OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Special Meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors - November 20, 2023

Board of Supervisors — Monday, November 20, 2023
BodySan Francisco, California
SessionBoard of Supervisors
DateMonday, November 20, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:13

Good morning and welcome to the special meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for today, Monday, November 20th, 2023.

0:21

Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll?

0:24

Yes.

0:25

Supervisor Chan.

0:26

Chan, present.

0:27

Supervisor Dorsey.

0:29

Dorsey, present.

0:30

Supervisor and Guardio.

0:32

Engardio present.

0:33

Supervisor Manselman.

0:34

Present.

0:34

Mandelman present.

0:36

Supervisor Melgar.

0:37

Melgar, not present.

0:39

Supervisor Peskin.

0:40

Present.

0:40

Peskin present.

0:41

Supervisor Preston.

0:43

Preston present.

0:44

Supervisor Ronin.

0:45

Ronin present.

0:46

Supervisor Safai.

0:48

Safe present.

0:50

Supervisor Stephanie.

0:51

Stephanie not present.

0:52

Supervisor Walton.

0:54

Walton, present.

0:55

Mr.

0:55

President, there's a quorum.

0:57

Thank you, colleagues.

0:58

Can we have a motion to excuse Supervisors Melgar and Stephanie made by Supervisor Mandelman, seconded by Supervisor Walton, and we will take that without objection.

1:08

Madam Clerk, do we have any communications or announcements?

1:12

Yes, Mr.

1:13

President.

1:13

The board welcomes all interested in this meeting to attend in person here in the legislative chamber, room 250 at City Hall.

1:19

The le this meeting is airing live on SFGov TV's Channel 26, or you may view the live stream at WWW.sftov TV dot or G.

1:29

Our office did not receive a request for language interpretation today, so we do not have interpreters here.

1:34

But as a reminder, if you anticipate a future need for them, please call 415-554-5184 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

1:43

Mr.

1:43

President, that concludes my communication.

1:45

Thank you.

1:46

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors acknowledges we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramatushalone, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula.

1:55

As the indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Ramatushaloni have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory.

2:08

As guests, we recognize that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland.

2:13

We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramatushalone community and by affirming their sovereign rights as first peoples.

2:22

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

2:40

Madam Clerk, could you please call the first item?

2:44

Item number one is a charter amendment to provide that the mayor may disapprove in writing certain MTA proposals that must be part of MTA's proposed budget or budget amendment.

2:53

Add an election to be held on March 5th, 2024.

2:56

Supervisor Safai.

2:58

Thank you, Mr.

2:59

President.

2:59

Thank you, colleagues, uh, for taking time to come in today for uh this special board of supervisors meeting.

3:05

Uh as you all know, we've received uh thousands of written public comments uh opposing the MTA's uh late night and extended parking meter on Sundays as it stands now.

3:16

The city charter uh provides that the mayor appoints all members of the SFMTA board of directors, subject to the board of supervisors approval who have sole authority uh to set transit fares and meter rates without mayoral approval.

3:31

Uh further, the MTA Board of Directors delegated sole authority to the Director of Transportation to set parking meter rates, operations and time limits, uh effectively removing any public process from these changes.

3:45

Uh my proposed charter amendment would have provided the ability for the mayor to block fare and parking meter increases along with fares.

3:54

Um the intent of this charter amendment was to provide San Franciscans with accountability from an elected official for the decisions that affect their everyday transportation needs and calls out exactly what happens uh over the course of time with the mayoral power and their uh influence over this process.

4:12

Uh but upon further discussion with transit advocates and a commitment from the SFMTA uh that they would halt their original plan to extend parking meter hours and days of operation.

4:22

I'm withdrawing the proposed charter amendment that would have provided mayoral accountability over the mayor SFMTA fares and increases in parking meter rates and hours.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Charter Amendments█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Summary of Proceedings

Special Meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors - November 20, 2023

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors held a special meeting on Monday, November 20, 2023, at 9:15 AM. The sole agenda item was a proposed charter amendment (Item 1) that would have granted the mayor authority to disapprove certain SFMTA fare and parking meter rate increases. After public comment and discussion, the sponsor moved to table the item, and the board unanimously voted to table it.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • One member of the public spoke in support of the charter amendment, arguing that the current system allows an unelected SFMTA director to set parking meter hours and fares without oversight from elected officials. The speaker expressed that transportation fees greatly impact residents and businesses, particularly in lower-income areas, and that the mayor should have authority over these decisions.

Discussion Items

  • Item 1: Charter Amendment – Mayoral Authority to Disapprove Certain SFMTA Budget Proposals
    • Supervisor Safai, the sponsor, explained that the amendment was intended to provide accountability by allowing the mayor to block fare and parking meter increases. He noted that thousands of written public comments opposed SFMTA's late-night and extended Sunday parking meter plans. However, after discussions with transit advocates and a commitment from SFMTA to halt their original plan to extend parking meter hours and days, Safai stated he was withdrawing the proposed charter amendment. He cited the need for small businesses and working families to recover from the COVID economic crisis.
    • Supervisor Safai moved to table the item, which was seconded by Supervisor Ronin.

Key Outcomes

  • The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously (9-0) to table Item 1, effectively withdrawing the charter amendment from consideration. Supervisors Melgar and Stephanie were excused and absent.
  • The meeting adjourned in memory of Tina Willis Silva, a longtime Chinatown resident and president of the Ping Yuan Residents Improvement Association.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning and welcome to the special meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for today, Monday, November 20th, 2023. Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll? Yes. Supervisor Chan. Chan, present. Supervisor Dorsey. Dorsey, present. Supervisor and Guardio. Engardio present. Supervisor Manselman. Present. Mandelman present. Supervisor Melgar. Melgar, not present. Supervisor Peskin. Present. Peskin present. Supervisor Preston. Preston present. Supervisor Ronin. Ronin present. Supervisor Safai. Safe present. Supervisor Stephanie. Stephanie not present. Supervisor Walton. Walton, present. Mr. President, there's a quorum. Thank you, colleagues. Can we have a motion to excuse Supervisors Melgar and Stephanie made by Supervisor Mandelman, seconded by Supervisor Walton, and we will take that without objection. Madam Clerk, do we have any communications or announcements? Yes, Mr. President. The board welcomes all interested in this meeting to attend in person here in the legislative chamber, room 250 at City Hall. The le this meeting is airing live on SFGov TV's Channel 26, or you may view the live stream at WWW.sftov TV dot or G. Our office did not receive a request for language interpretation today, so we do not have interpreters here. But as a reminder, if you anticipate a future need for them, please call 415-554-5184 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Mr. President, that concludes my communication. Thank you. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors acknowledges we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramatushalone, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. As the indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Ramatushaloni have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. As guests, we recognize that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramatushalone community and by affirming their sovereign rights as first peoples. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Madam Clerk, could you please call the first item? Item number one is a charter amendment to provide that the mayor may disapprove in writing certain MTA proposals that must be part of MTA's proposed budget or budget amendment. Add an election to be held on March 5th, 2024. Supervisor Safai.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com