Committee approves India Basin fundraising package and a six‑month behested‑payment waiver to finish park financing

The Budget & Finance Committee advanced a legislative package enabling Recreation & Parks and five nonprofit partners to accept approximately $55.8M in private grants and in‑kind support and to add the San Francisco Foundation as a fiscal steward for the India Basin Waterfront Park campaign.

Lisa Branson (Rec & Park) and community partners described a multi‑phase, community‑guided project including remediation, park construction, and an Equitable Development Plan (EDP) that funds workforce, arts, and local programming. The initiative combines roughly $123M in public funding, an already authorized $25M private grant, and a goal to raise an additional $50–55M in private donations to complete the final phase and EDP programs.

Because ongoing fundraising could involve donors that otherwise trigger the behested‑payment ordinance’s reporting rules, Rec & Park sought and the committee approved duplicating the file: one resolution to accept and expend the San Francisco Foundation $50M commitment and a parallel resolution with a six‑month behested‑payment waiver (effective from passage) to permit coordinated fundraising with nonprofit partners. Deputy City Attorney Anne Pearson advised there is no legal barrier to combining or separating the waiver and accept‑and‑expend language; the Chair requested separate files for cleanliness and required the waiver spell out a six‑month period from the effective date.

The committee heard extensive public testimony from Bayview Hunters Point residents, community groups and partnering nonprofits urging rapid passage; many speakers highlighted youth swim programs, workforce and local‑hire opportunities, and community activation efforts already underway. The committee duplicated the file, amended language to clarify the six‑month waiver, and forwarded both the accept‑and‑expend and the duplicated waiver file to the full Board with positive recommendations.