Taxi medallion holders press Board of Appeals to restore appeal rights during general public comment

During general public comment before the board’s agenda items, multiple taxi medallion holders and representatives urged the Board of Appeals to regain jurisdiction over taxi permit appeals after the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the city attorney concluded the board no longer had that jurisdiction. Speakers said the SFMTA had begun a wave of nonrenewals and revocations affecting elderly and disabled medallion holders.

George Orville, who said he has held medallion 1303 and drove a cab for more than four decades, described attempts by SFMTA to take his medallion despite previous Board of Appeals rulings in his favor and called the agency’s actions an "unconscionable power grab." Other speakers, including Marcelo Fonseca and Mark Paulson, recounted notices of nonrenewal and urged legal or administrative remedies to restore the board’s review rights under the city charter.

Mr. McMurdo, speaking for several taxi permit holders, referenced a 1932 city charter provision he said embedded the board’s authority to hear permit appeals. He asked commissioners to consider ways to regain jurisdiction and to protect medallion holders from what he described as arbitrary agency action. The comments were received under the board’s three‑minute public comment rule; no formal agenda item or vote followed on this specific topic that evening.