Formation of special districts where property owners pay a fee to fund services such as security and graffiti cleanup beyond what The City can provide is an increasing trend and one celebrated by Mayor Ed Lee.
On Thursday, the Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee approved moving forward with the renewal and expansion of the Central Market Community Benefit District and the formation of the Top of Broadway Benefit District.
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Backers of a November referendum of the contentious 8 Washington St. condominium development on the waterfront picked up a key endorsement Wednesday from the local Democratic County Central Committee.
An endorsement from the local Democratic Party is one of the most influential in San Francisco politics and is being celebrated by opponents of the 134-unit development.
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San Francisco is poised to pay up to $4 million in damage claims related to the Feb. 27 water main rupture that damaged 25 homes and several cars in the West Portal neighborhood.
Meanwhile, city repairs to the neighborhood’s infrastructure remain ongoing following the break at 15th Avenue and Wawona Street.
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One San Francisco official hopes to use the ballot box to tighten controls on how the fund that pays for retiree health care for city employees can be used.
Historically, The City has paid retiree health care costs on an annual basis, not setting aside dollars and not worrying about future costs. But as medical expenditures escalate, The City faces $4.4 billion in retiree health care costs during the next 30 years.
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San Francisco’s first commercial dog-walking regulations are scheduled to go into effect in under two months, but opponents still have some bark left.
Phoenix Asher Featherstone, formerly known as Elisa Baker, knows San Francisco’s political dog wars intimately. In 2007, the animal trainer was one of the opponents who helped sink a similar proposal and now is trying again.
The difference, though, is that the Board of Supervisors already approved the law in February 2012. It gave the Department of Animal Care and Control up to 18 months to work out the finer details.
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An outpouring of community support for a bar described as a gathering place for artists, musicians and Lower Nob Hill residents succeeded in overturning the Police Department’s recommendation to reject its liquor license application.
Café Royale, located at 800 Post St., opened its doors 14 years ago. Though it’s been through about three changes in ownership over the years, the location has sprouted a community atmosphere with monthly local artist installments on the walls and live entertainment like jazz, comedy and opera.
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Attacks against transgender people in the Mission district have government officials mobilizing to prevent further violence as the recent crimes evoke past tragedies and call into question The City’s commitment to protect such individuals.
Theresa Sparks, who is transgender and the executive director of the Human Rights Commission, said progress has been slow. At a hearing Thursday at City Hall, she talked about a meeting she had six years ago with the mother of 27-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant Ruby Rodriguez, a transgender woman who was brutally killed.
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In the event of a disaster, The City could be without critical information for weeks, an analysis of a proposed data center lease shows.
The City’s recovery capability for essential information and technology systems after a disaster would “vastly” improve if a proposed two-year, $270,834 agreement with the state’s California Technology Agency for a backup data center in Rancho Cordova is approved, according to city officials.
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Creation of new park space in San Francisco was approved Wednesday for South of Market, but not without one city supervisor questioning the wisdom of the addition when there are inadequate resources to care for existing parks.
The City has proposed creating the South of Market West Skatepark and Dog Park in the area north of Duboce Avenue between Valencia, Stevenson and Otis streets on two parcels leased from the state.
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A $26,000 gift of office furnishings received by District Attorney George Gascón was approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, but not without some questions about whether it was good practice and even if the proper disclosure form was filed.
Last week, Gascón said he had requested help with obtaining furnishings. Donations rolled in, beginning with a $9,999 gift from Ron Conway, the Silicon Valley angel investor guiding San Francisco’s current tech boom.
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Bike rentals in city parks got off to a rough start when one location was overrun by an Occupy San Francisco encampment, city officials said. But now with an expansion planned for Ocean Beach and an additional Golden Gate Park location, the Recreation and Park Department hopes to improve the experience in The City.
In March 2011, a five-year lease was approved by the Board of Supervisors between Rec and Park and Parkwide Activities LLC to operate bike rental locations in public parks.
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Opponents of the 8 Washington St. luxury condo development are casting a shadow on the project by zeroing in on its precarious proximity to a city sewage line carrying 20 million gallons of human waste a day.
With about six months before voters will be asked to reject the development, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu — an opponent of the project, which is in his district — warned Thursday of a scenario in which millions of gallons of sewage spill out onto waterfront streets as a result of construction or an earthquake.
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The San Francisco International Airport’s proposed advertising contract took off Wednesday despite the Board of Supervisors’ number-cruncher recommending rejection, saying The City could lose out on revenue.
The proposed eight-year contract for Clear Channel to continue to advertise at the airport has sparked an unusual amount of debate. A vote was postponed in March over concerns about The City using a different revenue model for the contract.
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An effort to allow building owners to bypass the annual condo conversion lottery suffered a setback Tuesday when the Board of Supervisors sent the proposal back to committee for further debate.
The setback puts the proposal on shaky ground given that for years condo-conversion proposals have collapsed amid political fighting.
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The gap narrowed Monday between dueling proposals to change rules for environmental appeals of construction projects, but weighty issues remain unresolved.
For weeks now, a debate has raged at the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee over how to reform the appeals process under the California Environmental Quality Act, also known as CEQA.
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