Historic Preservation Commission recommends Planning Department budget after staff outlines cuts and vacancies

The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on Feb. 7 recommended that the Planning Department's proposed budget and work program for fiscal years 2024 2026 be approved, voting unanimously 7-0 after a department presentation and commissioner questioning.

Katie Lay, budget and grants analyst at the Planning Department, told commissioners the city faces a two-year general-fund gap and has directed departments to reduce general-fund spending by 10% per year. Lay said the mayor's office projects a $245,000,000 deficit in fiscal 2024 25 and a $554,000,000 deficit in 2025 26, adding to a $799,000,000 shortfall over the two-year window. To align with those instructions, Planning proposes a $920,000 general-fund reduction and an approximate $3,000,000 net reduction in fee revenue for the operating fund.

Lay described how the department's budget depends heavily on fee revenue tied to development activity; although case and permit counts have softened since 2018, the city is seeing more smaller projects that generate lower fees than past large developments. She warned the numbers are still preliminary: the department will continue to refine projections until the mayor's proposed budget is published in June and the Board of Supervisors acts in June.

During follow-up, Commissioner Baldov asked about a notable decline in "miscellaneous" permit referrals. Deborah Landis, planning staff, said those miscellaneous referrals come from other agencies (for example, State Alcoholic Beverage Control or Public Health) and have trended downward because other agencies are making fewer referral requests.

Tom DiSanto, Director of Administration at the Planning Department, told commissioners the department expects to hold roughly 20 vacancies to meet its attrition/ budget target (about $1.9 million in attrition savings). "The attrition number is assumed in the work plan," DiSanto said, explaining that the department nets expected vacancies into its FTE accounting and scales work plans accordingly.

Commissioners asked about enforcement caseloads and whether historic-preservation functions would be protected. Staff said the preservation program resource level is assumed to remain stable in the current proposal. After discussion, a motion to recommend adoption of the budget and work program was moved, seconded and passed unanimously, with roll-call approval recorded for Baldov, Campbell, Vergara, Wright, Foley, Nagas Warren and Matsuda.

The commission's recommendation will be transmitted to the Planning Department and attached to the department's submission to the mayor's office; the mayor's budget is expected to be published June 1 and considered by the Board of Supervisors in June.

Sources: Presentation and Q&A by Katie Lay, Deborah Landis and Tom DiSanto to the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on Feb. 7, 2024.