Committee forwards 10-year capital plan, approves $340M affordable housing bond capacity

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee on May 3 voted to forward the city’s proposed 10-year capital expenditure plan to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

Chair Supervisor Connie Chan said the committee has reviewed the plan for a third time and described an amended bond schedule that increases the proposed affordable housing and shelter bond to $340,000,000 and the public health and shelter bond to $320,000,000, with those measures tentatively scheduled for March and November 2024, respectively. Chan said prior changes to the schedule and bond language had prompted additional committee review.

Why it matters: Committee members and public commenters repeatedly urged that any new bond dollars be evaluated through a climate and preservation lens. Multiple speakers — including climate and housing advocates and neighborhood organizations — pressed the board to prioritize acquisition and rehabilitation of existing buildings, retrofit affordable housing for electrification and insulation, and avoid demolition when possible.

Lydia Ealy of the Mayor’s Office of Community Development told the committee the city’s existing portfolio includes roughly 25,000 units across 400 projects and that recent local repair funds (a $20 million NOFA) focused largely on deferred maintenance rather than full electrification because of limited resources. Committee members said federal Inflation Reduction Act guidance and new funding streams could be aligned with future NOFAs to support decarbonization work.

Board President Peskin (as listed in the committee transcript) recommended delaying the public health bond until November 2024 to allow more planning around behavioral health and nursing-facility acquisitions, and he urged the committee to consider the carbon benefits of reusing buildings. Supervisor Hillary Ronan said she had dissented previously but would support the plan this session while noting more detailed work was still needed.

The committee’s motion to forward the capital plan passed unanimously in the committee vote (five ayes). The full Board will consider the plan on May 9, at which point the schedule, bond language and amounts may be further adjusted.

What’s next: The capital plan will appear on the full Board of Supervisors agenda on May 9. Committee members asked staff to continue refining cost estimates for retrofits and to explore how federal and state resources might be coordinated with local bond funds.