This week, Gov. Jerry Brown practically declared defeat in his effort to reform the California Environmental Quality Act this year. With the continued struggle for CEQA reform in San Francisco, it seems that increasingly, politics in our fair city is in lockstep with the state.
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Owners of San Francisco buildings most likely to collapse during a major earthquake are now required to make seismic upgrades in coming years, but can pass all costs to tenants.
While tenant advocates had initially fought for a cost reduction for renters, they supported the proposal after city officials agreed to reform a tenant financial hardship program overseen by the Rent Board. Read More
After being sworn in as president of the Board of Supervisors, David Chiu gave a speech in which he did something that I’m pretty sure has never been done before: He likened the board to the World Series champion Giants. Read More
UPDATE: Early Friday morning the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee unanimously approved Mayor Ed Lee’s proposed two-year city budget after making a total of $32 million in spending changes, of which $17.1 million is for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and includes such things as $1.2 million for members of the board to hire a third legislative aide, $4.1 million for a cost-in-living increase for nonprofits doing business with the city, $2 million for increased services in hom Read More
When the shiny new headquarters of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission opens Wednesday, it will use 60 percent less water than the average 13-story office building. That’s because most of that water will be recycled for nonpotable uses at the site, running through a system of underground tanks and artificial wetlands that cleans and clarifies whatever is flushed down toilets or washed down drains. Read More
San Francisco’s convoluted system of business taxation includes one levy unlike any other among the state’s large cities. To attract more companies to San Francisco and encourage existing employers to hire more employees, it is past time to do away with this tax.
This outlier is The City’s payroll tax, which imposes a 1.5 percent levy on business labor costs. Read More
North Beach residents and business leaders are fuming about a Central Subway construction project that could shut down vehicle lanes, alter traffic patterns and leave the neighborhood cluttered with heavy-duty equipment for two years. Read More
Plaques directing San Franciscans to often-hidden public open spaces downtown will be more visible under new rules adopted Thursday by the Planning Commission.
The guidelines for dozens of privately owned public open spaces — small parks, gardens, plazas and sunny sitting areas, some located atop high-rises — aim to create signs that are of uniform size and design, and are easier to notice and read, under legislation introduced by Board of Supervisors President David Chiu. Read More
People walking around San Francisco’s downtown are likely unaware they are missing out on enjoying a variety of unique public spaces.
But that could change under a proposal being voted on Thursday by the Planning Commission to require uniform and noticeable signage for what are known as privately owned public open spaces, sometimes referred to as POPOS. Read More
Devices detecting anthrax and other bioterrorism agents are being marketed to building owners, raising concerns among city officials who are worried about the cost of responding to false alarms.
Responding to a false biological agent detector could cost The City up to $700,000 and cause possible “civil unrest, business disruptions, prolonged facility closure, and mental health consequences,” according to legislation introduced Tuesday by Board of Supervisors President David Chiu. Read More
