Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Meeting – April 14, 2022

The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee met on Thursday, April 14, 2022, to consider four items: a health code ordinance on skilled nursing transfers, a liquor license for a neighborhood market, a follow-up hearing on anti-Asian violence and public safety response, and a detailed review of San Francisco Police Department staffing. Chair Gordon Maher presided, joined by Supervisors Catherine Stefani and Matt Haney, with Supervisor Rafael Mandelman participating for the police staffing hearing.

Public Comments & Testimony

• On the skilled nursing reporting item, Patrick Manatsaw thanked the committee and supported expanding data collection, but urged the committee to revisit the duplicated file before October rather than waiting until the planned hearing.
• On the AAPI safety hearing, Patricia Boy (Marina/Cow Hollow Neighbors and Merchants) described persistent incidents against Asian workers and merchants and called for more effective city coordination and support.
• On the police staffing hearing, dozens of callers commented. Most, including representatives of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, Golden Gate Restaurant Association, Bay Area Council, Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District, Union Square businesses, BOMA San Francisco, Pier 39, IATSE Local 16, and numerous residents, strongly supported increasing SFPD staffing and resources, citing crime, slow response times, and economic recovery. A caller from GLIDE and several individuals argued that increased policing alone would not address root causes, urging investments in shelter, mental health care, alternative response teams, and an end to pretextual stops. A number of callers criticized the District Attorney and the Board of Supervisors for what they described as insufficient support for police.

Discussion Items

• Item 3 – Health Code – Skilled Nursing Care Transfer Reporting Requirements: Bill Barnes from Supervisor Safai’s office presented the ordinance, which would require general acute care hospitals and hospital-based skilled nursing facilities to report annually to the Department of Public Health on the number and demographics of patients transferred to out-of-city subacute/skilled nursing facilities, as well as patients who qualify for such care but are not transferred. The ordinance had been amended at the previous meeting to include more facility types and to extend the reporting deadline to October 1. Chair Maher supported the measure, describing it as critical for understanding the city’s deficit in subacute and skilled nursing care, and moved to duplicate the file to allow future amendments, including broader data collection and alignment with a comprehensive senior care plan. Supervisor Stefani asked to be added as a co-sponsor, citing her previous work on St. Luke’s and CPMC.
• Item 1 – Liquor License – Dad & Son’s Market: The committee heard an application for a Type 21 off-sale license for a 1,300-square-foot grocery store at 3218 Fillmore Street. The applicant’s representative described the market as a neighborhood-serving store with a small alcohol section behind the counter, expected alcohol sales of less than 15% of total revenue, and existing security measures. Officer Salmonson presented the ALU report: 10 letters of protest, 187 petition signatures of support, no opposition from Northern Station, and an ALU recommendation to approve with a condition requiring the licensee to actively monitor adjacent property to prevent loitering. Supervisor Stefani welcomed the business, noted her office had received no concerns, and supported the recommendation.
• Item 2 – Hearing – Crime and Violence Targeting Asian-American Seniors: Chair Maher presented data on the rise in anti-Asian incidents: nearly 11,000 AAPI hate incidents reported nationally to Stop AAPI Hate through December 2021, including 4,100 in California and 905 in San Francisco; SFPD preliminary data showed anti-Asian bias reports rose from 9 in 2020 to 60 in 2021 (a 567% increase). HRC Director Sheryl Davis presented a citywide public safety landscape analysis finding hundreds of separately funded programs with limited coordination, no shared framework or standardized reporting, gaps in the safety net, and a need for clearer prevention, intervention, and response strategies. Near-term recommendations included a citywide response protocol for hate incidents, better language access, standardized reporting, and community partnerships; longer-term recommendations emphasized restorative justice, cross-cultural solidarity, and investments in equity. Cynthia Choi (Chinese for Affirmative Action) and Sarah Wan (Community Youth Center), representing the Community Coalition for Safety and Justice, supported the recommendations and urged rapid implementation; Wan noted that CYC had served 88 AAPI victims since February 2021 and had created a victim/survivor fund because state compensation usually takes 30–90 days. Supervisor Stefani referenced the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdi in her district and the 500% rise in AAPI hate crimes. Public comment was taken; one in-person speaker testified.
• Item 4 – Hearing – Police Department Staffing Levels: Supervisor Stefani opened the hearing, citing the 2020 Matrix Consulting Group staffing study that called for 2,176 sworn officers, with the deficit now more than 500 and projected to exceed 700. She also cited burglaries up about 40% citywide (as high as 78% in some neighborhoods), disproportionate shoplifting losses at CVS and Walgreens, lower officer-per-resident ratios than peer cities (22 per 10,000 vs. 42 in New York, 44 in Chicago, 61 in Washington, D.C.), and increases in Priority A calls. SFPD Commander Nicole Jones and senior analyst Celeste Berg presented the Proposition E staffing analysis: recommended staffing is 2,182 sworn and 554 professional staff; the sworn recommendation is virtually unchanged from Matrix’s 2,176. Additional staffing required has grown from 265 in 2020 to more than 500. Citywide full-duty staffing fell from 1,868 in January 2019 to 1,612, a 14% decline, including an 8% drop in the last six months. Non-training attrition increased about 80% from FY19 to FY22; retirements are the leading cause, with 518 officers age 50 or older projected by the end of FY22. Applications fell from nearly 3,000 in 2018 to about 1,100 in 2021; the most recent academy class graduated only 12 officers. Recruitment and retention proposals included hiring a recruiting firm, waiving the $55 application test fee, eliminating salary steps to raise starting pay, offering bonuses, establishing a retention unit, improving training reimbursements, and exploring housing supplementation. Field Operations Bureau staffing declined to 1,185 officers as of April 4, 2022, with the police officer rank at stations below 1,000. Deputy Chief David Lazar described the operational consequences, including long Priority C response times (61 minutes in September 2021, now ~99 minutes), and explained that high-visibility deployments in Union Square and the Tenderloin are costly and difficult to sustain. Narcotics enforcement is down to one lieutenant, three sergeants, and a 12-officer team, and traffic company staffing is below 30% of historical levels. The department is working with the Controller’s Office on a workload-based analysis of Street Crisis Response Team calls and Priority C calls that may be transferable to other agencies. Public comment was taken, with dozens of callers.

Key Outcomes

• Item 3: The committee duplicated the file. The duplicated version, as amended, will be forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation; the original file was continued to the call of the chair. The motion passed without objection (Haney absent, Stefani aye, Maher aye).
• Item 1: The committee directed the clerk to prepare a resolution finding that the Dad & Son’s Market liquor license serves the public convenience and necessity, and to forward it to the full board with a positive recommendation. The motion passed without objection (Haney absent, Stefani aye, Maher aye).
• Item 2: The committee continued the hearing to the call of the chair to allow future updates on implementation of the HRC report and community recommendations. The motion passed without objection.
• Item 4: The committee filed the hearing. The motion passed without objection (Mandelman absent, Stefani aye, Maher aye), with discussion indicating staffing funding would be a focus during budget negotiations.