San Francisco Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting - September 1, 2026

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, with all 11 members present. The board approved prior minutes, passed 22 landmark designations, took up street tree legislation, honored a veterans organization, heard a tentative parcel map appeal, received public comment, accepted legislation introductions, and adopted a series of resolutions.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the June 30, July 7, and July 14, 2026 meeting minutes as presented (11-0).
• Passed Items 1-22, 22 ordinances designating landmarks across San Francisco, on final passage (11-0).
• Accepted the Hunters View HOPE SF Phase 2 street and public infrastructure, official right-of-way widths and grades, sidewalk widths, and related easements; the ordinance was finally passed without objection.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public speakers came forward during the Folsom Street appeal in support of or opposition to the appeal.
• During general public comment, multiple speakers urged the board to declare an 'AI emergency' and ban further development of frontier AI. They cited risks from OpenAI, Anthropic, autonomous hacking incidents, and statements by AI experts. Speakers included Wend Kaufman, Phoebe Thomas, Bill Lowe, Dwight, Jeanette Scott, Guido Reichstadter, and Derek Allen. Richard S.D. Peterson opposed a city AI emergency declaration, saying it would be ineffective and more appropriate for litigation.
• Richard Johnson, co-founder of HVSA, described about 90 weeks of documentation by Hayes Valley residents and merchants about a recurring Hayes Street closure, and said there was no meaningful administrative appeal or independent review; he asked the board to examine the accountability gap.
• Amelia, speaking from District 9 in her individual capacity, asked the board to retain peer counselors on the Street Crisis Response Team, reporting 55 new letters of support and 125 total letters representing every district.
• Jim Nakhovie raised concerns that the controller's office had not defined policies or provided the first semi-annual report for the inspector general's office.
• Taiwo said police had not assigned an investigator to his complaint about people allegedly using technology to harass him, citing police case number 260242.
• Other comments covered AI risk, vaccine-safety views, unsafe streets for seniors, and Chinese EV battery standards.

Special Order - Commendations

• Supervisor Wong recognized Vet Boats for veteran support through therapeutic sailing and boat restoration during Suicide Prevention Month. Matt Gettelman accepted, saying Vet Boats is a veteran-founded organization 14 years old, that a veteran dies by suicide every 21 seconds in the United States, and that 96 cents of every donated dollar goes directly to veterans.

Discussion Items

• Street Tree Standards, Appeals, and Adopt-A-Tree Fund (Item 24): The ordinance would allow development projects to satisfy street tree planting requirements through in-lieu fees or alternative landscaping, exempt accessory dwelling units from street tree requirements, remove appeals to the Board of Appeals for hazardous tree removals by city departments, create a separate account for in-lieu fees in the Adopt-A-Tree Fund, and update related codes. It passed on first reading 7-4.

  • Supervisor Sauter voted no, arguing the city should focus on maintaining and pruning existing trees and finding sustainable funding for new planting.
  • Supervisor Melgar supported it, rejecting claims that it would hurt the tree canopy, and said the city's actual planting cost is about $2,600 per tree rather than the $4,000-$6,000 reported in the press.
  • Supervisor Fielder voted no, citing the loss of appeals for city tree removals and possible harm to neighborhoods with less canopy.
  • Supervisor Mahmood supported the amended version, noting his amendment preserved a second review by the director of public works for hazard tree removals; he cited a case where four of seven Waller Street ficus trees were preserved after a petition with more than 800 signatures.
  • David Moore, superintendent of the Bureau of Urban Forestry, testified about managing 125,000 street trees, said the first round of street tree pruning is expected by the end of 2026, and described a $12 million grant for 3,500 trees and a plan to fill 2,000 vacant planting sites.

• Appeal of Tentative Parcel Map, 2722-2724 Folsom Street (Items 25-28): Appellant Samuel Ray, for the owners, argued that the planning department's condition barring final map approval until all planning code violations are abated had no legal or factual basis, that no notice of violation had been issued, and that the condition conflicted with Article 6 of the settlement agreement. Public Works surveyor Elias French said the tentative map was processed correctly and the condition was consistent with the MAP Act and general plan consistency requirements. Planning Zoning Administrator Corey Teague said the property has an open enforcement case from 2021 and the condition was necessary because the planning department must find general plan consistency before final map approval. In rebuttal, Ray said the 2021 enforcement case concerned front exterior stairs, not an unauthorized dwelling unit, and that a permit suspension referenced a floor plan discrepancy. Supervisor Fielder moved to approve the public works decision and tentative map and to table the disapproval and findings items; the board voted 11-0 to approve Item 26 and table Items 27 and 28.

Legislation Introduced at Roll Call

• Supervisor Chen introduced a resolution commending KTSF for 50 years of Asian-language and multiethnic programming.
• Supervisor Fielder introduced an ordinance to prevent landlords from evicting tenants who fall behind in rent unless the tenant owes an amount higher than the fair market rent, citing evictions at a 10-year high, nonpayment behind over half of eviction proceedings, and about 25% of sampled nonpayment evictions involving less than one month of fair market rent. He also introduced a KALW Day resolution for the station's 85th anniversary.
• Supervisor Mandelman introduced an ordinance to extend legal nonconforming rear yard structure eligibility to structures built before 2010.
• Supervisor Sauter announced a Budget and Legislative Analyst report on surplus public land: more than 100 properties, about 6.2 million square feet, were screened, with 44 vacant or soon-to-be vacant properties possibly suitable for affordable housing or other development. She submitted a hearing request for a coordinated citywide approach.
• Supervisor Wong introduced resolutions supporting the AV Emergency Response Coordination Act and Assembly Bill 2540, and said formula retail regulations should be updated.
• Supervisor Chan introduced the Small Business Tenants Union and the Workers' Opportunity to Purchase Act, plus a resolution urging CalEPA to suspend proposed grant-eligibility matrix changes for vulnerable urban census tracts.

Key Outcomes

• Approved minutes and 22 landmark designations, and accepted Hunters View HOPE SF infrastructure, as noted above.
• Passed Item 24 on first reading by 7-4, with Supervisors Chan, Fielder, Sauter, and Walton voting no.
• Approved Item 26 and tabled Items 27 and 28 for the 2722-2724 Folsom Street parcel map appeal (11-0).
• Adopted Items 31 and 32 (the resolution urging Kaiser Permanente to drop the 'Terrible Three' contract demands and the World Hepatitis Day resolution) by 10-0, with Supervisor Melgar absent; Supervisor Wong added his name as co-sponsor to Item 31.
• Adopted Item 33, declaring September 2026 as National Service Dog Month, after Supervisor Sherrill severed it from the without-reference calendar; adopted without objection.
• Adjourned in memory of Vivian Ann Hopkins, as submitted by Supervisor Walton.