Budget and Finance Committee backs Pier 23 Café rent deal and housing loan

The Budget and Finance Committee sent a rent restructuring for Pier 23 Café to the full Board of Supervisors, backing a Port plan to keep the legacy waterfront restaurant open by lowering its rent in exchange for the tenant's investment in the building.

The Port told the committee the deal lowers the café's rent and forgives back rent, and that the operator would put capital into the property in return. A representative of the café spoke in support, and the committee heard no opposition. The vote was 3-0.

The figures in the item changed before that vote. The lease as introduced listed potential base rent revenue of $5,877,000, and the Budget and Legislative Analyst recommended a technical amendment to correct it. The committee adopted the amendment and forwarded the amended lease to the board with a positive recommendation.

The committee also added city money to a nearly finished affordable housing project, forwarding a loan amendment for 3300 Mission Partners L.P. that raises the city's commitment to no more than $16,083,595. Staff said most of the new money pays for utility work added late to the project, along with design charges, trenching and delay costs. The developer has absorbed other cost increases and reduced its own fee, and non-city debt is covering the rest of the construction increases, according to the department. The project is otherwise complete or close to it. No one spoke during public comment, and the item went to the board with a positive recommendation.

At the airport, the committee forwarded a professional services contract with SP Plus LLC for the curbside management program, at a not-to-exceed amount of $45,000,000 over three years, with an option to extend for two more. The Budget and Legislative Analyst recommended approval, saying the higher spending reflects a service level above what the city has actually been using. Members asked about staffing increases and contingency, and airport staff pointed to labor rate increases and an expansion of service since the pandemic. A union representative spoke in support. That item also passed 3-0.

The committee forwarded an amendment to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing's lease for administrative offices at 601 Van Ness Avenue, at an annual base rent of $345,840. The amendment extends the lease and reduces the base rent. Members asked about the department's future real estate plans in the Civic Center area once the lease expires. No public comment was offered.

A stack of retroactive grants for the District Attorney's Office and other departments moved to the board without objection. They include a revolving fund agreement with the California Victim Compensation Board for $75,000 to cover emergency expenses for crime victims, a workers' compensation insurance fraud grant of $1,005,686 from the California Department of Insurance, and a victim witness assistance grant of $4,017,774 from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Members said they supported victim services and noted the city's safeguards on its self-insured workers' compensation program. No public comment was received on any of them.

Another retroactive grant, $846,952.62 from the California Highway Patrol's Cannabis Tax Fund, pays for two forensic toxicologist positions and software at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which the department said would strengthen toxicology testing in cases of driving under the influence of drugs.

The committee also forwarded a retroactive $300,000 in-kind gift from Community Initiatives, given through the Food As Medicine Collaborative. It pays for food pharmacies at Department of Public Health clinics, with groceries, cooking demonstrations and vouchers for patients with high blood pressure and diabetes. Department staff attributed the retroactive request to documentation delays and comptroller review.

Two more items moved quickly. The committee forwarded an amendment raising the not-to-exceed amount on a citywide contract with Sid Tool Co., Inc. for industrial supplies to $17,100,000, with the five-year term unchanged, after the analyst recommended approval. And it forwarded a $450,000 grant amendment for TransCanWork, the fiscal sponsor for Parivar Bay Area, for LGBTQI+ and various communities grants. That item had been continued from an earlier meeting so the department could bring clarifying amendments, and it passed 3-0 with no questions or public comment.

One item did not move. The committee continued an amended and restated lease for the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market at Jerrold Avenue and Toland Street to its Oct. 21 meeting, at the department's request, so staff could gather more information. No one spoke on it.

Several of the items on the agenda were retroactive, meaning departments asked for authorization after the money was committed or received. The committee moved the long list of contracts, grants and leases to the full board, where the final votes will be taken. Most drew no debate.