    • maritime terminals

These improvements will be paid for by existing City revenues and will be offset by future tax receipts generated by the development of Pier 70.

As we have seen in the northern waterfront, visitors and residents love the San Francisco Bay shoreline. It's time to extend this experience to the Port's southern waterfront.

A great waterfront makes a great city. Please vote yes on Proposition D.

Supervisors,
Sophenia Maxwell*,
Tom Ammiano*,
Michela Alioto-Pier*,
Bevan Dufty*,
Kimberly Brandon, Port Commission President

  • For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.

(No arguments against Proposition D were submitted)

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Created: January 24, 2009 10:41 PST
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