Committee backs sending plan to form Excelsior Community Benefit District to full Board

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee voted unanimously April 20 to send a resolution to the full San Francisco Board of Supervisors recommending a ballot process to establish the Excelsior Community Benefit District.

Chair Supervisor Dean Preston moved to forward the resolution after presentations from the sponsor's office and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. "This has been a long time, coming," said Bill Barnes, chief of staff for the sponsoring office, describing work on the proposal that dates to 2017 and the effects of the pandemic on outreach. Diana Ponce de Leon of OEWD said the 30 percent property‑owner subscription threshold was reached in March 2023 and that "the ballots, if approved, would go out to taxpayers in May," with a public hearing scheduled for July 11, 2023 at 3 p.m. and services—if the measure passes—expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024.

Presenters described the district as a property‑based community benefit district intended to fund street cleaning, beautification and corridor activation tied to a management plan and an engineer's report. The presentation listed local stakeholders that took part in outreach, including the Excelsior Outer Mission Merchants Association, the Excelsior Action Group, Urban Place Consulting and a Community Benefit District steering committee; presenters said city‑owned parcels inside the boundary, including the Excelsior Branch Library, would receive services and be assessed if physically inside the district.

At public comment, William Ortiz Cartagena, founder of the nonprofit Lehi, urged support and thanked the supervisors and OEWD for their work: "These exerted efforts are really appreciated and really needed in all our communities," he said. The committee then voted: Vice Chair Catherine Stephanie, Supervisor Connie Chan and Chair Preston each recorded "aye," and the motion passed without opposition.

The committee's vote forwards the resolution and accompanying materials—the management plan and engineer's report—to the full Board for consideration on May 2, 2023; the clerk also directed that a public hearing be set for July 11, 2023. If the ballot measure is approved by affected property owners, services described in the management plan would be scheduled to start in early 2024.